As part of a yearlong celebration of...

As part of a yearlong celebration of its 125th anniversary, First Congregational Church of Los Angeles will pray, sing, march and dine its way through five events Sunday.

Located in the mid-Wilshire district, the city’s oldest continuing Protestant church belongs to a denomination founded by Pilgrims who sailed to America on the Mayflower. So it is especially fitting that the day’s events culminate in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at 1 p.m., replete with colonial costumes.

A morning full of activities will precede the feast. At 9 a.m., the Rev. Larry Welbourne, professor of theology at the United Theology Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, will lead a worship service as he believes the earliest Christians might have done. A reception follows.

After bracing themselves with coffee, congregants will gather again at 11 a.m. to hear the Rev. Steve Berry, senior minister, speak at a festive service featuring trumpeters, flag bearers and a full choir. At noon, a brass ensemble will herald a procession of the entire assembly outside to formally dedicate elaborate new garden areas. Citations will be presented from the state of California, the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Beautiful, a private civic improvement organization.

Berry, who has held his post just under two years, emphasized the mission of the church in reflecting on its century and a quarter in Los Angeles.

He cited the 1,300-member church’s tradition of outreach to new immigrants from China, Japan and Armenia beginning as early as the late 19th Century, the thriving Bach Festival it founded 59 years ago and the church’s 35-year-old Pilgrim School, which educates ethnically diverse children from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Looking to the future, the pastor said, “The old Congregationalists provided spiritual nurture, fellowship and moral development, and I see our church much in the same way. We need to see each person as a whole, or struggling for wholeness. I envision the church as a center where people can be provided for in their physical, intellectual and spiritual concerns.”

But, he was quick to add, the congregation fully intends to continue in its activist approach to Christianity. (As part of its anniversary year program, the church provided funds and labor to build two houses for low-income families in Compton and Willowbrook.) “We don’t want to sit around,” Berry said. “We want to help people.”

And that, he explained in no uncertain terms, is the garden he and his flock intend to cultivate.

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is located at 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. (213) 385-1341.

THANKSGIVING

Brentwood Presbyterian Church and Santa Monica’s Kehillat Ma’arav Synagogue celebrate Thanksgiving with their annual joint breakfast and service at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Admission is a can or package of food for the needy and $3 per adult. This year’s event is at the church, 12000 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood. (310) 829-0566. Brookins AME Church will hold a one-hour worship service at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, followed by a turkey dinner. The church will include free turkeys in its grocery delivery this week to needy families participating in the church’s food distribution program. The address is 4831 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles (213) 296-5610.

Congregations and spiritual leaders associated with the La Mirada Clergy Assn. will join for their annual Community Thanksgiving Service at 7 p.m. Sunday at Mt. Hope United Church of Christ. Protestant, Catholic and Jewish clergy will participate. Proceeds from the offering will benefit the La Mirada Clergy Assn. Transient Fund. The service will be at 15144 E. Leffingwell Road, La Mirada (714) 521-6765 or (310) 691-2551.

The First Baptist Church of Mira Mesa in San Diego will present an upbeat, contemporary Thanksgiving Cantata at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday. The church shares an evening of praise and Thanksgiving at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The address is 10770 Rickert Road (619) 566-3671.

The churches of Granada Hills invite the community to their annual Thanksgiving Eve services at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist and Four Square churches will participate. The offering received will benefit My Friends Place, an outreach program for teen-agers. The address is Granada Hills Four Square Church, 11451 Woodley Ave., Granada Hills (818) 368-7794.

MUSIC

Kirk O’ The Valley Presbyterian Church will celebrate St. Andrew’s Day Sunday beginning with its 10 a.m. worship service, at which the Highland Pipe and Drum Band, Farrar Scottish Dance Group and Scottish singer Alex Beaton will perform. Everyone is encouraged to wear or bring tartans for the “Kirkin’ (blessing) of the Tartans.” After the service, Scottish dancing will be held, and meat pies, sausage rolls, shortbread and Highland desserts will be served. The public is invited. The address is 19620 Vanowen St., Reseda (818) 345-2535.

The combined choirs of Abundance of Christ Church and Kehilath Israel Synagogue will perform at a concert at the synagogue at 8 p.m. Monday. Admission to the concert is a coat for a child or $10. The address is 16019 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades (310) 459-2328.

The Chatsworth Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Temple Beth Torah will celebrate National Family Week with a free program, “Worship Through Music,” at 7 p.m. Monday. The performance is at the Chatsworth Stake Center, 10123 Oakdale, Chatsworth (818) 341-6496.

HONORS

Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali will be the guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Islamic Information Service at 6 p.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton Hotel. The nonprofit service produces a national television program called “Islam,” seen on cable stations throughout the United States. The evening includes an auction of Islamic antiquities and artifacts. Tickets are $125 for adults, $75 for children. (818) 764-6611.

Maria Teresa Venegas, associate professor of modern languages at Loyola Marymount University, will travel to Rome for the beatification ceremony Sunday of her great aunt, Sister Maria de Jesus Sacramentado Venegas. The nun, who died in 1959, founded a religious community called the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Guadalajara, Mexico. She is the first Mexican woman to be beatified.

SERVICE

The Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple of Los Angeles will hold Japanese language Hoonko services--a memorial for Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Shinshu denomination--today and Sunday at 1 p.m. An English service will be held Sunday at 10 a.m. A biographical slide show of the founder will be shown today at 3:30 p.m. in Japanese and at 6:30 p.m. in English. The address is 515 E. 3rd St. (213) 626-4200.

Address notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles Ca., 90053.