Two Southern California institutions of higher education...

Two Southern California institutions of higher education have announced the creation of a joint program in religion.

A student who earns a master’s degree in Jewish studies at the University of Judaism can go on to earn a doctorate in religion at the Claremont Graduate School. Claremont students can take courses in Judaica on the University of Judaism campus in West Los Angeles.

Henry T.C. Sun, religion program coordinator at Claremont, said: “This opens up a whole range of courses in Judaica of interest to Christians but hitherto not available to our students.” The courses include Hebrew language, Jewish philosophy and modern Jewish history, he said.

Rabbi Hanan Alexander, dean of academic affairs at the University of Judaism, said the program is beneficial because much scholarship in early Christianity “depends on Rabbinic exegesis of the Bible. We will be able to offer intensive studies in Rabbinic texts to supplement the Bible scholars they (Claremont) already have.”

Alexander said the program would also benefit students at the University of Judaism who wish to prepare for careers as scholars and make contributions to the Jewish community in a variety of ways other than by entering the rabbinate.

“Understanding Judaism in the broader context of religion is important to these people, who may become lay leaders or assume professional positions in educational institutions, community centers and nonprofit organizations,” he said.

DATES

“Rediscovering the Empty Tomb,” a lecture by Lon Elmer, grief counselor and author of “Why Her, Why Now? A Man’s Journey through Love and Death and Grief,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. on May 3, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 8800 Woodman Ave., Arleta. Donations will be accepted. (818) 894-2293.

“Love in Action: A Spiritual Approach to Freedom and Happiness” will be discussed by author Mary T. Browne at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Philosophical Research Society. Admission is $5. On Friday, at 7:30 p.m. at the society’s headquarters, yoga master Debra Pelton will host a workshop called “The Journey Within of Yoga: Fear--Its Conquest.” Tickets are $10. Bring a thick towel or exercise mat. The address is 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 663-2167.

The Native American Ministry Project of the Presbyterian Church will hold an ecumenical worship service at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Third Street and Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach. A potluck meal will follow worship. Child care will be provided. For information, call (310) 670-5076.

The North Hollywood Methodist Youth Fellowship will hold its 100th reunion Sunday at the First United Methodist Church of North Hollywood, 4832 Tujunga Ave. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by a potluck lunch and program. For more information, call (818) 762-7938.

The Christian Edition Men’s Chorus will hold a benefit concert tonight at 7:30 at the Loma Linda Academy Elementary School Complex. Proceeds will go to LIGA International Inc., better known as The Flying Doctors of Mercy. Members of LIGA, formed 53 years ago, fly to Mexico on weekends at their own expense to provide free medical, dental and surgical care at seven clinics in Sinaloa and Sonora. Tickets are $25 for preferred seating and $15 for general seating. Call (800) 300-LIGA.

The Rev. Dan Romero of the United Church of Christ Board for World Ministries will be the guest preacher Sunday at the Filipino American United Church of Christ of Los Angeles in Eagle Rock. The church is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The church shares the facilities of the United Church of Eagle Rock. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. at 5080 Maywood Ave., Eagle Rock. Call (213) 257-9377 or 254-6669.

The Lutheran/Roman Catholic Dialogue of Los Angeles will conduct a seminar on “Sacramental and Evangelical Churches: Tensions and Possibilities” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 2. Howard Miller, associate professor of religion at USC, will be the main speaker. Registration is $10, which includes a box lunch. The seminar will be at St. Vibiana Cathedral, the ecumenical office conference room, in downtown Los Angeles. Call (213) 617-3433.

GROUP

WINNERS (Working Individuals Not Necessarily Employed Recently), a free support group for unemployed people to build and maintain self-esteem, meets Thursdays at noon at the Burbank-Toluca Lake First Church of Religious Science, 260 N. Pass Ave., Burbank. (818) 848-4158.

HONORS

Sam Goetz has been elected chair of the Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust, the West Coast affiliate of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

The office of American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest has announced that W. Lowell Fairley will retire Aug. 31 after 14 years as executive minister of the organization, which comprises about 250 churches and 66,000 members. He has been in the ministry for 39 years.

CONFERENCES

The Moravian Church’s Synod of the Pacific Southwest will meet May 1-3 for its first conference in four years. The Rev. Gordon Sommers of Bethlehem, Pa., will chair the event. The public is invited to worship with delegates of the synod at 7 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. May 3, and to observe the sessions, which will take place at the Moravian Church of Downey, 10337 Old River School Road, Downey. For more information, call (310) 927-1582.

Superior Court Judge Donna Hitchens will be the keynote speaker at a daylong conference addressing legal rights for lesbians and gays--including child custody, adoptions and housing discrimination. It begins at 9 a.m. on May 16, at West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. Registration, $15 at the door, includes a light lunch. The church is at 7350 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. (213) 874-6646.

REMEMBRANCE

Thursday is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Listed below are some of the observances.

Deborah Lipstadt, author of “Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust,” will speak on “The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism and Revisionism” at a Holocaust Remembrance Day program at Wilshire Boulevard Temple at 2 p.m. on May 3. Admission is free. (213) 852-0320, ext. 3200.

Father John Neiman, associate pastor of St. Charles Church in North Hollywood, will address Burbank’s sixth annual interfaith memorial Holocaust observance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Holocaust survivors and liberators will speak. Admission is free. The location is St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Fifth and Orange Grove, Burbank. (818) 848-0615.

Excerpts of a documentary on the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp by U.S. Black Tank Battalion No. 761 will be featured at the 10th annual Westside Community Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration program Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 1220 Second St., Santa Monica. Two members of the battalion will speak at the free program. (310) 458-2272.

Producer-director-writer Pierre Sauvage will speak at a remembrance program Friday at 8 p.m. at Temple Israel of Hollywood, 7300 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 876-8330.

The Long Beach-West Orange County Jewish Community will hold a Holocaust Memorial Day service at Temple Beth Shalom, 3635 Elm Ave. The Terri Lewis Dance Ensemble will interpret “The Diary of Anne Frank.” (310) 426-7601.

A collection of three short plays from Bertholt Brecht’s “Scenes from the Private Life of the Master Race,” translated by Eric Bentley, will be performed Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission is $3 for seniors and students and $6 for others and includes an art exhibit and panel discussion. (310) 859-0227.

The Rev. Linnea Pearson of the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles will speak on the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown and Holocaust Remembrance Day at 11 a.m. on Sunday. She will address “how new life can rise out of old ashes.” The church is at 2936 W. 8th St., Los Angeles. Call (213) 389-1356.

Please address notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles, Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, 90053. Items must be brief and arrive three weeks before the event.