“Jesus did not want innocent children to...

“Jesus did not want innocent children to die,” says the Rev. Craig Hays, assistant pastor of the Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles and one of three prominent clergymen who will speak at the Black Infant Health Summit in Los Angeles this week. “We are concerned and worried.”

What worries Hays is the high rate of infant mortality and disease among African-Americans in Southern California. At the summit, a daylong conference Friday at the Airport Westin Hotel, Hays and his colleagues will examine ways religious organizations can contribute to a community-wide effort to combat infant mortality.

Sitting with him on a panel of community representatives will be Rabbi Harvey J. Fields, senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and Father Fisher Robinson, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony’s liaison to the African-American Community. The conference is being convened by the county Department of Health Services and Great Beginnings for Black Babies, an education and media campaign administered by the maternal and child health office of the department and launched in 1990 as one of 16 black-infant health projects funded by the California Department of Health.

Jeanne Taylor of Great Beginnings said her organization’s purpose is to encourage pregnant women to seek early and continuous prenatal care. “There is a new emphasis in this country on health, especially prevention,” she said, “and the community has to work together. We can’t rely only on government. In the African-American community, the church historically has been an important social institution and even functioned as an extended family. That’s why it’s important to involve the religious community in this summit,” she stated.

Fields, who heads the Interreligious Council of Southern California and the Interfaith Coalition to Heal Los Angeles and is a member of the Black-Jewish Clergy Alliance of Los Angeles, will discuss the possibility of establishing interdenominational and multicultural coalitions to address infant health problems among African-Americans.

Robinson sees infant death as just one component of a larger crisis that includes poverty, a high student dropout rate, lack of moral values and por self esteem.

“The church . . . must educate people to challenge our civic leaders and agencies. If a community is not knowledgeable, they don’t know what to ask for and will accept whatever is given,” he said.

“Our kids today are smart in so many other ways,” he continued, “but we need to teach them to be community and socially minded--and that they have worth and there is a future for them.

“I see this,” he emphasized, “as a civil responsibility, a religious responsibility, a professional responsibility, and a community and national responsibility.”

Other conference speakers include Gayle Wilson, the wife of the governor; Molly J. Coye, director of the state Health Services Department, and Reed V. Tuckson, president of the Charles Drew University of Science and Medicine in Willowbrook.

Taylor expects physicians, nurses, health-care professionals and concerned citizens to attend the summit. Registration is $45 in advance, $50 at the door. The cost includes a continental breakfast, lunch and a manual. For information, phone (213) 295-9993.

DATES

* The oldest Episcopal church in Southern California--Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel--received its seed money from Wells Fargo stagecoach in 1867. The historic church will celebrate its 125th anniversary June 5-6 with a pioneer barbecue, festival worship services and a marriage vow renewal ceremony for couples married at the church--followed by a gala wedding reception. Sunday services begin at 9 a.m., led by retired Suffragen Bishop Oliver B. Garver, at 535 W. Roses Road. For a complete schedule of festivities, phone (818) 282-5147.

* Ted Hayes, an advocate for the homeless, will speak on African-American and Jewish unity at 8 p.m. Friday at Creative Arts Temple services, to be held at Hollywood Temple Beth El, 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 656-6685.

* The Zen Center of Los Angeles will hold a Christian and Buddhist retreat June 10-13, led by Father Robert Jinsen Kennedy, a Jesuit priest and professor of theology and Japanese language at St. Peter’s College in New Jersey. For information, phone the center at (213) 387-2351.

* A financial counseling workshop will be sponsored by the All Saints Parish in Beverly Hills from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 5. Gary Moore will explore Biblical principles and Christian views of money and finances and the application of these principles to daily life. Moore says the seminar is “designed for anyone who wants to control the place money plays in their lives or wants to conquer the power it holds on them.” A $5 donation is requested for lunch. Reservations are recommended. 504 N. Camden Drive. (310) 275-0123.

* Disabled Jews are invited to a free party at 1 p.m. June 6, at the Jewish Community Building. Representatives of Jewish social service organizations will discuss services, activities and upcoming events. Transportation and sign-language interpreting are available upon request. 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations or information, phone (213) 852-7706.

* Orthodox People Together will hold a Greek festival next weekend at St. Nectarios Church Grounds, 20340 Covina Blvd., Covina. For details, phone (818) 967-5524.

* “From Addiction to Recovery: A Jewish Response” will be the topic of discussion from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 6 at Leo Baeck Temple in Bel-Air. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, author of “Twelve Steps to Jewish Recovery,” is keynote speaker. Admission is $18 per person, $36 per family. 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (213) 653-9962.

BRIEFLY

Auxiliary Bishop Juan A. Arzube, who heads the San Gabriel pastoral region, will present his resignation to Pope John Paul II on Tuesday, Arzube’s 75th birthday. He intends to continue working in pastoral ministries locally and elsewhere.

The Los Angeles office of the 65-year-old National Conference of Christians and Jews has announced that the national organization is changing its name to “The National Conference.”

The Rev. Tom Wolf, pastor of the Church on Brady in East Los Angeles since 1969, has been named professor of missions at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley. . . . The Rev. Jeff H. Utter was installed as pastor of the Congregational Church of Chatsworth on Sunday. . . . The Rev. Ellen R. Hill was installed as the fourth rector of St. Michael and All Angels’ Episcopal Church in Studio City on May 16. . . . The Los Angeles-based Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches has appointed the Rev. Kittredge Cherry national ecumenical officer.

Jewish community leaders Dick and Lois Gunther will receive the New Israel Fund’s Justice Award at a June 6 dinner at which Israeli Knesset member Avram Burg will speak. Temple Israel of Hollywood will bid farewell at Friday evening services to Assistant Rabbi Daniel J. Swartz, who is headed for Washington, D.C., to direct the congregational relations department of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School Class of 1943 will hold its 50th reunion June 12. Phone (215) 446-3530 or (215) 789-0827 for details.

Notices may be sent to Southern California File by mail c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053, or by fax to (213) 237-4712. Items must be brief and arrive at least three weeks in advance of the event announced. Include a phone number, date, time and full address.