In observance of composer George Frederic Handel’s...

In observance of composer George Frederic Handel’s 300th birthday anniversary, the Fountain Valley High School vocal music department will present “The Messiah” at 8 tonight at the First Southern Baptist Church of Fountain Valley. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children. The church is at 10350 Ellis Ave.

Lenten study groups are offered by First Presbyterian Church of Orange from 4 to 5 p.m. Sundays, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursdays. Classes will run through March 28 and meet in the Westminster Room. The book “Prayer and Personal Religion” will be used and is available in the church office. The church is at 191 N. Orange St. For information call 538-2341.

Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church in Mission Viejo will begin its Lenten Family Dinner Series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with a chili and corn bread dinner in Shepherd Hall. Classes for children and youths will be held during the evening program at 7:15 p.m. The church is at 26001 Muirlands Blvd. For information call 837-2941.

“The Sisters of St. Joseph” will be the featured topic at the 8 p.m. meeting Thursday of the Orange County Historical Society in the Orange Public Library. A slide show on the order, originally established in France in 1651, will be shown. Sister Mary Therese, director of communications for St. Joseph Health Systems, will present the program.

In 1922 the sisters opened their first hospital in Orange in the old Burnham mansion on Batavia Street. In November, 1929, a new hospital was completed.

The public is invited to hear the history and stories of the sisters’ continuing work in local health care. The library is at Center Street and Chapman Avenue.

“Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue: An Academic and Practical Imperative” is the subject of a lecture to be given at 8 p.m. Sunday at UC Irvine by Leonard Swidler, professor of Catholic thought and inter-religious dialogue at Temple University in Philadelphia and editor and co-founder of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies.

Swidler also organizes and leads the Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue held biannually at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Washington. He is the author of 29 books and more than 100 articles on subjects ranging from religious pluralism to ecumenism and feminism.

This event is part of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic Interaction courses taught at UCI by George Grose, a visiting lecturer in the School of Humanities.

The lecture will be held in the Interfaith Center on campus. For information call 856-6735.

The annual rummage sale at Laguna Presbyterian Church will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and next Saturday in Fellowship Hall. The church is at 415 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. For information call 494-7555.

An international potluck buffet with music, theater and special guests will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 2100 Mar Vista Drive, Newport Beach. For information call 548-7180.

A series of workshops and discussion groups dealing with interfaith marriage will be held at Temple Bat Yahm from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sundays, beginning this Sunday with the topic “Life Cycle Events.” Other topics will include Yiddish, March 10, and “Outside Pressures in Regard to Judaism,” April 21. The free workshops are designed to make celebrating Jewish customs and holidays more comfortable for those not familiar with such practices.

The temple is at 1011 Camelback St., Newport Beach. For information call the temple office at 644-1999.

A dedicatory recital will be held tonight at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in honor of Tustin Presbyterian Church’s new Wicks 53 Rank Organ. Jonathan Tuuk will play works by Alain, Lemens, Bach, Dandrieu, Karg-Elert, Franck, Bonnet and Tournemire.

Tuuk is the organist and choirmaster at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., and accompanist for the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids.

The recital is free but reservations are required. The church is at Main and “C” streets. For information call 544-7070.

Blood donors may visit the Red Cross Bloodmobile Monday at Faith Lutheran Church, 8200 Ellis Ave., Huntington Beach. Donors are asked to call the church office, 962-5571, between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for appointments. After 12:30 p.m. call Dawn Carver at 848-0515.

World Day of Prayer services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church, 161 S. Orange St., Orange. The World Day of Prayer is sponsored in the United States by Church Women United, an ecumenical organization bringing Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox women together. The event is celebrated across the United States and in 170 countries.

The theme for 1985 is “Peace Through Prayer and Action,” conceived by Christian women in India.

For information call Marie Cline at 637-0479.

A workshop entitled “Lifesong,” designed to help people develop self-confidence in their singing, will be held March 1-3 at the Golden Circle Church of Religious Science, 600 Golden Circle Drive, Santa Ana. The workshop will be led by Bill and Linda Wolfe, a brother and sister team from Orange County. Bill Wolfe is now musical director of “The Sound of Music” at the Regional Repertory Theatre in Yorba Linda and has musically directed more than 60 shows. Linda Wolfe is a professional actress, singer and speaker.

For further information call the church at 531-3365 or Lifesong at 544-2400.

Roby Duke, guitarist and recording artist, will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at South Coast Community Church. This free concert is sponsored by the Singles Connection, the church’s single adult ministry. Refreshments will be served.

The church is at 5120 Bonita Canyon Drive, Irvine. For information call 854-7600.

The Orange County Committee on Central America and the Orange County Alliance for Survival will present an educational program on the U.S. role in Central America at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Unitarian Church in Anaheim.

“Are We Accomplices to Murder?” a videotape featuring David MacMichael, a former CIA analyst, will be shown with a slide presentation entitled “Dollars and Dictators.” The slide show will present a visual tour of the complex Central American economic and political landscape. A donation of $3 will be asked.

The church is at 1120 W. Santa Ana St. For information call Shirley Cereseto at 774-6188.

Laurel Lee, author of “Walking Through the Fire” and “Mourning Into Dancing” will speak at a potluck luncheon at 11:45 a.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church of Orange, sponsored by United Presbyterian Women.

The cost is $2 or a contribution of food. For reservations call 538-2341. The church is at 191 S. Orange St.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will present the Christian traditions of pacifism on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. during the five-week Lenten season, beginning this Wednesday. The Crusades, perspectives on contemporary peace initiatives and the recent pastoral letter on peace from the Roman Catholic bishops will be among topics covered.

The church is at 1221 Wass Ave., Tustin.