Service to Observe Annual Prayer Week

The 1991 Ecumenical Worship Service will be held Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana.

This year’s theme is “Hallelujah: Praise God All You Peoples!” William Lane Doulos of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena is the featured speaker.

Representatives from the major Christian faiths in Orange County will gather for the event as part of the observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The first Week of Prayer was observed in 1908 and has since become a worldwide event.

All are invited to the service at 614 Bush St. in Santa Ana. Information: (714) 543-9389.

“Turn Your Heart Toward Home,” a film series by the widely known author Dr. James C. Dobson, will be presented at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.

The films emphasize the importance of values in the home.

The public is invited to the series, which is offered at no charge the next three Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m.

St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 30382 Via Con Dios in Rancho Santa Margarita. Information: (714) 858-5144.

Dr. Jerry Tankersley’s sermon Sunday will be “He Brought Him to Jesus,” at Laguna Presbyterian Church in Laguna Beach. Services are at 9 and 10:30 a.m.

Child care is available at the church, 415 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. Information: (714) 494-7555.

Calvary Church of Santa Ana has scheduled an Oasis Luncheon on Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. as a retreat for women.

Carolyn Koons will be the featured speaker at the luncheon, in the Fellowship Chapel at 1010 N. Tustin Ave., Santa Ana.

Registration is required, and there is a charge of $8.75 per person, $17 for two. Child care is provided by reservation only. Information: (714) 636-9889.

“When God Calls” is the title of the Rev. David Sandberg’s sermon on Sunday at Shepherd of the Hills Church. Sandberg will leave in a month to begin a new ministry in Norwell, Mass.

Services are at 9 and 10:30 a.m at 30121 Niguel Road in Laguna Niguel. Information: (714) 495-1310.

On Sunday, the Rev. Maurice Ogden will discuss “Unitarianism in Orange County 100 Years Ago” at the Unitarian Church of Orange County.

The service is at 10:30 a.m. at 1120 W. Santa Ana St., Anaheim. Child care is available. Information: (714) 758-1050.

Congregation B’nai Israel will hold a Hebrew Reading Marathon on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The one-day seminar, conducted by Diane Winocur, is designed to give students in the adult-education program a familiarity with Hebrew.

A new adult education program, called Adult B’nai Mitzvah, meets every Thursday morning from 10 a.m. to noon with Rabbi Elie Spitz.

This Thursday the class will evaluate a video of the television program “thirtysomething” as part of a discussion of Jewish identity.

Congregation B’nai Israel is at 655 S. B St. in Tustin. Information: (714) 730-9693.

Dr. Jacquelyn Harrold, pastor of the Capistrano Valley Church of Religious Science, is conducting a monthlong series on “What Religious Science Is.”

Services are at 9 and 11 a.m. at the church, 32261 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano (between Security Pacific National Bank and Mariner’s Bank in San Juan Plaza). Information: (714) 240-6463.

Gene Bedley will be the guest speaker at a seminar on “The Big ‘D’--Discipline” on Thursday at 7 p.m. at South Coast Community Church in Irvine.

Bedley is the principal of El Camino Real Elementary School in Irvine and has conducted many seminars for parents, school administrators and teachers.

Sponsored by the children’s ministry of South Coast Community Church, 5120 Bonita Canyon Drive, Irvine, the seminar will be held in Room 202 of the Community Life Center on the church campus. Admission is free. Information: (714) 854-7600.

Chabad of West Orange County is offering six classes during the winter semester.

The classes are: Mystical Concepts of Judaism, Part 2, Tuesdays 7:30-8:30 p.m.; Torah Study, Tuesdays 8:45-9:30 p.m.; Crash Course in Hebrew Reading, Mondays 7:30-9 p.m.; Jewish Law, Sundays 8:45-9:30 a.m.; The Book of Our Heritage Study Group, Saturdays once a month at 8 p.m.; and Talmud Study, Wednesdays 8-9 p.m.

Registration will take place at the first meeting of each class, and fees vary.

Classes will be held at Chabad of West Orange County, 5702 Clark Drive, Room 18, in Huntington Beach. Information: (714) 846-2285.

Dr. Chris Schriner will present a program called “Feel Better Now: The Art of Letting Go,” at Orange Coast College on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Schriner is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Laguna Beach and the minister of counseling at Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, Costa Mesa. Also a licensed marriage and child counselor, he is the author of the books “Feel Better Now: 30 Ways to Handle Frustration in Three Minutes or Less,” “Easy Effort” and “Feeling Great.”

Orange Coast College is at Fairview Road and Merrimac Way in Costa Mesa, and the class will be held in the Counseling and Admissions Building, Room 110. Cost of the program is $20. Information: (714) 645-8597.

Peter Neville will lead a workshop for men at St. Mark Presbyterian Church beginning Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The group will explore the role of men in our culture according to the writings of Robert Bly.

The group meets at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2100 Mar Vista, Newport Beach. Information: (714) 644-1341.

Orange County Religion Notes is published on Saturdays. Send the item at least two weeks before the event to Orange County Religion Notes, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Telephone calls cannot be accepted. Because of space limitations, The Times cannot guarantee that all notices will be published. Items must include subject, telephone number, event date, time and exact address.