Singer and actress Della Reese-Lett, who has...

Singer and actress Della Reese-Lett, who has been a practicing minister for eight years, will host a reception to celebrate the dedication of her church Sunday, Sept. 13.

The church, named Understanding Principles for Better Living, is affiliated with the Universal Foundation for Better Living, which espouses what Reese-Lett calls a “new thought” philosophy. The foundation has 22 affiliated churches in several countries.

It took Reese-Lett more than 40 years to discover her religious calling. “I sang the gospel with Mahalia (Jackson). I was always interested in a relationship with God,” she said in a telephone interview this week, “just not the one I was brought up with.”

Sounding energetic at 61, she remembers the Southern Baptist preachers in Detroit telling her “that God was a big fierce animal sitting up on a throne taking notes on everything I did and was out to get me. I could not accept that I was a wretch and no good.

“I always felt that God really liked me. He gave me talent and I was happy,” she said.

Her high self-esteem drew cries of “conceited!” and “blasphemer!” from neighbors--but the criticism did not prevent her from going on to earn a gold record in 1959 for her hit “Don’t You Know?” A singing and acting career ensued, punctuated by more hit songs, stage, movie and television roles and an Emmy and Grammy nomination. She is now touring the United States and Europe with a nightclub act that her press agent calls “an anthology of happy, sad, sexy and glad blues.”

While in Chicago performing “Same Time Next Year” in 1979, the show’s hairdresser persuaded her to attend services at Christ Universal Temple, where she met the Rev. Johnnie Colemon, a woman who was to change her life.

“She said what I felt and believed,” Reese-Lett said. “I’d never been in a place where they were talking about the upside of (religion). They gave information--not just shouting--about how much power human beings have and how wonderfully made we are.”

The singer began to fly to Chicago every Sunday that she was not working to attend Colemon’s services.

After a burst aneurysm in her brain brought a close call with death, Reese-Lett decided to study more intensively at the Johnnie Colemon Institute. After 10 years of study, Colemon ordained her.

Her church teaches that humans have available to them positive spiritual and metaphysical powers that can lead to high self-esteem.

She characterizes her 160-member family church as multiethnic and having a strong interest in music. Reese-Lett writes much of the church’s music.

A reception will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, followed by spiritual entertainment and a blessing by Colemon. Understanding Principles for Better Living is at 2800 La Cienega Ave. (not boulevard), Los Angeles. For information, call (310) 815-2970.

SPEAKERS

The Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker will speak at Founder’s Church on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. She also will be the guest speaker at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services Sunday, Sept. 13. The address is 3281 W. 6th St., Los Angeles. (213) 388-9733.

Leo Booth, author of “When God Becomes a Drug,” will speak at Congregation Beth Kodesh at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. He will discuss how millions of people “live dysfunctional lives by using religion as an escape from reality” and offer advice for those who want to stop.

The address is 7401 W. Shoup Ave., West Hills. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. (818) 346-0811.

The San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council will sponsor its fourth annual Interfaith Labor Day Service, entitled “Celebrating the Dignity of Labor,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7. David Sickler, regional director of the AFL-CIO, Southwest Region, will speak. A community folk sing-along will follow. Congregational Church of Northridge is at 9659 Balboa Blvd. (818) 718-6460

DATES

Four Conservative synagogues are sponsoring a series of Sabbath-eve dinners and services for single adults. The first one will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles. Similar Friday-evening events will be held Oct. 23 at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, Nov. 13 at Sinai Temple in Westwood and Dec. 18 at Adat Ari El in North Hollywood. Reservations are required. For information call Temple Beth Am at (310) 652-7353.

The Evangelism/Outreach Committee of Garden Grove United Methodist Church holds a family service of prayer and praise the first Sunday of each month at 5 p.m. There is sharing of faith experiences, scriptural passages, prayer and music. Anyone with a guitar is invited to bring it. Child care is available by request. The address is 12741 Main St. (714) 534-1070.

EXHIBIT

“Russian America: The Forgotten Frontier,” an exhibit at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, has been visited by many Orthodox parish members this summer, and many more will see it before it closes Sept. 27, according to the Torrance-based Orthodox People Together.

The exhibit, which “celebrates the lasting legacy of the Russian presence in North America,” features many icons and artifacts of the Russian Orthodox Church, on loan from St. Herman’s Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, and Orthodox churches throughout that state. It also highlights the work of the Church in California during the 1800s.

Orthodox People Together is a group of Orthodox Christian clergy and lay people from diverse ethnic backgrounds who work together on projects of common interest. For information about the exhibit call the museum at (213) 667-2000. To reach Orthodox People Together, call (310) 378-9245.

CONFERENCE

Africans for Christ Ministers will present its first annual International Believers Summit Sept. 4-7 at the Shrine Auditorium. The gathering’s theme is “Rebuilding Our Generation.” Speakers include the Rev. Myles Munroe, president of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, and the Rev. Kingsley A. Fletcher, founder of Miracle Life Christian Center in Durham, N.C.

Some talks are entitled “Restoring Purpose to Our Nation,” “Rediscovering Purpose to Marriage” and “Unmarried With Purpose.” Events will include seminars and workshops, praise and fellowship, worship, including special children’s services, and a breakfast finale. Registration and admission are free; donations are accepted. (310) 364-3426.

HONORS

An interreligious delegation of three Los Angeles university students--Catholic, Jewish and Muslim--has been selected to visit three cities in Spain to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain.

Bernardo Osuna, a Catholic studying at Loyola Marymount University; Judith Schindler, a Rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Leila Ansari, a member of the youth group at the Islamic Center of Southern California who studies at UCLA, leave next Friday for nine days. They will conduct a joint speaking tour upon their return.

The journey is sponsored by Friends of Msgr. Royale M. Vadakin in cooperation with Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles, Hebrew Union College and the Islamic Center of Southern California, the institutions that chose the delegates.