DATES

* Catholics in Media Associates sponsors its second annual Day of Reflection and Prayer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday at the St. Monica’s Parish in Santa Monica. “How ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ is being Produced, Pondered and Lived” is the theme of discussions and other activities. Television executive Ralph Sariego, Father Ken Deasy of St. Monica’s and the Rev. John Butler are among the speakers. Admission is $7, including lunch. For reservations and information, phone (818) 907-2734.

* Can an Orthodox Jew and a secular Jew be friends? Filmmaker David Brandes and psychologist Rabbi Levi Meier host a screening and discussion of Brandes’ feature film, “The Quarrel,” about the reunion of two close friends after the Holocaust, at 7 p.m. Sunday at the University of Judaism. $15 (310) 476-9777, extension 246.

* All Saints Church in Pasadena holds its biennial Festival of Life this weekend. Open to the community, the festival includes guest speakers, workshops, music and lunch. Presenters include the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, former Yale chaplain and pastor of Riverside Church in New York City; the Rev. Carter Heyward, a feminist theologian and author; Peter Sellars, director of the Los Angeles Festival and theatrical and opera director; author Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, and the Rt. Rev. Chester Talton, Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles. 132 N. Euclid Ave. For registration information, phone (818) 796-1172.

* “Imagine That: Ways to Nourish Imagination and Awaken Spirit” is the subject of a talk by Culver Nelson at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Philosophical Research Society. Nelson, who holds a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion, will conduct a workshop, “Jesus Parables and the Human Imagination,” at the same location from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for the talk, $10 for the workshop. 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 663-2167.

* March 31 is the deadline to register for a contest of Bible knowledge. A panel of Christian and Jewish scholars will examine candidates on their knowledge of the Book of Deuteronomy, the Book of Esther and the Book of Ruth. First prize is $500. The contest will begin at 7 p.m. on May 21 at Temple Beth Shalom of Long Beach. For registration information, phone Rabbi Leo Abrami at (310) 426-6413.

* Father Leo Booth, vicar of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Hawthorne, will celebrate a Recovery Spirituality Eucharist Mass at 7 p.m. Sunday (and on the last Sunday of every month); 4679 W. El Segundo Blvd. (310) 676-8873.

* Yeshiva of Los Angeles, in conjunction with the Jerusalem College of Technology, the Orthodox Union and the Cardozo Society of the Jewish National Fund, will host a Jewish Business and Legal Ethics Seminar from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 5 in Los Angeles. Author Meir Tamari, former chief economist of the Bank of Israel, will discuss ethics in the marketplace. Rabbi Nachum Sauer, head of the yeshiva and an authority on Jewish law, will speak on “Jewish Law and the Approach to Business Development: Head Hunting and Client Stealing.” Attorney David Herkovitz will take up “The Ethical Challenges of Bankruptcy: Personal, Corporate and Orange County.” Credit in continuing legal education is available. For registration information, phone (310) 273-5777.

* Hyemeyohsts Storm, author of “Seven Arrows” and its new sequel “Lightningbolt,” will read from his work and teach at the Agape International Center of Truth at 2 p.m. Sunday. The books are spiritual autobiographies that explore the ancient teachings of native peoples. Admission is $15. 1904 Centinela Ave., West Los Angeles. For reservations, phone (310) 829-2780.

* Ethiopian Jewry activist Avraham Negosa will be the guest speaker at Sabbath eve services at 8 p.m. Friday at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills. He will discuss the current plight of Ethiopian Jews. 8844 Burton Way. (310) 288-3742.

PERFORMANCES

* Concert pianist and lecturer Nancy Fierro presents the life and music of the 12th-Century composer and abbess Hildegard of Bingen from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday at the Church in Ocean Park in Santa Monica. Using slides from the period and musical selections, Fierro, who teaches at Mount St. Mary’s College, recreates the life and times of Hildegard. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 235 Hill St. (310) 399-1631.

* Welsh Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles will celebrate St. David’s Day with a “Prynhawn Llawen” (happy afternoon) concert at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Donations accepted. 1153 Valencia St. (213) 465-1381.

* An interfaith choral festival--featuring the choirs of First A.M.E. Church, Temple Makom Ohr Shalom, St. Emydius Church, the Southern California Korean Catholic Choir and Temple Isaiah--will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Temple Isaiah, 10345 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission is $5. (310) 277-2772.

* West Angeles Christian Fine Arts Center presents a Gospel Comedy Night at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, featuring Granville Emerson, Faye Griffin, Robert Lee, Jo Ann Quarles and Don Williams. Tickets are $10, $12.50 and $15. 3020 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 735-8286.

* A “Cantorial Spectacular” concert at 2 p.m. March 6 will honor Cantor Yehuda Keller for his 50 years in the cantorate. The concert will benefit his congregation of 20 years, Temple Beth Zion-Sinai in Lakewood. Joining Keller will be the University of Judaism Choir and cantors from around Southern California, including Meir Finklestein, David Silverstein, Chayim Frenkel, Jeremy Lipton, Laurie Rimland Bonn, Linda Rich Freed, Marvin Finnley, Glen Gelman, Linda Ecker, Lisa Sharlin and Debbie Bard. Tickets, $7.50 and up, must be reserved in advance. (310) 429-0715.

HONORS

* Lou and Irma Colen have received the Abraham Joshua Heschel Award for distinguished community service from the University of Judaism.

* Ronald R. Garet, an expert on the constitutional separation of church and state, has been named the Carolyn Craig Franklin Professor of Law and Religion at USC’s Law Center.

* Linda Zagzebski, a Loyola Marymount University philosophy professor, has been granted a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers. She will use the grant to complete her book, “The Virtues of the Mind: An Inquiry Into the Ethical Foundations of Knowledge.”

FUNDING

* California Lutheran University has announced the completion of funding for its first endowed Chair of Lutheran Confessional Theology, in memory of theologian Gerhard L. Belgum, who taught at the school and served as director of its Center for Theological Study. The fund will be used to bring a visiting Lutheran scholar in Reformation studies and confessional theology to campus. Krister Stendahl, Bishop Emeritus of Stockholm, Sweden, has been named the first Gerhard L. Belgum Memorial Lecturer. He will arrive at Cal Lutheran for the fall, 1996, semester.

* Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has received a $1-million gift from Blue Cross of California to support the uncompensated health care services the hospital provides to children. The grant is the largest to the hospital since it opened in 1933.

Southern California File welcomes submissions by mail c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 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.