“As goes L.A., so goes the nation,”...

“As goes L.A., so goes the nation,” said Deborah Holder, coordinator of the Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community. “And as go the progressive L.A. churches, so will go religious humanism and liberal Christianity across the continent.”

That is why Unitarian Universalist social justice organizations across the United States and Canada have chosen Los Angeles as the site next week of their annual convocation, entitled “The Shape of Justice: Spiritual Roots of Our Commitment.”

“L.A. is a real testing ground for progressives’ commitment to the inner city,” said Holder, who is also director of the Boston City Hospital Food Pantry. “This convocation is open and should be meaningful to anyone whose religious principles call them to work for justice.”

Los Angeles was chosen not only because of last year’s civil unrest, Holder said, but also because it is the most populous city in the most influential state in the country.

The keynote address and opening dinner will be held at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel and all other sessions will take place at the First Unitarian Church in the Mid-Wilshire area.

Describing First Unitarian Church as “historically one of the most radical pulpits in California,” Holder said the Los Angeles congregation “is creatively struggling to remain integrated with and relevant to the people in its immediate neighborhood.”

Noting that most Unitarian churches are in Anglo, suburban areas, the Rev. Linnea Pearson, First Unitarian’s senior minister, said: “Our church is in the center of multicultural Los Angeles. Our neighborhood is largely Latin- and Asian-American and our part of the city has the most serious kinds of economic problems. Our hope is that by coming from around the nation to get direct experiential contact, Unitarians will return to their communities with more understanding.”

Pearson will be one of two dozen speakers at the conference. Included are Mary Nichols, senior staff attorney for the National Resources Defense Council; Hazel Henderson, a futurist and specialist in alternative economies, and William R. Jones, author of “The Grid of Oppression” and chairman of the African-American studies department at Florida State University.

The convocation will be held at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel, 3515 Wilshire Blvd., and First Unitarian Church, 2936 W. 8th St., Thursday through noon Sunday. Tickets for single day registration or single event admission may be purchased at the door. Reservations for the dinner Thursday must be made by Monday. For information, phone (213) 389-1356.

DATES

All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena will hold a fund-raising auction at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Proceeds from a live and silent auction benefit the church’s Sanctuary for Children and the All Saints Children’s Center. Admission is $30. 132 N. Euclid Ave. (213) 851-3722.

Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, a primarily lesbian and gay church open to all people, will hold a Taize Festival from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Named for the simple, peaceful worship style developed by an ecumenical community in the village of Taize, France, in the 1940s, the festival features music and meditative worship. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of 23 books, including “Are You Running With Me, Jesus?” Taize worship is held on the third Sunday of ach month. Admission is free. 5879 Washington Blvd., Culver City. (213) 464-4100 or (213) 9300-1600.

The permanent exhibit of the Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust is on display at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and shorter hours Fridays and Sundays at the Jewish Community Building, 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission is free. (213) 852-1234, ext. 3200.

SPEAKERS

Yael Dayan, author and member of Israel’s Knesset, and Mustafa Barghouthis, chairman of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees and a Palestinian delegate to the multilateral negotiations coordinating delegation, will speak at the Jewish Community Building at 8 a.m. Friday. Admission is free. 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 852-7730.

Bible scholars Scott S. Bartchy and K.C. Hansen will speak on recent historical and archeological findings confirming the Christian faith at a one-day program entitled “Walk Through the Bible” at the Church of the Valley in Van Nuys on Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The $5 admission includes lunch. Registration is requested. Church of the Valley, 6565 Vesper Ave., Van Nuys. (818) 760-4070.

The Rev. James Donahoe of Stephen Ministries speaks on “Grow Your Faith, Grow Your Church: A Caring Evangelism Workshop” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday at Glenkirk Presbyterian Church in Glendora. Admission is $45 excluding lunch, with group discounts available. 1700 E. Palopino. (818) 914-4833.

Esther Jungreis, founder of Hineni, a Jewish revival movement, speaks on anti-Semitism at 8 p.m. Monday at Congregation Bais Naftoli in Los Angeles. She is a survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The synagogue is at 221 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 656-5847.

MUSIC

A double choir will present a cappella antiphonal choral pieces at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Westwood. A $10 donation is suggested. 10750 Ohio Ave. (310) 474-1527.

Music of Bach and Poulenc is presented by St. Alban’s Choir and Orchestra conducted by James Vail at 4 p.m. Sunday. Suggested donation is $7, or $3 for seniors and students. 580 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. (310) 208-6516.

Marley’s Ghost, a multi-instrumental quartet, performs eclectic music--swing, vintage country-Western, delta blues, bluegrass, gospel and rural folk/rock--at 8 p.m. today at Pasadena’s Neighborhood Church. 301 N. Orange Grove Ave. (818) 303-7014.

PASSOVER

The eight-day Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown Monday, April 5. Here are some of the community Seders, or ritual dinners, that will be held in the Los Angeles area:

The Jewish Community Center will be the site of two community Seders, conducted at 6 p.m. Monday, April 5, by the Movable Minyan, and 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, by center board member Martin Neumann. Tickets range from $19 to free. (213) 938-2531, ext. 2228.

Congregation Kol Ami, which welcomes gay men and lesbians, holds its first Seder at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium. Tickets range from $20 to $7.50. (213) 893-2838.

The American Jewish Congress Feminist Center holds a Seder at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 8, “that integrates women’s experiences into our celebration of liberation.” It will be led by singer-composer Debbie Friedman and uses an original Haggadah, which participants may keep. The Seder will be at University Synagogue, 11960 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets are $36. (213) 651-4601.

Send notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif., 90053. Fax: (213) 237-4712. Items should be brief and arrive three weeks before the event.

Southern California File