Music, pageantry and candlelight cast a warm...

Music, pageantry and candlelight cast a warm glow on this solstice week of holiday observances. Communal festivities and solemn worship round out get-togethers with family and friends. Here are some of the places to share Christmas cheer and enjoy Hanukkah lights.

THIS SUNDAY

Brookins Community African Methodist Episcopal Church presents its annual Christmas concert at 6 p.m. Three choirs, instrumentalists and guest soloists will perform. The concert will be directed by James R. Pruitt, minister of music, and Ronald R. Lowe, his assistant. The address is 4831 Gramercy Place, Los Angeles. (213) 296-5610.

A worship service in English, Japanese and Korean will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. The Rev. Ted Esaki will preach in English and Kazuko Esaki will translate the sermon into Japanese. The Rev. Dwight Dong-Wan Kim and the church’s Korean congregation will also participate, with Kim preaching in Korean. 4011 Clinton St., Los Angeles. (213) 665-3581.

The Crystal Cathedral will present a Christmas Candlelight Communion Celebration/Healing Service at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. Juan Carlos Ortiz will preside. The SonLight Ringers Handbell Choir, a 70-voice chorus and soloists Terry Erickson, Darlene Feit and Robert De Carlo will perform. 12141 Lewis St., Garden Grove (714) 971-4000.

St. Andrew Independent Anglican Church in Los Alamitos holds Communion at 8 a.m. and morning prayer at 9 a.m. Sunday, followed by Christ’s birthday party. 4005 Katella Ave. (213) 594-8706.

Culver-Palms United Methodist Church presents excerpts from Handel’s “Messiah” at 8:20 p.m. and 10:20 p.m. Sunday. The Chancel Choir and Wesleyan Chamber Orchestra will perform under the direction of Binh Ton Vu. Organists Clare and George Burr will perform. 4464 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City (310) 390-7717.

The choir of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Westwood presents a concert of Christmas music at 4 p.m. James Vail conducts works by Bach, Langlais, Pinkham and Harold Darke, as well as traditional carol arrangements. Handicap access is available. 580 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. (310) 208-6516.

Lake Avenue Congregational Church presents festive worship at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. with chamber orchestra, choir and soloists. “Christmas in Our Hearts and Voices,” a production of music, dramatic vignettes and carols, will be presented at 6 p.m. The church is at the Lake Avenue exit of the Foothill Freeway in Pasadena. (818) 795-7221.

Community United Methodist Church in Huntington Beach will hold worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. with a sermon by the Rev. David G. Rogne titled “One Who Was There: Joseph.” John Rutter’s “Gloria” will be presented at both services. Sunday school and infant care are available. A children’s Christmas pageant will be given at 4:30 p.m. 6662 Heil Ave., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-4461.

CHRISTMAS WEEK

The Native American Ministry Project of the Presbytery of the Pacific will host special Christmas services and fellowship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lakewood Christ Presbyterian Church, 5225 Hayter Ave., Lakewood. A potluck meal will follow. Bring a salad or dessert to share. For information, phone (310) 670-5076 or (310) 643-5793.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, organist Stan Kann will present a Christmas concert from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Founder’s Church of Religious Science. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Rev. Dorothy Love-Sweeney will lead a Christmas candle-lighting service. 3281 W. 6th St., Los Angeles. (213) 388-9733.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Hollywood will present a Christmas Eve Concert on Thursday at 11 p.m. Eugene Castillo will conduct Part I of Handel’s “Messiah,” with Christoph Bull as organist and the Collegium Musicum Choir. 6657 Sunset Blvd. (213) 463-7471.

St. James Episcopal Church will celebrate with the singing of carols from many traditions, followed by the midnight Christmas Mass. Haydn’s “Missa Brevis” will be performed by the choir, soloists and a chamber orchestra. 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-3417.

The Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes celebrates with three candlelight carol services: at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. The Rev. Harvey Tafel and the Rev. Carl Yenetchi will officiate.

All three services will include the reading of the Christmas story and carols, will end with worshipers singing “Silent Night” as they light candles. 5755 Palos Verdes Dr. South, Rancho Palos Verdes. (310) 377-1650.

St. Andrew Independent Anglican Church in Los Alamitos holds Christmas Eve services with Communion at 6 p.m., with a sermon by the Right Rev. Robert E. Halliwell II, bishop and rector of the church. A second Communion service will be held at 11 p.m., with a sermon by the Right Rev. James Baladad. 4005 Katella Ave. (213) 594-8706.

CHRISTMAS DAY

More than 200 Swedish-Americans from the Greater Los Angeles area are expected to attend the 106th consecutive Julotta, a Swedish Christmas service, at 5:45 a.m. at Angelica Lutheran Church in Los Angeles. Swedish hymns will be sung and a greeting from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will be read by a representative of the Swedish consul general. 1345 S. Burlington Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 382-6378.

Christmas Day worship at Brookins Community African Methodist Episcopal Church will consist of a one-hour service at 10 a.m., with dinner following. The address is 4831 Gramercy Place, Los Angeles. (213) 296-5610.

St. James Episcopal Church will celebrate Christmas with a feast of music. At 10:30 a.m. Christmas Day, the church will celebrate with a Medieval and Renaissance theme. Music includes a plainsong setting of the Ordinary portions the Mass and Christmas festival music from the 12th through the 16th centuries. 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-3417.

HANUKKAH

A Hanukkah Lights and Action Rally will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Westwood Federal Building by Concerned Citizens Against Death Camps, a grass-roots coalition of Muslims, Christians and Jews opposed to ethnic violence in Bosnia. The program will begin with music from Bosnia and include remarks by Maher Hatout of the Islamic Center of Southern California, Rabbi Joel Rembaum of Temple Beth Am and Aida Homolic, a Bosnian student from Cal State Northridge. The Federal Building is at Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue.

Several thousand traditional Jews from Vancouver to Phoenix will celebrate the last three nights of Hanukkah at the West Coast convention of the Orthodox Union, Dec. 24-27 at the Beverly Hills Ramada Inn.

Three women and eight men will speak on contemporary issues such as “Why Being Single Happens to Good People” and “A Traditional Analysis of Procreation and Artificial Insemination.” For information, phone (213) 933-9166.

Chabad of the Valley will light a 25-foot menorah in the center court of the Sherman Oaks Galleria at 5 p.m. Sunday. The program will feature a concert, dancing and Hanukkah gifts. For information, phone (818) 784-9985.

Please address notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. To receive consideration, an item must be brief and arrive at least three weeks prior to the event announced.