OneHeart, a nonprofit group that teaches Christian...

OneHeart, a nonprofit group that teaches Christian meditation and contemplative prayer, will hold its first large-scale Creating Inner Peace Seminar from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 11 at Morningside Presbyterian Church in Fullerton.

The growing ecumenical organization helps participants start small midweek prayer groups intended to supplement the worship and social service that churches provide.

The Rev. Ken Kaisch, an Episcopal priest and licensed psychologist, founded the group in 1986. He was inspired by such contemporary theologians as Father Thomas Keating, Father Lawrence Freeman, Henry Nouwen and Father George Maloney, whom he calls “God-touched elders--people who have experienced the divine.”

Kaisch has practiced ancient techniques of Christian meditation for 25 years. “Most people don’t realize,” he said, that “there is a whole family of spiritual disciplines--meditative techniques--that were developed within Christendom over the past two millennia.”

He says this type of religious practice is nevertheless growing steadily in the United States because of “a deep hunger to know God directly.” His Fullerton-based organization has chapters in Pasadena and Santa Ana. It has taught the basic practice to more than 600 people, and Kaisch thinks it has the potential to grow into a church-endorsed national movement much as Marriage Encounter has done. His book, “Finding God: A Handbook of Christian Meditation,” was published last year by Paulist Press.

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“Why meditate?” he asked rhetorically. “Why spend time learning to do something that our culture sees as foolish? Our society values doing, so why not just work for the poor, set wrongs right, and so on?”

The answer, Kaisch, said, is “because it brings you into a much more direct experience of the divine. For a practiced meditator,” he said, “it is the difference between reading that someone you’ve never met loves you and sitting in your father’s lap feeling his warmth as he holds you and rocks you. You feel it.

“And when people come to know that God is with them and they’re loved, their behaviors change for the better.”

Next month’s Seminar will include other spiritual teachers:

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Father George Maloney, a Jesuit of the Russian Byzantine rite who has taught at Fordham University and written more than 50 books, will teach the Jesus Prayer, the preeminent spiritual practice of Eastern Christians.

Norvene Vest, a Benedictine oblate who has written books and led spiritual retreats in several countries, will teach the ancient Benedictine practice of lectio divina , a process of reading and prayer.

Father Gregory Elmer, a Benedictine monk who for two decades has lead contemplative-prayer retreats, will teach the spiritual methods of St. John of the Cross.

Reservations are required. For information about the seminar, contact OneHeart by phone, (714) 966-0124, or fax, (909) 982-6722.

DATES

* A new carillon will be dedicated at Westwood United Methodist Church after 10:30 a.m. worship Sunday. Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” will be played about 11:45 a.m. 10497 Wilshire Blvd. (310) 474-4511.

* Kehillat Ma’Arav/The Westside Congregation and the Arab-Jewish speakers bureau of the American Jewish Committee present Don Bustany and Arthur Stern discussing “Prospects for Peace in the Middle East: An Arab-Jewish Dialogue” during a 7:15 p.m. Shabbat dinner at the synagogue. The discussion follows 6:15 p.m. services. Reservations are $18, with discounts for synagogue members and children; reservations must be received by Tuesday. (310) 829-0566.

* The St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, of New York, will give two local performances. The first is at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Sacred Heart Chapel of Loyola Marymount University; the second is at 8 p.m. Tuesday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 504 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills. For ticket information, phone Loyola Marymount at (310) 338-5136 or All Saints’ Parish at (310) 275-2910.

* ACLU Executive Director Ramona Ripston delivers the Ernest D. Pipes Jr. lecture at Unitarian Community Church in Santa Monica at 8 p.m. Friday. The title is “Equal Justice Under Law?” Admission is $5. 1260 18th St. (310) 829-5436.

* The South Coast Ecumenical Council will hold its 42nd Annual Assembly from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Long Beach. Bishop Joseph M. Sartoris, auxiliary bishop to the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, San Pedro Pastoral Region, will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are $11, and include dinner. For reservations, phone (310) 595-0268.

HONORS

* Five Angelenos received the 1995 Cardinal’s Awards on Feb. 3 from Cardinal Roger Mahony. The awards are given for demonstrating and promoting Catholic values and for their leadership, initiative and active participation in archdiocesan activities. They are: Stephen D. Gavin, a real estate developer and member of St. Brendan’s Parish in Los Angeles; Gloria N. Griffin, a community activist who founded Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Northridge; Ivan J. Houston, an insurance executive who belongs to St. Anastasia’s Parish in Los Angeles; William (Bill) Huston, an industrialist who attends St. Bede the Venerable Parish in La Canada Flintridge, and Gertrude M. Roberts, a senior citizens advocate who is a member of St. Charles Parish in North Hollywood.

* Jackie Hall and the Monty Hall family--Monty and Marilyn Hall, their son and daughter-in-law Richard Hall and Wendy Tokuda, their daughter and son-in-law Sharon Hall and Todd Kessler, and their daughter Joanna Gleason--received awards last month for volunteerism and community service from Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.

* Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in La Canada Flintridge held a Mass Sunday in honor of the Golden Jubilee of Sister Mary Hilary, its director of resident students, with the Dominican order.

* Rabbi Janet R. Marder of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations has been elected president of the Pacific Assn. of Reform Rabbis. Rabbi Martin Lawson of Temple Emanu-El in San Diego is first vice president. Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark of Temple Beth Ohr in La Mirada is the executive vice president.

* Cantor Herschel Fox of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino was recently inducted as an honorary fellow in the Cantors Institute by the Cantors Assembly of the Conservative movement of Judaism.

* Village Lutheran Church of Westwood bade farewell to its pastor, the Rev. Arthur L. Henry, who has decided to go into industrial chaplaincy work. Henry, who has worked in the field of chaplaincy in both law enforcement and hospitals, has also been a researcher at the Huntington Library for more than 40 years, publishing translations and studies of Martin Luther and other figures of the Reformation. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and a former trustee of the School of Theology at Claremont.

BRIEFLY

* The Jewish Feminist Center of the American Jewish Congress offers classes and one-day seminars by scholars and theologians. For information, phone (213) 651-4601.

* “Positively Spiritual,” a support group for people with AIDS/HIV, meets the first and third Thursdays of each month in West Hollywood, sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles. (213) 460-2911.

* The Native American Ministry Project of the Presbyterian Church offers a worship service and potluck meal at different locations the second and fourth Sundays of each month. (310) 670-5076.

* New Hope Lifestyles Institute in Santa Barbara is an ecumenical center providing education on addiction recovery and spirituality. For details, phone (805) 563-9969.

* Two new exhibits have opened at My Jewish Discovery Place Children’s Museum. “People Helping People” is a hands-on exhibit about working to help others, saving lives and visiting the sick. “A Spectrum of Jewish Experience” focuses on the common experiences of children around the world. For further information about the museum, phone (213) 857-0036.

Southern California File welcomes submissions by mail c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053, or by fax to (213) 237-4712. Items must be brief and arrive at least three weeks in advance of the event announced. Please include a phone number, date, time and full address.