Nearly two years after the Los Angeles...

Nearly two years after the Los Angeles riots, local religious leaders are still hard at work healing the wounds and treating their underlying causes.

The Interfaith Coalition to Heal L.A. will hold its Religious Leaders Summit II on Friday, at which more than 400 clergy and lay leaders of all faiths are expected to gather at a Mormon church in Los Angeles to compare notes and hear the advice of experts.

Addressing the conference will be children’s advocate Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, and cultural historian Kevin Starr, a professor in USC’s School of Urban and Regional Planning. The summit’s theme is ‘Future at Risk: Our Children, Our Families and Our Faith Communities.’

About 3,000 invitations to the summit were sent out by Harvey J. Fields, senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, who has headed the coalition since he founded it under the aegis of the Interreligious Council of Southern California when he served as that group’s president. The current president is the Rev. Vivian Ben Lima, chairman of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Fields is proud of the coalition’s progress.

“We’ve had a task force very successfully working with private and public schools on teaching about stereotypes, prejudice, self-respect, and tolerance of religious and ethnic differences,” he said. Interfaith covenant relationships between congregations, which is the province of another task force, have resulted in a joint voter-registration drive, painting, planting and refurbishing projects and many group dialogues, he said.

Fields is especially enthusiastic about task forces evaluating the ways that religious organizations can increase citywide volunteerism and examining the possibility of shared economic opportunity--making jobs and some business loans available that might not be obtainable from a bank.

“Because of the enormous flow of people to Southern California over the past 25 years, we have greater diversity than nearly any other place in America,” he said.

“Our greatest challenge is to tear down the walls that this city has, unfortunately, built separating one community from another,” he said. “And that requires cooperation and collaboration between the various religious institutions.”

The summit will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Wilshire Ward of the Los Angeles Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1209 S. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles. Advance registration is required. The fee, including lunch, is $15. For information, call the Interfaith Coalition to Heal L.A. at (213) 388-2401.

DATES

* The director of an academic study of the religious response to the Los Angeles riots, John B. Orr, will speak at a lecture and public forum at 1 p.m. Sunday at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Orr, a professor of social ethics at USC, is the director of the university’s School of Religion and the former dean of its School of Education. The study was funded by the John Randolph and Doro Haynes Foundation. The church address is 3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 389-3191.

* Catholics in Media, an organization of entertainment industry professionals, presents a “Day of Exploration, Meditation and Information” from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 17 at Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood. Registration is $5, including lunch. Reservations are required. (818) 907-2734.

* “Careful Observation of the Obvious” is the title of a series of vegetarian cooking classes with Zen monk Ed Brown, author of the Tassajara cookbooks, April 15-17. Presented by the Zen Center of Los Angeles, the classes in preparing everyday and gourmet foods in the style of San Francisco’s Greens restaurant may be taken separately or as a series. For a schedule and registration information, call (213) 387-2351.

* Eleven Protestant congregations, two Catholic parishes and two synagogues join forces to present the seventh annual interfaith Holocaust memorial observance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday under the sponsorship of the Burbank Human Relations Council. Bent Lerno, a liberator, survivor and resistance fighter, will speak about “The Miracle of Denmark: The Rescue of the Danish Jews From Annihilation.” First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Olive Ave., Burbank. Admission is free. (818) 842-3935.

* Former football star Roosevelt (Rosey) Grier--who was ordained as a minister by the nondenominational Crenshaw Christian Center--will speak about personal moral commitment at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Akiba in Culver City. Admission is free. 5249 S. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 398-5783.

* Father Edward Hays, the author of 15 books on contemporary spirituality and a director of “Shantivanam” (the Forest of Peace) weekend retreats, will conduct a retreat on the grounds of Mt. St. Mary’s College at 10:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 23-24. For complete information and registration, call Sister Thomas Bernard, the college’s director of the Program in the Spiritual Life. (213) 746-0450.

* The Jewish Historical Society will hold its annual meeting at 2 p.m. April 17. Andrew Rolle, psychoanalytic biographer, professor emeritus of history at Occidental College and a research scholar at the Huntington Library, will discuss “Two Explorers in the American West: Carvalho and Fremont.” Solomon Nunes Carvalho, the official photographer on an 1853 expedition led by Gen. John C. Fremont to map out a transcontinental rail route. Afterward, he came to Los Angeles, where he initiated the establishment of Los Angeles’ first Jewish community organization and the city’s first social service agency. The society will meet in the Jewish Community Building, 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission is $7.50, $5 for members. (213) 653-7740.

* “Is There Life After Death?” is the subject of L.A. Shanti’s free monthly forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at West Hollywood Elementary School, 970 N. Hammond St. (213) 962-8197.

* “Moses,” a humorous, contemporary musical with an interfaith cast, will debut at 8 p.m. Friday at Brentwood Presbyterian Church. The play was written by the late Rev. Spencer Marsh, who was pastor of the church and a “spiritual guide” to the creators of the television series “All in the Family.” Jack Walker, the church’s music director, composed the music. Performances will also be held at 8 p.m. April 16, and 2:30 p.m. April 17. Admission is $10. 12000 San Vicente Blvd. (310) 826-5656.

* All former members of the Mary Magdalene Missionary Baptist Church Choir are invited to participate in a reunion musical April 24. For rehearsal dates and further details, phone (213) 753-2012.

* Pianist Richard Henger, president of the Rachmaninoff Society of Germany, plays music by Rachmaninoff at 4 p.m. Sunday at Hollywood Lutheran Church. Admission is $10. 1733 N. New Hampshire Ave., Hollywood. (213) 666-0146.

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 in advance of the event announced. Include a phone number, date, time and full address.