HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL: Seventeen churches in the Burbank...

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL: Seventeen churches in the Burbank area--from Catholic and mainline Protestant to Pentecostal, evangelical, Mormon and Religious Science--are co-sponsoring with two Jewish temples a Holocaust memorial service on Tuesday night.

The eighth Annual Days of Remembrance observance “reminds Americans that nations are capable of evil when bigotry, hatred and indifference dominate national policy, as was the case in Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler,” said Sylvia Sutton of the Burbank Human Relations Council, organizer of the event.

Ministers, priests and rabbis from sponsoring congregations will participate in the program, which features a candle-lighting ceremony and recitation of the kaddish, the Jewish mourner’s prayer. Two survivors of Nazi concentration camps and a former serviceman who helped liberate the Dachau camp will speak.

The program, which has no admission charge, will be held at Calvary Bible Church, 1101 S. Main St., Burbank, and will begin at 7:45 p.m. A reception will follow. For more information, call Sutton at (818) 842-3935.

JEWISH SYMPHONY: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony will perform at 7:30 p.m. on April 30 at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino.

Under the direction of conductor Noreen Green, the orchestra will feature Shony Alex Braun’s “Symphony of the Holocaust” with the composer as solo violinist and the American premiere of William Hilsley’s cantata “Seasons.”

Tickets range from $10 to $36. For more information, call (818) 753-6681.

MORE SHOAH: Author-teacher Zev Garber, who has written extensively on the Holocaust, also called the Shoah, will lead a three-hour seminar on the topic April 30at the University of Judaism in Sepulveda Pass. To register for the Department of Continuing Education class, which will cost $10, call (310) 476-9777.

At Temple B’nai Hayim in Sherman Oaks, the Conservative synagogue will observe Yom Hashoa (Holocaust Remembrance Day) during its 8 p.m. Friday service with guest speaker Don Craig, a Congregational Church of the Chimes member who is writing a screenplay based on a Holocaust tale of rescue. The temple is at 4302 Van Nuys Blvd.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: Clergy of Armenian and non-Armenian churches will take part in an ecumenical service Sunday night in Glendale in memory of Armenian victims of genocide in Turkey.

The service will start at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church, 500 S. Central Ave. Later that day, a public rally featuring political and civic leaders will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

REDEDICATE SANCTUARY: The 50-member Congregational Church of Chatsworth will rededicate its sanctuary in a special service at 4 p.m. Sunday.

The Northridge earthquake caused what turned out to be $115,000 in damage, but the small congregation received financial aid for repairs from its parent denomination, the United Church of Christ, and from individual donors and the evangelical relief organization World Vision.

The church, at 20440 Lassen St., also houses the West Valley FISH food pantry network and a preschool.

ISLAM & JUDAISM: A five-week class titled “A Jewish Appreciation of Islam” will be taught by Rabbi Mordecai Finley starting Monday night in North Hollywood.

“Islam has systems of law and spirituality which are remarkably similar to those of Judaism,” said Finley, who is a rabbi with Makom Ohr Shalom, a Woodland Hills-based synagogue that focuses on Jewish traditions of meditation and spirituality.

“This is not a course on Sufi mysticism, though we will touch on that,” he said. The course will be taught on successive Mondays at 7:30 p.m. at Adat Ari El, 12020 Burbank Blvd. The cost ranges from $36 to $50. For more information, call (818) 725-7600.

50 YEARS AGO: To mark its 50th anniversary, Trinity Community Presbyterian Church of North Hollywood will hold a two-day celebration, starting at 3 p.m. today with a show of pre-1960 cars and trucks and a 6 p.m. dinner. At 8 p.m., the Santa Clarita Valley Concert Band will play the music of Glenn Miller and other bands of the 1940s.

The 10 a.m. Sunday service at the church, at 11960 Victory Blvd., will be led by the Rev. Glen Thorp and previous pastors of the congregation.

FREE CONCERT: Jeff Fenholdt, former lead singer of Black Sabbath, will be featured in a free concert next Saturday night in San Fernando hosted by the San Fernando Valley Christian Fellowship. The 7:30 p.m. concert will be held at the Azteca Theater, 214 Maclay St. For information call Mike Stephens at (818) 898-2124 or (805) 298-9448.