Purchase of Church Headquarters Nears

The only major denomination of churches primarily serving gays and lesbians expects to close escrow Tuesday on its $3.8-million purchase of a building complex in West Hollywood for its first permanent headquarters.

The International Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, founded in 1968 in Huntington Park and long based in leased quarters in Hollywood, has raised the $1-million down payment and needs only $50,000 more for closing costs.

“We’re confident we will have that money by Tuesday,” said the Rev. David Farrell of San Diego, chairman of the fund-raising campaign, which also has nearly $200,000 in pledges.

Founder-Moderator Troy D. Perry said the purchase marked a historic moment for the 32,000-member denomination of nearly 300 churches in 18 countries.

“This new spiritual center will establish [us] as a major presence on the international religious scene,” Perry said. Though rebuffed in attempts to gain a seat on the National Council of Churches, the Metropolitan Community Churches belong to two state councils of churches and have observer status in the World Council of Churches.

The denomination will be headquartered in a five-story building and the Los Angeles “mother church,” which lost its last facility in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, will occupy an adjacent two-story structure. Both are in the 8700 block of Santa Monica Boulevard--”right in the heart of gay-friendly West Hollywood,” as Farrell put it.

Farrell, who retired in December after 20 years as a pastor, said that the denomination has become the largest single organization serving primarily gays and lesbians and their families. The churches “have honored our relationships, supported our families, visited our sick, and buried our loved ones with dignity and honor” as well as defended gay civil rights.

The church complex “will be a highly visible symbol of the maturity, stability, decency and permanence of the gay/lesbian community,” he said.

CONFERENCES

More than 4,000 people will attend Pepperdine University’s 53rd annual Bible Lectures on Tuesday evening through Friday at the Malibu campus. The 200 workshops feature speakers from Churches of Christ congregations and colleges around the country. Fred Gray of Tuskegee, Ala., an attorney who defended activist Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights protests of the 1960s, will lead a workshop 2 p.m. Wednesday on “post-[O.J.] Simpson America” at Lindhurst Theatre. Jeff Walling of Mission Viejo will give the keynote lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Firestone Fieldhouse. The sessions are free and open to the public. (310) 456-4270.

* State Supt. of Instruction Delaine Eastin, Episcopal priest George Regas and David Lehrer, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League, will be among the speakers 7 p.m. Monday at Temple Israel of Hollywood for a conference posing the question: “Is the Religious Right a Threat?” Their answer appears to be affirmative. Eastin will speak “on the Religious Right attack on public education both in California and nationwide,” says a temple newsletter. Former radio talk show host Joel Roberts “will offer ways to fight back.” Moderating the discussion will be Jeffrey Klein, editor in chief of Mother Jones magazine. (213) 876-8330.

* Episcopal Bishop Frederick Borsch will be among the speakers at the four-day conference, starting Thursday, of the Episcopal Society for Ministry on Aging at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. The Rev. John Law, a consultant on multicultural ministry, will give the keynote speech. For registration and information, call (818) 576-1032, Ext. 227.

DATES

Reflecting a “voluntary simplicity” movement in conjunction with Earth Week observances, a workshop titled “Teaching Young Children Free Thinking and Simple Living” will be held April 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at Unitarian Universalist Church of the Verdugo Hills, 4451 Dunsmore Ave., La Crescenta. No charge. (818) 247-4332.

* Film and television actor Clifton Powell will moderate a talk-show discussion between church youths (ages 12 and 18) and adults April 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at Brookins African Methodist Episcopal Church, 4831 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles. (213) 730-8348.

* Christian Navajo artist Elmer Yazzie will be the featured guest at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Spring Festival of the Arts, a six-day series of talks, exhibits and museum tours starting today. The place of art in worship will be discussed in a panel at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Payton Hall on the Pasadena campus. (818) 584-5682.

* To heighten awareness of Beit Din (Jewish courts), Yeshiva of Los Angeles, 9760 W. Pico Blvd., will offer free talks, starting at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, by Meir Tamari, director of the American Assn. of Jewish Business Ethics, speaking on why and when the courts should be used to resolve disputes, and Rabbi Avrohom Union, Rabbinic administrator of the Rabbinical Council of California Beit Din, talking about the Los Angeles Beit Din. (310) 553-4478, Ext. 285.

* The Christian rock group Petra will perform at 11:30 p.m. Friday at Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Hallelujah Jubilee night at the Valencia amusement park. General admission to the park is $32. (805) 255-4111.

* As part of its free, weekly music at noon concerts, Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 54 N. Oakland Ave., will present soprano Catherine Ireland on Wednesday from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. Listeners are invited to bring a brown bag lunch for the church patio concert or donate $3 for a sandwich buffet. (818) 793-2191.

* Salvation Army officers will dedicate the Salvation Army Weingart Youth Center, 5941 Hollywood Blvd., at 10:30 a.m. Friday with a reception and tour following the ceremony. Reservations are requested. (213) 960-0640.

* Frederick Swann, resident organist at Garden Grove’s Crystal Cathedral, will perform in recital 4 p.m. Sunday at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. Tickets are $11 and $6. (213) 385-1345.

MEMORIAL

Rabbis, ministers and priests from two synagogues and 17 churches in Burbank will remember the millions who died in the Holocaust at the city’s ninth annual Days of Remembrance service Tuesday night. Concentration camp survivors and liberators will tell their stories during the program, which will start at 7:45 p.m. at St. Finbar Catholic Church, 2010 W. Olive Ave. Co-sponsors include Religious Science, Mormon, Brethren, Unitarian Universalist and Evangelical Free Church representatives as well as Protestant and Catholic churches. The memorial serves “to remind Americans that nations are capable of evil when bigotry, hatred and indifference dominate national policy,” said Sylvia Sutton of the Burbank Human Relations Council. (818) 842-3935.

CLARIFICATION

The first public meeting of Christians for Biblical Equality’s Greater Los Angeles County chapter will take place today at 10 a.m. at Los Angeles First Nazarene Church.

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Notices may be sent by mail to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or by fax to Religion Editor (213) 237-4712. Items should arrive at least three weeks before the event, except for spot news, and should include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date and time.