Religion Briefs

Hanukkah Celebration Planned

* Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights and freedom, will be celebrated at Ventura’s Temple Beth Torah beginning Friday with a special Shabbat service, a holiday party and a children’s fair. All events are free and open to the public.

The evening will begin at 6:30 with a bring-your-own dinner in the social hall. At 7:30, Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller will lead a Hanukkah-themed family Shabbat service, which will be followed by a community lighting of nine-branch candle holders called Hanukkiot. The Women of Reform Judaism will provide dessert and beverages.

On Dec. 21, Temple Beth Torah will sponsor a Hanukkah fair geared for families with children 18 months to 12 years. The fair will feature games, crafts, music and a play.

Hanukkah commemorates an episode that took place in 168 B.C., when a group of Jews, the Maccabees, rose up against the Syrian-Greek rulers of Israel, who had forced many Jews to renounce their beliefs. Following a 25-year war, the Jews rededicated the temple in Jerusalem.

Temple Beth Torah is at 7620 Foothill Blvd. For information, call the temple office at 647-4181.

An Evening of Music and Desserts

* College United Methodist Church in Ventura will sponsor a dessert concert at 6:30 p.m. today. The $5 event will feature a choral group, band, solo performances and award-winning violinist Ondine Young, who will direct the concert. Carol singing and dessert will follow. The proceeds will benefit Project Understanding and College United Methodist Church’s ministry.

The church is at 4300 Telegraph Road, across from Ventura College. For information, call 642-3282.

Church Schedules Advent Services

* St. Paschal Baylon Church in Thousand Oaks will celebrate Advent Solemn Vespers at 7 p.m. today. The public is invited.

Continuing observance of the season, an Advent Penance celebration will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the church, with parish and neighboring parish priests available to hear confessions.

For information, call 496-0222. All the events are at the church at 155 E. Janss Road.

Handicapables Set Holiday Event

* Ventura County Handicapables will hold a special Christmas meeting today at Padre Serra Parish Hall, 5205 Upland Road, Camarillo.

Registration is at 11 a.m. followed by an optional Mass, lunch and entertainment. People of all faiths are welcome.

Transportation may be arranged. For information, call Catholic Charities at 643-4694 in Ventura or 486-2900 in Oxnard, or Ed Conway at 499-4437.

Hanukkah Workshop in Oxnard

* Congregation Am Hayam in Oxnard plans Hanukkah workshop for Sunday afternoon. Jewish family educator Nina Gelman-Gans will lead the free workshop, which will include a song session, self-produced play, mock candle-lighting and Hanukkah crafts and games. Hebrew, transliteration and English text will be provided. Doughnuts, the traditional Israeli Hanukkah treat, will be served.

Congregation Am Hayam is the only Conservative affiliated congregation between Thousand Oaks and San Luis Obispo. “We’re excited about getting people together to meet their Jewish neighbors,” said Rabbi Gerald Hanig. “We’re a small, growing congregation and we’re looking for innovative ways to serve the Jewish community.”

The free program will be held at the Oxnard Monday Club, 1401 W. Gonzales Road.

“This will be a wonderful learning experience for the entire family, from great-grandparents to toddlers,” said congregation President Mort Resnick.

For information, call 656-6634.

Prayer Time to Precede Worship

* Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, Oxnard’s St. Paul’s United Methodist Church will offer a 10 a.m. prayer time, followed by worship at 10:15. The Rev. Alan Gorsline’s sermon will be “Going Home.”

Church school for all ages begins at 9 a.m. At 2 p.m., the Japanese-language ministries worship will be led by the Rev. Haruyoshi Fujimoto.

The church is at 1800 S. C St. For information, call 487-2711.

Community Vespers Program

* Bardsdale United Methodist Church in Fillmore invites the public to an evening of music Sunday when the Bardsdale Chancel Choir offers a community vespers program. The choir will be joined by instrumentalists.

The music will be a selection of traditional carols and works ranging from Handel to plainsong. Vespers will feature vocal solos, organ, cello and guitar.

The Bardsdale church’s Christmas Choral Vespers is a 40-year musical tradition, Pastor Ed McRae said. The church is in the orange groves south of Fillmore on Bardsdale Avenue.

The free program begins at 6:45 p.m. For information, call 524-2070.

St. Anthony’s to Collect Blankets

* St. Anthony’s Church in Oxnard will hold a parish celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

It will also hold Blanket Sunday this weekend. New and near-new blankets may be brought to church for distribution to those in need. Blanket Sunday is a collaboration of all the Vincentian Family members: Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Daughters of Charity, Ladies of Charity, Vincentian Fathers and Brothers and Vincentian Service Corp.

The church is at 2511 South C St. For information, call Betty Kennedy at 486-0018.

Workshop Discusses Making Oil

* Chabad of the Conejo will sponsor an educational hands-on olive press workshop at four locations during December. The workshop will demonstrate how oil is made from olives. The story of Hanukkah, said Rabbi Yisroel Levine, is about the “miracle of the oil” and thus captures the imagination of children, placing them back in time.

On Monday, the workshop will be held at Temple Adat Elohim preschool and Temple Adat Elohim Hebrew School in Thousand Oaks. On Tuesday, workshops will be at the Temple Beth Haverim preschool in Agoura, the Hillcrest Royale Retirement in Thousand Oaks and Conejo Jewish Academy in Agoura Hills. On Wednesday and Thursday, olive press workshops will be held at various schools in Agoura.

For information about times, call (818) 991-0991.

Christmas Musical Program

* Calvary Chapel of Oxnard and Oxnard First Baptist Church will present a special Christmas musical event at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Wednesday.

The “Little Dickens Carolers,” the Covenant Players and Christian vocalist Sarah Masen are on the program, as are the combined church choirs, who will sing “The Hallelujah Chorus.”

Tickets for the 7 p.m. event are $7 each and available at both churches. For ticket information call Calvary Chapel at 485-0111 or First Baptist at 483-2205.

The Performing Arts Center Courtyard, at 800 Hobson Way, opens at 6 p.m., for those who wish to take a stroll in a setting reminiscent of London at the time of Charles Dickens.

Hanukkah Workshops Scheduled

* Two Hanukkah workshops remain in a series of events planned by Temple Beth Haverim, based in Agoura Hills.

The first will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Sharene Johnson will teach the history, modern meanings, music and Talmudic origins of the winter holiday.

On Thursday, Rabbi Gary Johnson will lead an 8 p.m. discussion of the “December dilemma,” on the customs, meaning and relevance of Hanukkah.

The workshops will be held at the temple, 5126 Clareton Drive. For information, call temple administrator Eva Gladstone at (818) 991-7111.

‘Healing for the Holidays’ Service

* A special “Healing for the Holidays” service for anyone who has experienced loss in the last year will be held at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Newbury Park on Wednesday.

“Come as you are to our informal service,” said the Rev. Lynne Austin. “Bring a friend for whom it would have meaning. If you wish, bring a special Christmas ornament to hang on the tree.”

The worship and meditation service begins at 7:30 p.m. The church is at 1360 S. Wendy Drive. For information, call 498-6910.

Books to Be Sent to South Africa

* Used books for children and adults are being collected by Moorpark United Methodist Church to be sent to schools in South Africa, “where reading material is scarce,” said Linda Moyer of the church. Those interested in donating may do so through Thursday by dropping books off at the church office, 261 Flory Ave.

Office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For information, call Moyer at 529-1401.

Golden Oldies for Hanukkah

* Student Rabbi Michael Lotker of Temple Ner Ami/Jewish families of Camarillo will perform what he claims, tongue in cheek, to be “original Hanukkah songs that were subsequently stolen by the Beatles” on Friday.

“Many of the hit songs sung by the Beatles were actually Hanukkah songs written by the MaccaBeatles during the famous Hanukkah revolt in 165 B.C.E.,” deadpanned Lotker.

Joining Lotker for the MaccaBeatles performance will be Jerry Faigin, Howie Lotker and Jerry Lasnik of Thousand Oaks.

The group, originally from Chopped Liverpool, England, will perform such ancient golden oldies as “I Get By with a Little Help from My God, “Nowhere King,” “Eight Days a Year,” and “They Spin Me, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”

The performance will follow the regular Friday-night service and all are welcome to attend. For information, contact Temple Ner Ami/Jewish Families of Camarillo at 388-3824. The temple is at 4098 Calle Tesoro, Suite D.

Temple Offers Hanukkah Dinner

* Congregation Am Hayam, which meets in Oxnard and is the only conservative Jewish congregation in western Ventura County, has scheduled a Hanukkah dinner for 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The Hanukkah festival, which will be celebrated from Dec. 23 to 30, commemorates the consecration of the temple in Jerusalem after foreign occupation more than 2,000 years ago.

The dinner will be held at the Oxnard Monday Club, 1401 W. Gonzales Road. For dinner reservations, at $18 for adults, call 981-0031.

Groups to Give Away Food Baskets

* The Moorpark United Methodist Church, Catholic Charities, the ACT Club of Moorpark High School and Active Citizens of Today will hold a food basket giveaway for Moorpark families in need. Food basket distribution will be held Dec. 20 beginning at noon.

Anyone interested in contributing or helping with the program may call the Moorpark United Methodist Church office at 529-1401 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Human Rights Award Ceremony

* A United Way official and a high school student were among those honored during the seventh annual Baha’i Human Rights award ceremony in Westlake Village, commemorating the 49th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Award recipients included Priscilla Partridge de Garcia, chairwoman of Ventura County United Way; Lee Montemorra, executive director of the Ventura County Master Chorale; Cynthia Lompart, who works with battered women and children; Warren Faue, who heads the Ventura County chapter of the United Nations Assn., and Omar Megana, a high school student who has served as a Boys & Girls Club counselor and tutor in Moorpark, in addition to coaching 5-year-olds in the American Youth Soccer Organization.

For more information on the Baha’i community of Ventura County, call Bob Martin at 526-5752.

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