As First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton rolls...

As First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton rolls up her sleeves in Washington, preparing to assemble a task force on health care, United Church of Christ leaders will be polishing their own health and human services proposal for the nation at a meeting in Anaheim.

The denomination’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries Board of Directors will meet for four days beginning Thursday to consider issues ranging from universal access to health care to affordable housing for the working poor and elderly.

The United Church meetings are scheduled as part of the larger Protestant Health and Human Services Assembly, which meets Feb. 12 to Feb. 17 at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers. The assembly’s conference will be attended by about 1,200 hospital and nursing-home administrators, chaplains and others.

“We need to create alternative models for health-care delivery, given that the values represented in the health-care system at large are not always consistent with those of religiously based and value-motivated health-care providers,” said the Rev. Bryan W. Sickbert, a United Church of Christ official and assembly board member. “The purpose of the assembly is to share state-of-the-art information and examine the way in which Christian providers can contribute to the national debate on health-care reform.”

Sickbert, executive director of the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, said his denomination affirms society’s responsibility to provide universal access to health services. It also believes that costs should be based on an individual’s ability to pay for service and that emotional and spiritual care should be “integrated into health care along with physical treatment.” He said this would include, for example, marriage and family counseling and 12-step programs for addicts.

The Rev. Robert Baylor, senior vice president of religion and health for Evangelical Health Systems, a United Church of Christ organization based in Chicago, said that his denomination is “promoting a plan close to the Clinton plan” that will encourage regional and private insurance plans and, for individuals not covered by employers, “some formula of public monies.” Baylor said the church will probably issue an official pronouncement after its July general synod meeting in St. Louis and use the document to influence public policy on health reform.

Along with universal access to health care, topics to be taken up at the United Church of Christ meetings will include how to find affordable housing for senior citizens and the working poor; how to select a nursing home; where the parent of a mentally ill adolescent can seek help; what to consider in an international or interracial adoption, and where a loved one with developmental disabilities should live.

For information about any of the organizations mentioned above, phone the Rev. Laverne R. Joseph at (310) 437-4330. On-site registration for the Protestant Health and Human Services Assembly is available. For information, phone John Hoban, assembly coordinator, at (513) 227-9494.

DATES

Brother Peter Zhou, imprisoned for 26 years in China, will speak about his experiences at St. Martin of Tours parish in Brentwood, 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Donations accepted. 11967 Sunset Blvd. (310) 476-7403.

Erwin Chemerinsky of the USC Law Center speaks on “The Jewish Contribution to Constitutional Law,” at 10 a.m. Sunday at Congregation Mogen David. Breakfast follows. $2 admission. 9717 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 556-5609.

Pastor John Wetzel offers an eight-week course, “Basic Christian Doctrines,” at First Lutheran Church of Glendale, Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Admission is free. 1300 E. Colorado St. (818) 240-9000.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas will be the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the School of Theology at Claremont’s Mudd Theater. Ridley-Thomas, an adjunct faculty member at the school, will be speaking on “The Ethos of Post-Upheaval Los Angeles.” He chairs the council’s ad hoc committee on recovery and revitalization formed after last year’s civil unrest. The school is located at College Avenue and Foothill Boulevard in Claremont. The lecture is free. (909) 626-3521.

“Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews” is the topic of an institute from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the University of Judaism. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of “Jewish Humor” and other books, will describe and illustrate the subject through discussion and cabaret-style performance. Tuition is $75, including lunch and materials. (310) 476-9777.

On Valentine’s Day, Sunday, Feb. 14, married couples will be invited to step forward during the 10:30 a.m. service at Culver-Palms Church to renew their vows. The sanctuary will be decorated for a grand wedding. 4464 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. (310) 390-7717.

Community Bible Church in Van Nuys kicks off a monthlong missionary project at 11 a.m. Sunday. Lazarus Mekhail, missionary to the Middle East, will speak. At 6 p.m. services, Chaplain Daniel Trigerous of Wayside Honor Ranch in Saugus is the guest speaker. 14339 Hamlin St. (818) 785-0575.

The local Lebanese-American Maronite community gathers Sunday to celebrate the annual feast of St. Maron. Celebrations begin with an 11 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Mount Lebanon Church and continue at a luncheon banquet at the Downtown Hilton, where more than 500 Maronites and their friends are expected. The church is located at 333 S. San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles. Phone (310) 870-4440 or (310) 541-9394.

OPPORTUNITY

Catholic Big Brothers is looking for volunteers to befriend the 168 fatherless children ages 7 to 14 in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County who have requested Big Brothers. The organization also serves hearing-impaired children ages 6 to 18 in the largest program of its kind in the nation. For information, phone (213) 251-9800(V/TDD).

The Italian Catholic Federation is offering scholarships to Italian-American students who will be enrolling as college freshmen. Grants of $350 will be given to qualified students who will graduate this year from public or private high schools in California, Nevada and Illinois. Additional scholarships will be awarded to second-, third- and fourth-year students. Criteria include scholastic achievement, activities demonstrating character and leadership, and financial need. Applications must be received by March 15. Contact the Scholarship Committee, Italian Catholic Federation, P.O. Box 640449, San Francisco, Calif. 94164-0449.

Please address notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif., 90053. Items should be brief and arrive three weeks before the event.