Ten-hut! Churches around the South Bay have...

Ten-hut! Churches around the South Bay have amassed their “troops” for Operation Standdown 1993 next weekend at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach.

“ Standdown is a military term meaning to take a soldier from the field of battle to an area of safety and security to rest and rehabilitate from their wounds,” said Gus Hein, chairman of the event and a member of Belmont Heights United Methodist Church in Long Beach, one of the participating congregations.

Hein and other foot soldiers of charity hope that when the two-day wash-up, chow-down, bone-up operation is over, about 500 homeless veterans from Long Beach and nearby communities will be, if not at ease, at least more comfortable and better prepared to face the world than they were before.

“Homeless veterans expend a lot of time and energy going from place to place to place to access the various services they need,” Hein said. “Once a year we bring all the services needed for re-entry to society (to) one central location.”

The veterans--mostly men--camp out Friday to Sunday in a tent village at the stadium, where they are offered free food and showers and are given new underwear, clean used clothing, personal hygiene items, reading matter and writing supplies. Churches throughout the South Bay have been collecting these goods for the former GIs for weeks.

Besides the South Coast Ecumenical Council and its affiliated churches, 110 public and private agencies have teamed up for the standdown. Prominent among them are Long Beach Naval Hospital, Veterans Administration, United Auto Workers and Employment Development Department.

Volunteer health care personnel provide comprehensive medical, dental and eye examinations; HIV testing, and psychological counseling. Volunteer judges, public defenders and clerks from the city of Long Beach set up a legal courtroom and adjudicate misdemeanor cases--usually vagrancy and minor traffic infractions. In lieu of fines, the homeless vets usually receive sentences of community service.

In addition to legal help, the Employment Development Department offers employment counseling. Last year, Hein said, the department placed 53 veterans in jobs.

This is the third year Hein has staged a homeless standdown, modeling it after a San Diego event he heard about when serving as a congressional aide. The Long Beach version is unique, he said, because it is a cashless event; virtually all goods and services have been donated.

The organizer has no illusions about how much one weekend of food, shelter and camaraderie can accomplish. “If a person is physically and emotionally capable of entering society, Operation Standdown can be a cure. In most cases, the reality is we’re just cleaning them up and improving their life on the streets.”

Operation Standdown takes place June 25-27. The most needed items are new men’s underwear, T-shirts and tube socks. Additionally, soap, razors, deodorant, shaving cream, mouthwash, sunscreen and over-the-counter medications are requested. Pens, paperbacks (Bibles, technical books, Westerns and science fiction) are also appreciated. Churches or individuals who want to help may deliver supplies to the South Coast Ecumenical Council, 3326 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach, during business hours Monday through Friday. For information, phone (310) 559-8805.

DATES

* Orange County resident Sami Odeh, a Palestinian-American active in Arab-Jewish dialogue, will be the guest speaker at Sabbath services at University Synagogue in Irvine at 8 p.m. Friday. He will discuss his recent trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries with Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from the United States, sponsored by the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East. 4915 Alton Pkwy. (714) 553-3535.

* Bethlehem Temple Church will celebrate its 10th annual Teen Convention for inner-city youth and young adults Friday and Saturday, June 25-26, with a day of fellowship at Six Flags Magic Mountain on Thursday, June 24. Bishop Noel Jones of Longview, Tex., will speak on Saturday. For registration, phone (213) 742-0456 or (310) 794-3386.

* Jazz trumpeter, band leader and educator Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band will present a benefit concert for the Youth Ministry of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15. 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 730-8363.

* Congregation N’vay Shalom, a new synagogue, will hold Sabbath services at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 25, and a get-acquainted garden party at a private home at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 27. Rabbi Stephen Robbins, formerly of Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, has said that the synagogue will not be affiliated with a formal movement of Judaism and that its orientation will be “family-centered traditional/progressive, founded on spirituality.” For information, phone (310) 535-1617.

BRIEFLY

Students and guests from 36 nations attended Fuller Theological Seminary’s commencement ceremonies June 12. The seminary recently received a $75,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation and a $50,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations designated for upgrading and computerizing the school’s McAlister Library.

Bill Rosendahl of Century Cable Television will receive the St. Joseph Center’s humanitarian award for his efforts in communicating the plight of the homeless on his “Week in Review” talk show at a fund-raising dinner Saturday, June 26. The Venice-based agency will present its community service award to Joan Payden, president of Payden & Rygel. Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson will accept the center’s Hope Through Empowerment award on behalf of St. Monica’s Catholic parish in Santa Monica, which supports the center’s 10 programs for homeless and low-income families.

The new president of the 49,000-member Southern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is Bjarne Christensen. He replaces G. Charles Dart, who retired last month after seven years in office. . . . Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church welcomes former Pastor and Mrs. Jim Neergaard home on furlough with celebrations this weekend. . . . Marcia Liebert Cayne of Woodland Hills is the new president of the Assn. of Reform Zionists of America. . . . Nancy Bell was elected to a third term as president of the Westside Jewish Community Center.

Baylor University, the world’s largest Baptist university, has named Richard E. James of Westlake Village and Walter F. Beran of Venice to its Sesquicentennial Council of 150, which assists in long-range planning.

Father Gregory A. Cox has been named executive director of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, which serves more than 300,000 poor, needy and immigrant people each year.

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