An unprecedented, yearlong consultation of church members...

An unprecedented, yearlong consultation of church members by the leadership of the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese will culminate Sunday at Loyola Marymount University with more than 1,000 lay people, priests and sisters voting on priorities for church action.

Sixteen possible areas of emphasis will be written up by delegates today for the discussion and balloting Sunday morning at the university’s Gersten Pavilion.

Archbishop Roger Mahony, who initiated the process shortly after he was installed as head of the 2.6-million-member archdiocese, has pledged to be guided by the results.

If voting at five recent regional convocations is indicative, the delegates from 285 parishes will ask Sunday that most attention be given to Catholic youth. Appeals for full-time youth ministers in every parish plus special Masses, retreats and counseling programs for young people were either first or second choices at the regional convocations.

The establishment of family crisis centers was also high on most lists. Tackling financial and personnel matters was high on three lists but low on two others; improved public relations was ranked second by the San Fernando region but deemed minor by others.

The “spiritual growth” of parishioners was ranked either fifth or sixth by each regional meeting, but “evangelization,” the bringing in of new members, ranked lowest in priority.

CONGREGATIONS

First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood will break ground Sunday morning for a Family Life Center, part of a $3.5-million redevelopment program that officials say demonstrates the church’s commitment to stay in Hollywood. Executive Pastor Jack M. Loo said the gradually growing congregation, which at 4,500 members is one of the three biggest Presbyterian churches in the country, has resisted temptations to relocate in the suburbs. The new building, which will have a stage and seating for up to 800 people, will be constructed on the church’s present property on Gower Street, where the congregation has been located for 78 of its 83 years. The senior pastor is the Rev. Lloyd Ogilvie.

A telephone help line with information and “spiritual support” for people with AIDS, as well as their families and friends, begins Tuesday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. Coordinator for the resource center, aimed at serving the San Gabriel Valley, is the Rev. Robert Iles, a psychotherapist in private practice and an Episcopal priest. The help line, (818) 449-8421, will operate 12 hours daily, a spokesman said.

PEOPLE

Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman, 65, who recently retired after 37 years as senior rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, will be honored at a Century Plaza Hotel dinner Dec. 10 by the Interfaith Center to Reverse the Arms Race, the Pasadena-based organization he helped to found. The Reform rabbi is also being honored by his own temple, located near the San Diego Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass, on the weekend of Nov. 14-16. Beerman has been succeeded in the pulpit by Rabbi Sanford Ragins, a former associate rabbi.

DATES

More than 7,000 people are expected to attend the 35th annual Greater Los Angeles Sunday School Convention Thursday through Saturday at the Pasadena Convention Center. Besides 300 workshops and 175 exhibits, the convention features an evangelical fare of speakers, including Christian Education Prof. Kenneth O. Gangel of Dallas Theological Seminary at the opening-day luncheon and the session that evening.

Sociologist Robert Bellah, co-author of “Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life,” is one of the featured speakers at the 38th annual Ministers’ Convocation Monday and Tuesday at the School of Theology at Claremont. The future of mainline churches is among topics to be discussed at the convocation, which is open to both clergy and lay people.

MEDIA

Back-to-back events: Media & Values, an interfaith magazine concerned with mass media ethics, is holding a one-day conference at USC on Monday on “public responsibility” issues connected with television station ownership. The next four days, the National Catholic Assn. for Communicators, known as Unda-USA, will hold its 15th annual assembly in Marina del Rey and present its annual Gabriel Awards for “Gospel values” in radio and television programs. Entertainer Steve Allen will receive a Gabriel Lifetime Achievement Award.