In an effort to foster understanding and...

In an effort to foster understanding and respect for Asian Pacific culture within Christianity, the office of Religious Education of the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese is sponsoring its first Asian Pacific Conference for Evangelization.

The conference, held today from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., is open to the public and will feature the Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and Tongan communities. It will showcase their traditions, music, rituals, arts, practices and folklore.

“This will serve as a venue for dialogue and action among the different cultures,” said Irma I. Isip, conference coordinator. “The main emphasis is the relationship between faith and culture. Very few Christians see that the (Christian) message can be expressed in different images in the Asian Pacific cultures. People think we must pray in the Roman tradition, and if we express ourselves in our own way, we are seen as pagan.”

Beginning Monday, the archdiocese will sponsor a five-day workshop that will focus on a different culture each day: Filipino, Japanese, Korean or Chinese. Speakers will discuss the origins of each culture, its history, and how colonization affected the people and their rights, values, images and sacred traditions.

“We will discuss the relationship of God and the people of the particular culture,” Isip said. “It is about finding the Christian God even in Asian Pacific spirituality. We also need to recover and rediscover our own cultures.”

Isip said about 300 people have registered for today’s conference at Loyola Marymount University. But she said this is only a first step in understanding and uniting different cultures throughout Los Angeles and the world.

“Only when we understand and respect the cultures can we start the dialogue between Anglos, blacks, Hispanics--we all have certain differences which we need to understand and respect. We are asking people . .for one day to try to understand us as we are trying to understand American society and culture every day.”

Today’s conference costs $20 and includes lunch. Loyola will offer one unit of continuing education credit for attendance. The five-day workshop costs $100. Both will be held at the Loyola campus, Loyola Boulevard and West 80th Street in Los Angeles. Information: (213) 251-2669.

DATES

* “The Fiction of Conflict--Arabs and Israelis View Each Other and Themselves Through the Eyes of Novelists and Short Story Writers” is the topic to be discussed by author and professor Howard Kaplan at 8 p.m. Friday at University Synagogue. Kaplan is an adjunct associate professor of comparative Arabic and Israeli literature at UCLA and author of three nonfiction books about terrorism and about Soviet and Syrian Jewry. 11960 Sunset Blvd. (310) 472-1255.

* Faith United Methodist Church is organizing a South-Central Los Angeles chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Inc. The first meeting will be at 7 p.m. Friday. The organization is a support, education and advocacy group that works to change relationships between parents and families of gay and lesbian children. The South-Central chapter will focus on concerns of the African-American community. 1713 W. 108th St., Los Angeles. (213) 759-7418.

* Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assn. and Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., will be the featured speaker Sunday at Loveland Church at the 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. services. Roberts, who hosts a weekly television program, “Miracles Now,” and has produced numerous Christian albums, will discuss a special scholarship fund for minorities at the university. Loveland’s senior pastor, Chuck Singleton, serves on the university’s board of directors. Loveland Church meets at Etiwanda High School, 13500 Victoria Ave., Rancho Cucamonga. (909) 899-0777.

* Dr. Marvin Meyer, associate professor of religion at Chapman University and author of “The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus,” will speak on “The Gospel of Thomas: A New Look at Early Christianity,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Lenart Auditorium in Fowler Museum at UCLA. An author’s signing party and reception will follow.

The Gospel of Thomas was deleted from the New Testament more than 1,500 years ago, scholars say. It was discovered in 1945 in Upper Egypt, and experts say it contains many of the original sayings of Jesus. Meyer, who has written a number of books on early Christianity, worked on the definitive English translation of these texts and has spent several seasons excavating at the archeological site near Nag Hammadi in Egypt where the texts were found.

Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens. (818) 762-5500.

HONORS

* Dr. Emil Jacoby has received a city proclamation from Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky for his lifetime of commitment to Jewish education in Los Angeles. Jacoby retired after 11 years as executive director of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Jacoby was active in educating and aiding Jews in post-Nazi Europe. He received degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, and he taught at the University of Judaism for 20 years. Last year he received Israel’s Shazar Prize for outstanding contribution to the advancement of Jewish education in the United States.

* The School of Theology at Claremont has established the Mildred M. Hutchinson Chair in Urban Ministries--its first endowed chair named for a woman. Hutchinson, 99, is a longtime community activist and former president of United Methodist Women. She was the first woman to receive the Bishop Gerald Kennedy award for layperson of the year in 1972. Hutchinson was also the organizer and first president of the Los Angeles Interfaith Hunger Coalition.

OUTREACH

* St. Ambrose Parish’s Right of Christian Initiation for Adults program will offer free classes beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for those who are interested in joining or learning about the Catholic Church. 1281 N. Fairfax Ave. (213) 655-4433.

* “People in Paul’s Life” is the topic of this summer’s sermons at Immanuel Presbyterian Church by interim Pastor John R. Bodo, who has published two volumes of sketches of biblical characters. 3300 Wilshire Blvd. (213) 389-3191.

* Rabbi Arnold Rachlis will lead an informal introduction to Reconstructionist Judaism and University Synagogue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home in Orange County. The gathering will provide an opportunity to learn about the newest movement in Judaism and to meet members of the synagogue. Call (714) 553-3535 for location.

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.