Sixty new Latino ministers with training in...

Sixty new Latino ministers with training in urban problems will hold masters’ degrees from Azusa Pacific University by 1998, thanks to a $349,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The funding has enabled the university to establish graduate programs in which Latino theology students at non-academic Bible institutes can round out their studies with accredited courses in urban and pastoral studies and religion at Azusa Pacific, which is a Christian liberal arts institution.

Most of the grant money will go toward scholarships. About a third will pay the cost of holding classes at off-campus locations and installing computerized library access there.

“The goal is to train these pastors in the highest tradition of biblical, historical and theological discipline and then help them become skilled in practical ministry by appreciating their culture and developing empathy for the cultural norms of others,” said the Rev. Jesse Miranda, associate dean of urban and multicultural concerns. The program is an important one, he added, because it is aimed at creating community leaders, not just preachers.

“There is a need to train Hispanic church leaders in urbanology, church growth and leadership. Because of our urban ministry and community-focused classes, we expect that some of our graduates will go into church-based and grass-roots organizations,” said Miranda, who is also national director for the Latino districts of the Assembly of God.

He notes that the fastest-growing evangelical churches in the United States are Latino and Korean-American. But in 1990, only 2.5% of all students at accredited theological seminaries in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico were Latino. Worse yet, he says, their numbers have grown by only 0.2% since 1972.

To launch the program, Miranda has been working in conjunction with the Latin-American Bible Institute of La Puente, whose students were offered the first opportunity to enroll at Azusa Pacific. Now, 20 graduate students from the institute are studying at the university. The grant will fund 20 graduate students each year for two more years. The university is hoping to find additional grant money to offer scholarships to 20 undergraduates a year.

Miranda said the Pew trusts selected Azusa Pacific because of its sensitivity to cultural diversity. Recognizing the need for multicultural development, Azusa Pacific’s Haggard School of Theology mounted a special program two years ago for African-Americans, funded by the Lily Foundation. A bilingual curriculum has been available to Korean-Americans for four years.

In addition, Azusa Pacific has opened an office and classrooms in downtown Los Angeles to conduct classes and seminars in conjunction with World Impact, a Christian organization that runs private inner-city schools and programs. The university, east of Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, plans to expand the classrooms to an urban campus that would provide opportunities for inner-city students, as well as service internships for students on the Azusa campus.

“L.A. needs to be rebuilt and this is our response,” Miranda said. “The church should create models the society itself is searching for.”

HONORS

The Rev. Dumas Alexander Harshaw, Jr., senior pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Los Angeles, has been named to the Board of International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches in the United States of America based in Valley Forge, Pa.

Beginning in March, Harshaw will serve as area director for Africa, coordinating the work of American Baptist missionaries, relief workers and other personnel assigned to Zaire, Rwanda, South Africa, Liberia and Somalia. In addition, he will serve as an adjunct professor of theology at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will present five Southern California residents with the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s Cardinal’s Award at 7 p.m. Friday at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Honorees are Alphonse Antczak, editor of the archdiocese’s newspaper, Tidings; Charles F. Bannan, president of Pacific Western Foundation, the charitable arm of Western Gear Corp.; Father Newman C. Eberhardt, a 50-year faculty member at St. John’s Seminary; Peggy Ferry, a charter member of St. Bede’s Parish in La Canada Flintridge, and Anne Kenney, a member of Good Shepherd Parish in Beverly Hills.

Tickets are $250. Proceeds will benefit Hope in Youth, an interdenominational anti-gang project, and the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer for priests. (213) 251-3215.

DATES

Virginia Greenwald of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy in Sacramento will conduct a seminar, “You, the Church, the Government,” at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, at First Lutheran Church of Glendale. Admission is free. 1300 E. Colorado St. (818) 240-9000.

Mission San Luis Rey Retreat in North San Diego County, a Franciscan center, will offer a women’s retreat on Friday through Sunday focusing on the “wholeness of spirituality” and featuring worship, discussion, conferences and relaxation. The fee is $77, $47 for commuters. For information or registration, phone (619) 757-3659.

Michelle Morris, director of the House of Yahweh, will discuss “Systemic Poverty in the South Bay” at the South Bay Ecumenical Cluster’s annual gathering, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church of Gardena, 1957 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. Tickets are $4. For reservations, phone (310) 595-0268.

United Gospel Church will host a Super Bowl outreach from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Visitors will watch the football game on television and, at halftime, view a 12-minute video, “The Tom Landry Halftime Report.” Landry, a former Dallas Cowboys head coach, will talk about his faith and introduce several professional football players who will do likewise. United Gospel Outreach Community Center, 7229 S. Main St., Los Angeles. (213) 758-1213.

Earth Trust Foundation will present Dominican nun and eco-theologian Sister Miriam MacGillis on “Dreaming the Sacred Community” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at First Christian Church, 609 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica. A $10 donation is requested. She will hold a seminar the next day at Earth Trust House in Malibu, 20178 Rockport Way. A $95 donation is requested. For more information, phone (310) 456-3534.

CELEBRATIONS

Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills recently celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Society of Mary, the order of Catholic brothers that runs the school. Founded in France in 1912 by William Joseph Chaminade, the order started a four-year boys’ school in Cheviot Hills in 1952. Today there are nine Marianist Brothers at the Chaminade school, which has grown to a seven-year coeducational institution with two campuses in the San Fernando Valley.

University Synagogue of Irvine will celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shvat at 6 p.m. Friday with a potluck dairy dinner and service focusing on love of nature and the need to preserve it. Children are welcome for the food, singing and fun. Admission is free. 4915 Alton Parkway. For further information, call (714) 553-3535.

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 before the event.