MORMON FUNERAL: The Salt Lake City funeral...

MORMON FUNERAL: The Salt Lake City funeral for Ezra Taft Benson, the worldwide president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who died Monday at 94, will be broadcast live to local Mormon Church centers today, starting at 9 a.m. PDT.

The funeral proceedings will be transmitted via the church’s own satellite system to stake, or regional, centers in Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Glendale, Granada Hills, Westlake Village, Santa Clarita, Van Nuys and North Hollywood, among other locations.

An estimated 35,000 Mormons live in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, according to church officials.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: Most of the the 13 branch churches of Christian Science in the San Fernando Valley area will hold special services Monday night.

The services, on the same day as the annual meeting of the Mother Church in Boston, will mark 100 years since church founder Mary Baker Eddy designated the Bible and her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” as the “dual pastors” of the worldwide movement.

The Church of Christ, Scientist, the denomination’s official name, has no professional clergy.

Branch churches in the Valley area include two each in Burbank and the Glendale area, and one each in Reseda, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Encino, Studio City, Canoga Park, North Hollywood, Van Nuys and Santa Clarita.

CATHOLIC SEMINARY: Father Dick Martini, rector of the Queen of Angels High School Seminary in Mission Hills since 1991, has been assigned to the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese’s vocations office and will become its director next year.

Martini, who has been with the seminary for six years, will succeed Father Joseph Shea in July, 1995, as director of the vocations office, which recruits men and women as priests, sisters and brothers.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony also named Father James M. Anguiano as Martini’s successor at the high school seminary. Anguiano, who joined the Queen of Angels seminary faculty two years ago, “has a superb vision of what priestly formation should entail,” Mahony said in a statement.

INTERFAITH COUNCIL: The Rev. Allyn Axelton, campus minister at Cal State Northridge, is expected to be elected Wednesday to a second year as president of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council at the organization’s annual meeting in Granada Hills.

The council’s executive committee will present an operating budget for 1994-95 of $221,500, not including government contracts for social services. That is down more than $40,000 from last year’s budget.

“The biggest drop was in fund raising,” said a council representative at its Chatsworth office. “We postponed our annual human relations awards dinner this spring because of the earthquake and most of our fund-raising efforts have gone toward earthquake recovery.”

The 8 p.m. business meeting at the Episcopal Church of St. Andrew and St. Charles, 16651 Rinaldi St., will be preceded by a performance by the San Fernando Valley Male Chorus.

CHORAL CONCERT: The Santa Clarita Singers and Symphony, directed by Kenneth Knight, and 9-year-old violinist Howard Zhang will be featured Sunday in a choral concert at St. Clare Catholic Church, 19606 Calla Way, Canyon Country.

Choirs from the host church and St. Francis de Sales in Sherman Oaks as well as the Wagner Ensemble will also perform in the program, which begins at 4 p.m. Admission is $7.50.

For information, call (805) 259-4761.

SCROLLS LECTURE: Rabbi James L. Kaufman will speak on “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Threat to Christianity” 10 a.m. Wednesday as a part of Temple Beth Hillel’s forum series.

Kaufman is rabbi of the Reform synagogue, located at 12326 Riverside Drive, Valley Village.

For information, call (818) 763-9148.

News and announcements for this column may be sent to Religion Desk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311.