QUAKE REMEMBRANCE: In a pre-dawn candlelight service...

QUAKE REMEMBRANCE: In a pre-dawn candlelight service open to the public, the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council will recall the devastating Northridge earthquake Tuesday near the site where 16 people died in the 6.7-magnitude temblor.

The service will begin at 4:15 a.m. at Northridge United Methodist Church, 9650 Reseda Blvd. A procession across the street to where the Northridge Meadows Apartments stood before demolition will culminate with a moment of silence at 4:31 a.m., the time that the earthquake hit. The group will then return to the church for readings, music and prayers.

Clergy participating will include the Revs. David Richardson and Soomee Kim of the host church, Rabbi Jerald Brown of Temple Ahavat Shalom of Granada Hills, Imam Jan Mohammad Diwan of the Islamic Center of Northridge, Father David Ullrich of St. Ferdinand Catholic Church in San Fernando and the Rev. Jeff Utter of the Congregational Church of Chatsworth.

QUAKE COPING: Therapist Mario De Salvo will talk about stresses accompanying the first anniversary of the Northridge earthquake at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 17400 Vanowen St., Van Nuys.

De Salvo, who has a marriage, family and child counseling practice in Encino, will also speak Jan. 24 at the church on the subject of emotional recovery from the quake. The Rev. Ann Tiemeyer, pastor of the host church, will end the series Jan. 31 with a lecture on “How Do We Talk to a God Who Shakes Our Earth?”

The series is free, funded by a grant from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

KING OBSERVANCES: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will be remembered in at least three Valley area observances next week:

* A 90-minute interfaith service will start at 7 p.m. Monday at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 10390 Remick Ave., Pacoima, with the Broadous family well-represented. The Rev. Arthur Broadous and the Pacoima Mass Choir will take part in the musical program, and speakers will include the Rev. William Broadous, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Fernando, and the Rev. Zedar Broadous, president of the San Fernando Valley branch of the NAACP. The service is the seventh annual observance organized by the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council.

* The second annual King Birthday celebration by the Santa Clarita Valley Interfaith Council at 7 p.m. Monday will feature a talk by the Rev. Albert Starr Jr. of Los Angeles’ Ascension Lutheran Church. The service will be at Santa Clarita United Methodist Church, 26640 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus. Information: Lutheran Pastor Mary Jensen at (805) 298-3890.

* A musical tribute to the late civil rights pioneer will be performed at 8 p.m. Wednesday by three choirs from Los Angeles’ First African Methodist Episcopal Church at the University of Judaism’s Gindi Auditorium, just off Mulholland Drive east of the San Diego Freeway. “An Evening of Gospel Music” will be under the direction of the Rev. Joe Westmoreland. Admission is $9. Information: (310) 476-9777, Ext. 335.

PASTOR RETIRES: The Rev. Richard J. Bower, 56, retiring as senior minister of the Congregational Church of the Chimes after 17 years, will lead his final service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Sherman Oaks church, 14115 Magnolia Blvd.

Under Bower’s ministry, the 300-member church has been active in support of the North Hollywood Food Pantry, Pioneer House AIDS Hospice, North Hollywood Homeless Shelter, Children of the Night and Meals on Wheels.

The pastor has also been a leader in the National Assn. of Congregational Christian Churches, serving as chairman of the association’s executive committee in 1977 and moderator in 1983.

JEWISH SPIRITUALITY: A short workshop and a continuing class on spirituality in the lives of Jewish women are being offered in the San Fernando Valley.

A free workshop, “Defining Our Spirituality,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the San Fernando Valley Alliance building, 6429 Independence Ave., Woodland Hills. More information is available from the sponsoring Jewish Business and Professional Women at (818) 587-3219.

An ongoing Jewish women’s spirituality group at Temple Beth Hillel, 12326 Riverside Drive, Valley Village, will begin its winter quarter Tuesday night under the direction of Rabbi Jane Litman. Information on the fee and schedule: (818) 763-9148.

ANTI-EVOLUTION SEMINAR: A two-day seminar by Creation Science Ministries will begin Friday night at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley.

The featured speaker is Keith Ham, author of “The Lie: Evolution” and host of a radio program, “Answers.” Ham’s Creation Science Ministries contends that “a false view of origins is at the foundation of many of the ills plaguing our society,” according to the Ambassador Advertising Agency, which syndicates the radio program.

Other speakers include Gary Parker, co-producer of the ministries’ new video series, “Answers in Genesis,” and physicist Russell Humphreys of the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Cost for the seminar is $35 per family, $25 for individuals and $10 for seniors and students. Information: (818) 725-3194.