The Christmas season brings unconventional, as well...

The Christmas season brings unconventional, as well as traditional, expressions of good will toward men.

For example, the pastor, congregants and friends of Crescent Heights United Methodist Church will go bar-hopping Dec. 24 to recruit participants for a 11:59 p.m. Christmas Eve service.

Located at the corner of Fairfax and Fountain avenues since 1914, Crescent Heights United Methodist is the last remaining mainline Protestant church in West Hollywood. The Rev. Tom Griffith, the church’s pastor since 1988, said, “Christmas is a very lonely time for a lot of people in this town.

“This is a community with a concentration of single people, some of whom are homosexual,” he said. “Often, they are far from their families, or even shunned by them.”

And so, for the sixth consecutive year, Griffith will lead a band of people down Santa Monica Boulevard, where bars and restaurants are open on Christmas Eve. “We go in and quickly pass out ‘complimentary tickets’ to our service and personally invite each person we meet. No one is pressured. If they want to come, they come. If they don’t, they don’t.”

The church also will host around-the-clock meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous from 3 p.m. Dec. 24, to 10 p.m. Christmas Day.

“Each year, at least one person tells me that the only reason he or she went to a bar that night was to avoid being home alone,” Griffith said. Last year, he said, 60 people came to worship at midnight--”a phenomenal turnout for West Hollywood.”

Anyone who would like to join the group in “bar-hopping” and at the midnight worship may come to the church at 7866 W. Fountain Ave., at 8:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Wear a warm jacket and comfortable walking shoes. For more information, phone (213) 656-5336.

* About a mile away from the church, at the Jewish Community Building, the Jewish Federation Council is organizing volunteers to help those who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day.

Community Volunteer Day is the brainchild of two organizations of the Jewish Federation--its community relations committee, which works with various ethnic communities, and Access, a program for Jewish adults between the ages of 25 and 40.

“Since Christmas is a national holiday, many Jews find themselves with an extra day off,” said event co-chairwoman Irene Weibel. “Rather than just go to the movies, we wanted a way to be involved in this national day of giving, by doing something productive for our city and fellow citizens.”

Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. Dec. 25, share a light breakfast and pick up their assignments--which will include delivering food to AIDS patients for Project Angel Food, painting and landscaping a retirement home and food pantry, and working on crafts projects with runaway teen-agers.

Everyone will return to headquarters by 2 p.m. for snacks and socializing. All volunteers will receive a two-for-one movie coupon from the Laemmle Theaters. Anyone is welcome to participate in Community Volunteer Day. Register for a job assignment by phoning (213) 683-3433 no later than Wednesday.

PERFORMANCES

* Handel’s “Messiah” ( Mesias, in Spanish) will be presented in a bicultural English-Spanish setting by the Southwest Consortium at 5 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church/ Iglesia Episcopal de la Trinidad in Los Angeles. A dinner of Latin American specialties follows the concert. Suggested donations are $8 for the concert, $6 for seniors and students, and $3.50 for the dinner. All proceeds go to the organ restoration and music fund of the church, 650 N. Berendo Street. (213) 660-1110.

* The Los Angeles International Church will sponsor a free musical production, “Christmas Splendor,” at the Olympic Auditorium, with a cast and crew composed mostly of people from Skid Row shelters and drug rehabilitation programs. The two-hour pageant will feature caroling, a light show, exotic animals and a singing “Christmas tree,” and end with a Nativity scene, complete with three kings riding live camels. Performances are at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, and at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets are available at no charge through Bethel Temple, 1250 Bellevue Ave., or by calling (213) 250-0118. The auditorium is located at 1801 Grand Ave., near Downtown.

* The Chancel Choir of Arcadia Congregational Church presents a free concert of Christmas anthems at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. Jolene Cadenbach will speak, and Christmas carols will be sung by all. 2607 S. Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia. (818) 447-8053.

* Palisades Lutheran Church holds caroling at the church at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Earlier that day, Holy Communion will be given at a traditional service at 9 a.m. and a contemporary service at 10:30 a.m. 15905 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 459-2358.

* A musical drama, “The Lord Is With You,” will be presented during Advent worship at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orange. Donations will be accepted. 185 S. Center St. (714) 288-4400.

* A Christmas concert of song, dance and drama, “The Joys of Christmas,” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. today and Sunday at Bel-Air Presbyterian Church. Traditional and contemporary choirs, handbells, dancers, brass ensembles and soloists will perform. Admission is free; donations accepted. 16221 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. (818) 788-4200.

DATES

* More than 40 tons of snow will create a “winter wonderland” at the Westside Jewish Community Center’s Snow Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. The event features slides, a snowman-building contest and refreshments. Warm clothing is advised; no snow equipment other than plastic saucers will be allowed. Admission is $5 per person, $4 for adults accompanied by a child. Validated parking will be available at adjacent Midway Hospital. The event will be canceled if it rains. 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 857-0036, Ext. 2202.

* Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church celebrates an appreciation service in honor of the Rev. H. B. Charles Jr. at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. Melvin V. Wade of Mt. Moriah Church will be the keynote speaker. 1800 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles. (213) 731-2169.

* The Orthodox Union West Coast Region holds its annual convention from Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 26, in Los Angeles. The theme will be “The Future of the Jewish Family,” with more than 30 lecture sessions and separate conferences for health care professionals, attorneys and educators. A concert honoring the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach will be headlined by singer Sam Glaser. For registration and information, phone (310) 777-0225, Ext. 3.