BAPTISTS: The Rev. Denton Lotz, general secretary...

BAPTISTS: The Rev. Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance based in McLean, Va., will be the luncheon speaker today at the annual meeting in Studio City of delegates from 130 American Baptist churches in Los Angeles.

The convention of the Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society at the Sportsmen’s Lodge began Friday night and will conclude at 3 p.m. today.

A recorded telephone message at the downtown mission society headquarters on Friday urged Baptists to attend the meeting “in order that we may pray together for one another and for the healing of the city” because of the turmoil following the verdicts in the Rodney King beating case.

POSTPONEMENTS: The civil unrest in Los Angeles led to postponement of at least two religious events scheduled this weekend in the San Fernando Valley.

In their first such concert, San Fernando Valley’s Choral Conductors Guild planned to bring together 250 voices from eight choirs with the La Canada High School String Orchestra to present Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” Sunday night in Granada Hills.

But a spokeswoman said the event will be rescheduled to accommodate orchestra members, many of whom are Korean-American students distressed over the pillage in Koreatown.

Also, a planned reunion in Mission Hills today for alumni and former students of the three seminaries of the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese was postponed because of the turmoil in the city. Paul Ellis, director of the alumni association, said the second annual event probably will be rescheduled for the fall.

PRAYER: Among noontime observances planned for the National Day of Prayer on Thursday are two small gatherings scheduled in the San Fernando Valley.

At the Van Nuys Civic Center Courthouse Mall from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a Salvation Army band, a concert band from the Church on the Way and the duo of Stephen and Linda Tavani will perform during a service led by the Rev. Scott Bauer, associate pastor of the Church on the Way. A 20-minute service sponsored by the Burbank Ministerial Assn. will start at 12:20 p.m. in the rotunda of Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave.

SKEPTICS: “Have you ever wanted a forum where you could bring your friends who have objections to or questions about Christian faith that you can’t answer?” asks a flier from Bel Air Presbyterian Church.

The hilltop church overlooking the San Fernando Valley addressed that question with a forum at 8 p.m. Wednesday with five Ph.D.s to field questions from the audience such as “Why should 20th Century people believe in God?”

The panelists will be: Dallas Willard, USC professor of philosophy; Dr. Alex Metherell, radiologist; David Rogstad, Jet Propulsion Laboratory physicist; Robert Adams, UCLA professor of religion and philosophy, and Joyce Maxwell, geneticist and dean of science and mathematics at Cal State Northridge.

Senior Pastor Donn Moomaw will moderate the forum, which will be held in the sanctuary of the church at 16221 Mulholland Drive.

RELIGIOUS/SECULAR: A priest, minister and rabbi will give their advice to an open forum Sunday evening in Burbank on “Living as a Religious Family in a Secular Society.”

The discussion, starting at 7:30 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 3801 Scott Road, will be led by Father Robert Folbrecht, associate pastor of Incarnation Catholic Church, Glendale; the Rev. Larry Stamper, pastor of Burbank First United Methodist Church, and Associate Rabbi Wendy Spears of Temple Emet in Woodland Hills.

The forum is free, but donations are accepted.

PROPHETS: The Hebrew prophets “from a historical perspective” will be the theme of four weekly adult education talks by Rabbi Stuart Lasher at Temple Beth Torah, 16651 Rinaldi St., Granada Hills. The sessions, which start 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, treat biblical figures such as Amos, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah. For information, call (818) 831-0835.

News and announcements for this column can be sent to Religion Desk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311.