Johnson Chapel AME to Mark Anniversary

A week of festivities celebrating the 53rd anniversary of Johnson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church will begin Monday at the church, located at the corner of 2nd and Bristol streets in Santa Ana.

An anniversary theme of “A Time to Build Up” will run throughout a four-day revival beginning Monday, led by the Rev. John Richard Bryant of Bethel AME Church in Baltimore. Following the revival will be a three-day Gospel Music Extravaganza, to celebrate the anniversary of the church and the 226th birthday anniversary of the founder of the AME church, the Rev. Richard Allen.

The first of three concerts will begin at 7 p.m. Friday at Santa Ana Valley High School, 1801 S. Greenville St. Featured will be the Santa Ana Mass Choir. At 7 p.m. next Saturday, the church will host a concert featuring acclaimed gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins, who will also appear at the high school.

The festivities will close Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. with a concert featuring the Winans, a group of four brothers from Detroit billed as “the Bible-toting Temptations.” Tickets for the concerts can be purchased at the church and at the door. For more information, call (714) 972-4881.

Geneva Presbyterian Church will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for an $800,000 expansion of its Educational Building at 10:05 a.m. Sunday at 24301 El Toro Road in Laguna Hills. Attending the event will be Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley and the Rev. John Chandler, administrative head of the 64-church Los Ranchos Presbytery, of which Geneva Presbyterian is a member. The 15-minute ceremony will include an opening prayer by Geneva’s interim pastor, Lee Kliewer, and choral presentations by Geneva’s Chancel Choir. A coffee and fellowship hour will follow the ceremony. For more information, call (714) 837-2323.

“World Peace and Justice” is the subject of a speech by Judge Dorothy W. Nelson from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the Premier Room at the Grand Hotel in Anaheim. Sponsored by the Baha’is of Orange County, the speech is part of an effort to inform the public about the possibility for world peace. Nelson, a judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles, is a member of the Baha’i faith. For more information, call (714) 771-2240.

“Armageddon--What, Where and When” is the topic of a sermon by New Thought Minister Paul Barrett at 9:15 and 11 a.m. services Sunday at the First Church of Religious Science, 117 N. Pomona Ave. in Fullerton. Barrett will act as guest minister at the services and will also lead an evening program, “The Science of Effectual Prayer,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. For more information, call (714) 525-1126.

“Will Our Adults Have Faith?” is the title of a workshop from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, 30121 Niguel Road in Laguna Niguel. The free workshop will be led by Charles McCollough, a teacher and writer in the field of Christian education. A Chinese supper, for a fee of $2.65, will be served at the workshop. McCollough will also act as guest minister for 10 a.m. worship services at the church. For more information, call (714) 495-1310.

Toby and Barb Waldowski will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Placentia Presbyterian Church, 849 N. Bradford Ave. The husband and wife, who travel throughout the United States with their son, Jesse, will give a free concert of Christian music of their own composition. Nursery care will be provided. For more information, call (714) 993-6044.

Florence Montz will be the guest speaker for the Women’s Fellowship of Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 18182 Culver Drive in Irvine. Montz is on the board of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and former president of the International Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. “Me, a Healer?” will be the topic of her speech. A dessert hour will follow the program. For more information, call (714) 786-3326.

The Capistrano Valley Church will hold a four-night Youth Rally beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the church, 32032 Del Obispo Road in San Juan Capistrano. Jeff Rutledge, a quarterback with the New York Giants, will speak. The youth night will also include music, games and refreshments. Subsequent meetings will be held at 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday in the Fellowship Hall. For more information, call Dan McMillan at (714) 661-4991.

The Orange County Catholic Alumni Club will hold a party for single college graduates from 8 p.m. to midnight today at 209 Wellesley Lane in Costa Mesa. Single Catholic college graduates in their early 20s to late 40s are encouraged to attend the party, which will outline more about this national organization. Admission is $6. For more information, call Mike Hartfield at (714) 957-0125.

The nationally acclaimed Avodah Dance Ensemble will perform at 8 tonight at Temple Beth Sholom, 2625 N. Tustin Ave. in Santa Ana. The New York dance troupe, directed and choreographed by JoAnne Tucker, takes excerpts from traditional Jewish services and sets them to movement. This will be their only Southern California performance. Admission is $5. For more information or ticket reservations, call (714) 532-6724.

“Parenting Positive Children” is the topic of a one-day seminar from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the Community Room of the Serrano Center, 6511-A Serrano Ave., Anaheim Hills. Sponsored by the Anaheim Hills Community Church, the all-day workshop will be led by pastor Tim Van Heest. The seminar is designed to assess how a family works together and to aid in setting and achieving family goals. The fee is $10 per person or $15 per couple. For more information or reservations, call (714) 921-0612.

The second in a series of adult education classes will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Temple Isaiah (Conservative), 2401 Irvine Ave., Newport Beach. The four-week lecture series, “Basic Bible--an Overview of the Books of the Bible From a Modern Perspective,” will be led by Rabbi Steven D. Schatz. The series will cover such subjects as biblical content, the ideas and peoples in the Bible and the way in which the Bible was written. There is no admission charge for members; the fee for non-members is $10. For more information, call (714) 548-6900.

A church retreat led by the Rev. Joseph Glynn will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Marywood Center, 2811 E. Villa Real Drive in Orange. Father Glynn will include a lecture on Scripture and the great mystics, including 16th-Century Spanish Carmelites St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. An hour of prayer and contemplative liturgy is also included. A fee of $5 includes lunch. For more information, call Doris Hand at (714) 871-4815.

Stanlee Phelps, author of “The Assertive Woman,” will lead a seminar at 7 p.m. Monday at the Rancho Capistrano Community Church, 29251 Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano. The seminar on “Love and Self-Esteem” is also a fund-raiser to benefit the Family Crisis Hotline in Mission Viejo. The fee is $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Seating is limited. For more information, call (714) 859-1856.

The Rev. N.T. Dellinger and his wife, Joy Dellinger, will be honored Sunday at Grace Baptist Church, 1515 E. Taft Ave., Orange. The Dellingers are missionaries in Belize and have served there more than 20 years under the auspices of the Conservative Baptist Home Mission Society. N.T. Dellinger will also act as guest minister at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. worship services. For more information, call (714) 637-4190.

The Abiding Savior Lutheran Church will celebrate the beginning of Lent with special services at 7 p.m. beginning Ash Wednesday at the church, 23262 El Toro Road, El Toro. The church’s theme for the Lenten season is “No Greater Love,” and services will include a series of films on the seven churches of Revelation and how each applies to today. Each 7 p.m. service will be preceded by a soup supper. Next Friday at 8 p.m., the church will offer a concert of Christian music by Dave and Barb Anderson of Anoka, Minn., in the Fellowship Hall. For more information about these events, call (714) 830-1460.

A series of Scripture study sessions led by Sister Benilda Desmond will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays during February at St. Callistus Catholic Church, 12921 Lewis St., Garden Grove. Sister Desmond, a teacher at Mater Dei High School, will explore the Apocalypse, with an emphasis on Christian symbols, the symbolism of numbers and the mythical monsters in the book. There is no admission charge. For more information call (714) 971-2091.

“Shining Examples” is the topic of the Rev. David O. Beadles’ sermon at 9 and 11 a.m. services Sunday at Laguna Hills United Methodist Church, 24442 Moulton Parkway. Sunday School classes for children will be held at 9 a.m. and adult education classes will be held at 10 a.m. Nursery care is available during both worship services. For more information, call (714) 837-3414.

“An Active, Subversive Love,” a film about the sanctuary movement, will be shown at noon Sunday at the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, 1259 Victoria St. in Costa Mesa. The film documents the plight of Central Americans who have fled their countries and who have been refused refugee status in the United States. Sandwiches and drinks will be sold before the film screening, and a discussion period will follow the film. There is no admission charge. For more information call (714) 846-0117.

Songbird Ministries will present a Christian musical comedy for children, “Spot Remover,” at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Capistrano and Dana Point rooms at the Ramada Inn in San Clemente. The production about a cherub who lives under the throne of God stars Barbara Hines as the Sweetheart Angel. There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering will be taken.

St. Polycarp Church in Stanton is sponsoring classes in the Billings Method of Natural Family Planning, to be held at church, 8100 Chapman Ave. Classes in English will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays during February. Two classes in Spanish will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 23. For more information, call Jeanne Cassidy at (714) 534-7029.

Clark Robb, associate pastor of the Anaheim United Methodist Church, will be guest pastor for the Good News Crusade, to be held at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Grand Avenue United Methodist Church, 2121 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Child care will be available. For more information, call (714) 542-2219.