Wide Range of Easter Services Offered

Hundreds of thousands of local Catholics and Protestants--whether devout or nominally religious--are expected to attend Easter Sunday services that retell the New Testament story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, in his Easter message, urged that just as Gospel accounts told of “rolling back the stone” to reveal an empty tomb, Christians should roll back certain figurative stones that block their hearts, including:

* Pride focused on self-interests.

* “Lack of understanding and forgiveness.”

* “Our rush to judge, and even condemn, others.”

* “Allowing the values of society and culture, (as expressed in) movies, television and radio talk shows, to have a greater influence in our lives than hope and trust.”

Early worshipers attend traditional sunrise services at several Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks, or high atop Mt. McGroarty in Sunland-Tujunga and at what may be the oldest outdoor dawn rites in Southern California--the Red Rock Canyon sunrise service started 90 years ago north of Mojave.

For a third year, however, the Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service has been shut out of the bowl because of renovations. The service, starting at 6 a.m., will be held instead at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood, 1749 N. La Brea Ave. The Rev. Paul E. Sago, associate pastor of Burbank First United Methodist Church, will preach at a nondenominational service in which the musical director is pianist-organist Bob Ralston of the old Lawrence Welk TV show.

Some outdoor sunrise services are using drama instead of sermons this year, such as a monologue by “the disciple Peter” at the Mt. Rubidoux service in Riverside. The annual sunrise service at Vasquez Rocks near Agua Dulce, for the third year, will dramatize the Easter story starting at 5 a.m.

Among those delivering sermons at Forest Lawn services are the Rev. Robert Edgar, president of the Claremont School of Theology, at Forest Lawn-Covina Hills; the Rev. Lawrence Witherspoon, Azusa Pacific University campus ministries director, at Forest Lawn-Cypress; and David Augsberger, professor of pastoral theology at Fuller Seminary, at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills. All the services begin at 6 a.m.

Untold numbers of churches will hold outdoor sunrise services, including one at 6 a.m. at the ocean view Malibu Presbyterian Church. At 6:30 a.m. in the Garden Grove Festival Amphitheatre, the First Baptist and First United Methodist churches of that city will hold a joint service.

Two African American churches will celebrate Easter at the Los Angeles Convention Center in a 9 a.m. combined service and a 5 p.m. concert of gospel music. The service will feature Bishops Kenneth C. Ulmer of Inglewood’s Faithful Central Missionary Baptist Church and Noel Jones of the Greater Bethany Community Church in South-Central Los Angeles.

The concert will feature the music of the Clark Sisters, the Williams Bros. and Men of Standard, among others. ABC TV actors Kellie Shanygne Williams of “Family Matters” and Blair Underwood of “High Incident” will serve as emcees. Ticket prices are $10 to $25.

Christian recording artist Crystal Lewis will sing in a 20-minute prelude before the start of the 10:30 a.m. Easter service under a circus-type tent on the grounds of Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.

Pianist Roger Williams, Australia tenor Ron Stevens and 18-year-old soloist Mandie Pinto of Northridge will join the Rev. Robert Schuller in Easter services at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and noon at Garden Grove’s Crystal Cathedral.

PEOPLE

*

Citing family needs, the Rev. Brandon Cho will soon leave the Chatsworth-based district superintendent post in the United Methodist Church to take a pastorate in Simi Valley. Cho was the first Asian American minister to head the district, which extends from the San Fernando Valley to Santa Barbara.

His departure, planned for July 1, set in motion two other appointments by Methodist Bishop Roy I. Sano. The Rev. David Richardson, who until last year had been pastor of Northridge United Methodist, will return to the Valley as district superintendent after holding that post in Orange County. Replacing Richardson will be the Rev. Cheol H. Kwak. Most recently at Redondo Beach First United Methodist, Kwak holds advanced degrees from Claremont School of Theology and is the son of a bishop in the Methodist Church in South Korea.

DATES

*

A Catholic parish in Rancho Palos Verdes will hold its 12th annual blessing of the animals at noon today. Last year, St. John Fisher Catholic Church, 5448 Crest Road, blessed more than 200 animals--hamsters, turtles, parrots and rabbits, in addition to the many dogs and cats--in a Catholic tradition traced back to the 4th century. (310) 377-5571.

* Dr. Maher Hathout, a physician who is senior advisor to the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Rabbi Jim Kaufman of Temple Beth Hillel, 12326 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood, will speak at that synagogue April 9 on “Separation of Church and State: Vital for Religious Minorities.” Hathout will discuss Muslim theocracies abroad and Kaufman will assess the disadvantaged position of Reform Judaism in Israel. The program is sponsored by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (818) 998-5414.

* Charismatic Catholics of the San Bernardino Diocese will hear Bishop Sam Jacobs of Alexandria, La., and other speakers during a two-day, annual crusade that will meet at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, starting next Saturday. (909) 824-6897.

FINALLY

*

Lamenting that half of American Jews marry outside their faith and nearly four out of six Jews are religiously unaffiliated, the National Jewish Outreach Program says more than 400 U.S. synagogues of all denominations will hold a Shabbat service and dinner Friday as a relearning experience.

“We want to show American Jews that Shabbat--and Judaism--is more than chicken soup and gefilte fish,” said Reform Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels of Beth Shir Sholom of Santa Monica.

Months in the planning, the New York-based outreach group “Shabbat Across America” recruited synagogues in Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox branches to join the campaign--no small feat in light of the recent declaration by the Orthodox Union of American Rabbis that Reform and Conservative Judaism do not validly represent the religion.

Among Southern California Orthodox synagogues scheduled to take part were Young Israel of Beverly Hills, Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine, Congregation Lubavitch in Long Beach, Chabad of Northridge and Calabasas Shul of Calabasas.

CONFERENCE

How different faiths seek the meaning of life will be explored by 30 experts next week at a free, three-day conference at Chapman University in Orange, led by three scholars known for their breadth in comparative religion.

Huston Smith, featured last year in a PBS television series with Bill Moyers, will open the conference with a plenary address at 7 p.m. Thursday. John Hick, a British religious philosopher who taught in recent years at the Claremont Graduate School, will speak on “The Religious Meaning of Life” at 7:30 p.m. Friday. UC Santa Barbara’s Ninian Smart will give the capstone talk at 4:15 p.m. next Saturday.

Workshops will cover Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and yoga, as well as “Eros and Meaning in Life and Religion” by Joseph Runzo, professor of philosophy and religion at Chapman University.

Scholars taking part are from 15 universities in California, elsewhere in the United States and abroad. All events will be in Argyros Forum on campus. (714) 997-6608.

Notices may be mailed to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or faxed to Religion desk (818) 772-3385. Items should arrive about 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.