Hindu Temple to Hold Fire Ceremony

The first major Hindu fire ceremony to be celebrated in the San Fernando Valley will be held Sunday morning outside a Northridge temple as devotees gather around 108 fires.

An expected 800 Hindus will place sacred offerings into the fires on the grounds of the Valley Hindu Temple at 18700 Roscoe Blvd.

While performing more than 40 rituals in the ceremony, participants will recite the Gayatri Mantra, a special prayer for guidance of one’s mind in the right direction, organizers said.

The element of fire, yagna, “works as the messenger of prayers and delivers desires to the gods,” said Kevin Borad, president of the Chatsworth-based Vedmata Gayatri, which is organizing the three-hour event.

Practitioners believe the sound waves produced by the chanting encircle the sun’s atmosphere and bring back nourishing energy of the sun to the speaker within seconds, Borad said.

In 1993, a three-day mass Gaya Yagna was held in the South Bay. More than 1,000 fires were lit and more than 25,000 people attended, Borad said.

In Northridge, Borad will begin the event at 10 a.m. with an introduction, a song and explanations of the Gayatri Yagna. The rituals start at 10:30 a.m. and the fires will be lit at 11 a.m. Children will hear a presentation on Hinduism and karma. Group prayers and a lunch will conclude the event. (818) 407-8908.

HOLIDAY

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Southland Muslims will observe communal prayers at mosques and other locations Thursday at the start of Eid al-Adha, the second of two major Islamic holidays. Eid al-Adha comes as the annual pilgrimage is completed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. At least one pilgrimage, or Hajj, is required of Muslims during their lifetimes. Earlier this year, Muslims held mass prayers at Eid al-Fitr, which marked the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

ISSUES

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Welfare reform and its effects will be discussed at forums Sunday and Monday by Nancy Berlin of the Los Angeles Coalition for Welfare Reform.

On Sunday, at Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Democratic Assemblymen Wally Knox and Rod Wright of Los Angeles will join Berlin in the 10 a.m. program sponsored by the American Jewish Congress and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Cost: $8 (213) 651-4601.

The second program is at 7:30 p.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church of North Hollywood, 11640 Hesby St. Scott Anderson of Sacramento, executive director of the California Council of Churches, will also speak. The forum is sponsored by the Valley Interfaith Council. (818) 718-0734.

* End-of-life decisions will be discussed in a teleconference Friday at the Claremont School of Theology’s Mudd Theater. The topics include the roles of family, caregivers and clergy, as well as spiritual implications. On-site discussions at Claremont will be led by Kathleen Greider, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, and others. The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (909) 626-3521, Ext. 1-280.

* Three speakers will discuss the ethics of physician-assisted suicide at 8 p.m. Friday at Burbank Temple Emanu El, 1302 N. Glenoaks Blvd., in a program after the synagogue’s service. The speakers are: Dr. Bruce Schlecter, of the Hospice of the Pacific; David Esquith, manager of the medical social work department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Rabbi Ben Zion Bergman, professor of Rabbinic literature at the University of Judaism. (818) 845-1734.

DATES

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Rabbi Johanna Hershenson of Wilshire Boulevard Temple discusses Jewish traditions at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Wilshire Ward meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1209 S. Manhattan Place, in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles. (213) 383-7034.

* Biblical scholar Martin Hengel of Germany’s University of Tubingen lectures on the early stages of Christianity in two appearances at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Hengel will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the seminary’s Travis Auditorium and at 1 p.m. Thursday at Payton Hall, Room 101, with a panel discussion following. (818) 584-5300.

* Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., former members of the Fifth Dimension singing group and a married couple for 25 years, talk about their experiences Tuesday in Burbank at the monthly dinner meeting of the Catholic-oriented Entertainment Fellowship. The 2,000-member fellowship encourages industry professionals to improve moral standards in their business. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. dinner at Barone’s Italian Restaurant, 10123 Riverside Drive, are $20 for nonmembers at the door. (818) 909-0841.

* Ex-Southern Californian Elizabeth Clare Prophet, whose Montana-based Church Universal and Triumphant has roots in the religious concepts of the Theosophy movement, leads five-hour afternoon seminars next Saturday and April 20 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. Topics include reincarnation and guided meditation. Both seminars start at 1 p.m. Registration is $45. (406) 848-441.

* Pianist Michael Sellers, who regularly tours Europe and Asia, will perform the music of Chopin on Wednesday at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 54 N. Oakland Ave., during the church’s patio “Music at Noon” series from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. (818) 568-2608.

* KABC radio talk show host Dennis Prager and Catholic theologian Harry James Cargas join a round-table discussion at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. The panelists will discuss a book by spy catcher Simon Wiesenthal who told of an encounter with a dying Nazi SS officer who wanted to be forgiven for his sins. Larry B. Stammer, Times religion writer, moderates the panel. $5. (310) 553-9036.

* Joseph Tkach Jr., pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God, is the guest speaker 6 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church of Temple City, 6019 Baldwin Ave. Tkach will describe how he and much of his denomination have moved closer to evangelical Christianity. (818) 286-3125.

* Rabbi Uri Regev, director of the Israel Religious Action Center, talks about the proposed legislative action imperiling the legal status of Reform and Conservative Judaism in Israel at 10 a.m. Sunday in a lecture at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, 3663 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-2401.

FINALLY

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The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has a virtual branch office at the Chabad Russian Jewish Community Center and Synagogue in West Hollywood.

Starting again in May, INS officials will set up tables most weekdays at the center to interview and handle applications of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, a center spokeswoman said.

In nearly two years, about 15,00 Russian immigrants filed there for citizenship and about 2,000 have been naturalized, she said.

“Chabad is proud that it is able to work so closely with the INS,” said Rabbi Naftoli Estulin, who also leads Saturday morning Shabbat services at the synagogue, 7636 Santa Monica Blvd., for about 100 congregants. (213) 848-2999.

“These people are anxious to contribute to society without the barriers of immigrant status,” Estulin said.

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