COUNTYWIDE : Vigils Will Support Children’s Summit

On the eve of a planned summit conference for children in New York, residents from across Orange County are planning to join in candlelight vigils Sunday evening.

Among the events planned are vigils at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Centennial Park in Santa Ana and Brea United Methodist Church. Chapman College students are also planning an event, organizers said.

The vigils, which will be taking place in 26 nations, are being held in support of the World Summit for Children, scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30, organizers said. During the two-day summit, world leaders will be discussing an array of issues facing children, especially the overarching problems of hunger and violence, said local organizer Carol Neher.

Organizers of the Newport Beach vigil, which will begin at 5:30 p.m., hope to draw more than 1,000 people. At 7 p.m., after presentations by speakers and musicians, participants will encircle the Fashion Island shopping center, lighting candles and flashlights in a show of support for the summit for children around the world.

The Brea vigil, in the church sanctuary at 480 N. State College Blvd., will feature a 9-year-old girl reading a list of 13 children’s rights that the United Nations is seeking to ratify, sponsors said. A choir will also perform, and Brea United Methodist Church Pastor Donald Inlay will read a poem.

“This isn’t a particularly religious event. It’s a community event that we are hosting,” Inlay said. “Jewish people, Buddhists, agnostics--anyone who is concerned for children is welcome.”

In Santa Ana, events will begin at 5:30 p.m., but sponsors are asking people to arrive early. Information booths will dot the park, and materials will be handed out to interested people. The formal program, which includes choirs and speakers, will start at 6 p.m.

For more information about the Newport Beach event, call (714) 644-6770. Santa Ana event organizers can be reached at (714) 720-1140.