When the Lutheran AIDS Network heard that...

When the Lutheran AIDS Network heard that the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition was planning a four-day conference in Southern California in February, about the same time it had hoped to hold one, the organizations joined forces.

The result of this interdenominational cooperation is “Hope and Healing: The Church in the Second Decade of AIDS,” which is expected to draw nearly 300 participants from several countries to Santa Monica beginning Thursday.

According to the conference coordinator, the Rev. Thad Bennett, “Hope and Healing” is more than an alliterative title. “It is part of what the church can offer,” he said, “by looking at the crisis from a spiritual point of view rather than simply a hard-core medical one.”

This is not to say, Bennett hastens to add, that AIDS education will be ignored at the conference. The Centers for Disease Control are sending representatives to present the federal agency’s new campaign promoting condoms. And Warren (Buck) Buckingham, an assistant to White House AIDS Policy Coordinator Kristine M. Gebbie, will deliver a keynote address.

Nevertheless, Bennett, an Episcopal priest, adds: “The questions we as a church ask go beyond ‘Do we keep you alive or do you die?’ They include: ‘Is there spiritual healing in your life?’

“We know that if you are in a spiritually restful place, your physical healing is better. Part of spiritual restfulness is being in a proper relationship with God and your neighbor.”

Workshops are aimed at helping churches that want to start or expand AIDS ministries by teaching them about successful ones. “Churches should know that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel in order to help their communities,” Bennett said.

Speakers include the Rev. Malcolm Boyd, an Episcopal priest, author and activist, and Olga Morales Aguirie, founder of the Mujeres (Women with AIDS) Project in San Antonio. Co-chairing the event are the Revs. William McCord Thigpen and Carmen Guerrero.

Also in attendance will be the Rt. Rev. Frederick Borsch, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Yona Okoth, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, and Bishops Robert Miller of the Pacifica Synod and J. Roger Anderson of the Southern California West Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Asked the reason for his personal involvement in the AIDS conference, Bennett responded: “The bottom line for me, because I’m a Christian, is that we are called to offer God’s love in the midst of a crisis where so many are considered unlovable.

“What has happened for me,” he said, “is that I have learned more about the Gospel and God’s love doing this work than I ever did in the seminary.”

The conference will begin at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and run until the following Sunday morning at the Sheraton Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. Some separate Episcopal and Lutheran sessions will be held next Saturday. Registration is $250. For information, phone (213) 975-1274.

DATES

Please phone to confirm the date and location of all events.

* First United Methodist Church introduces a new, informal worship service, with a theme of “Help for Living in the ‘90s,” at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. Contemporary music will be featured. Fellowship time follows. Free parking available. These “Crossroads” services will be led by the Rev. DarEll T. Weist, with music leaders Jovita E. Castro and J. Lincoln Castillo. 1010 S. Flower St., Los Angeles. (213) 749-0212.

* American Jewish Congress Feminist Center director Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell speaks about the book of Exodus at the Movable Minyan’s sabbath services, 10 a.m. next Saturday at the Westside Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles. A dairy potluck follows. Child care provided. 5870 W. Olympic Blvd. (310) 285-3317.

* Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, which ministers primarily to the gay and lesbian community, offers a bereavement support group at 7 p.m. Mondays in Culver City. One need not be a member to participate, but a short orientation interview is required before joining. For information, phone (213) 930-1600.

* “Essential Steps to Wholeness,” a lecture by Obadiah Harris, will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. The lecture will deal with maintaining peace of mind during crises. Donations accepted. 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard. (213) 663-2167.

PEOPLE

* The Richard Cain Chair in Theology and Ecclesiology was formally established at the School of Theology at Claremont on Tuesday. It honors the school’s former president, who was a delegate to the World Methodist Council, superintendent of the Los Angeles District of the United Methodist Church and a founder of an active Urban Ministries program at the college. Jack Verheyden has been named the first Cain professor of theology and ecclesiology.

* Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will present the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese’s 1994 Cardinal’s Award to four Southlanders on Friday at a benefit dinner. The honorees are William H. Hannon of Redondo Beach, a real estate developer and philanthropist; appellate Judge Mildred L. Lillie, who has been active in civic and charitable organizations; Kenneth O. Olsen, who began as an apprentice meat cutter during the Depression and went on to become president and chief executive officer of Vons markets, and Grace Rinaldi, a community activist and the first national vice regent of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. (213) 251-2636.

* The Pacific Assn. of Reform Rabbis this month elected Rabbi Janet Marder of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations first vice president; Rabbi Martin Lawson of Temple Emanu-El, San Diego, second vice president; and Rabbi James Kaufman of Temple Beth Hillel, North Hollywood, treasurer. Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark of Temple Beth Ohr in La Mirada is executive vice president.

PERFORMANCES

* OneontaCongregational Church hosts a benefit concert for its Music Guild at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Pasadena City College Chorale & Chamber Singers, conducted by Donald Brinegar, will perform. $5 suggested donation. 1515 Garfield Ave., South Pasadena. (818) 445-4192.

* “Nit Gedeiget (Cheer Up)” is the title of a 3 p.m. concert Sunday showcasing the talents of pianists, singers, dancers and poets, all of whom are recent Russian Jewish emigres to Los Angeles. Admission is $9, with discounts to members of the Westside Jewish Community Center, where the event is to be held. 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 938-2531, Ext. 2252.