All-Day Jewish Fair Sunday

“Hanukkah Wonderland,” an all-day fair of Jewish culture and entertainment, will take place at Calamigos Ranch near Agoura Hills Sunday. The Conejo Valley branch of Chabad is co-sponsoring the family extravaganza with the San Fernando branch. Music, rides, games, kosher food stands, petting zoo, monkey show and clowns will be topped off by a circus act and grand menorah kindling at dusk.

Hanukkah Wonderland attracted more than 8,000 people in 1996.

“The primary purpose of the wonderland is to utilize the opportune holiday of Hanukkah to reunite the greater Jewish community,” said Rabbi Moshe Bryski, executive director of Chabad of the Conejo. Bryski hopes this year’s program will once again involve those who identify themselves as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or unaffiliated Jews.

The free event will begin at 11 a.m. and end with closing ceremonies at 5 p.m. Calamigos Ranch is located at Mulholland Highway just off Kanan Road. For information, call (818) 991-0991.

Evangelist-Author to Address Fellowship

* Evangelist and author Dick Mills will speak at Love International Outreach Fellowship in Ventura at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Ordained by the International Church of Foursquare Gospel in 1949, Mills has traveled as an evangelist throughout Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Australia and the United States.

The church is at 1620-A Mesa Verde Drive. Child care is available. Call 647-5463 for more information.

Menorah Lighting at Buenaventura Mall

* Chabad of Ventura Jewish Community Center will light candles on the seventh night of Hanukkah at the Buenaventura Mall at 7 p.m. Monday.

Hanukkah, which began Tuesday and will end at sundown next Tuesday, is a 2,200-year-old festival commemorating a Jewish triumph over an anti-Semitic Syrian-Greek king.

Chabad is an Orthodox movement geared toward bringing the Jewish religion to the masses.

There will a magic show, clown, live music and latke giveaways.

The menorah will be located in front of Macy’s.

The mall is at 363 S. Mills Road in Ventura. For more information, call Chabad of Ventura at 658-7441.

Hanukkah Ceremony at Promenade

* The Promenade at Westlake shopping center in Thousand Oaks will host its second annual menorah-lighting ceremony Monday featuring Israeli folk dancing and a children’s choir performing Hanukkah songs.

The 7 p.m. event is sponsored by Caruso Affiliated Holdings, the owners and developers of the shopping center, Temple Beth Haverim and Noah’s Bagels, which will offer free bagels and shmears.

The Promenade at Westlake is located just north of the Ventura Freeway at the southeast corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards.

‘Season for Nonviolence’ Event

* Commemorating the 50th and 39th anniversaries of the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, the Religious Science Centers of Ventura County will participate in a “Season for Nonviolence” on Wednesday.

The event precedes “a globally unified grass-roots movement which kicks off on Jan. 30 and runs through April 4,” said the Rev. Sue Rubin, minister of the Westlake Church of Religious Science.

Amnesty International, UNESCO, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Free Tibet are also sponsors.

The public is invited to the transdenominational event “to kick off the new year in a collective state of spiritual awareness,” Rubin said.

The local event wil run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Camarillo Community Center, 1606 E. Burnley St. For more information, call the Westlake church at 495-0105.

Liturgies for the New Year

* New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day liturgies at St. Anthony’s Church in Oxnard will be celebrated. A 5:15 p.m. liturgy will be held Wednesday, and New Year’s Day liturgies are scheduled for 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m. in English and noon and 1:30 p.m. in Spanish.

Understanding the Sacraments

* The First United Methodist Church of Ventura will run a four-week class titled “Sacramental Living” through January. The Rev. Chuck Simmons will lead the class in exploring the Protestant understanding of the sacraments.

The classes are open to the public and will begin at 10:15 Sunday mornings in Room 103. First United is at 1338 E. Santa Clara. For more information, call the Rev. Amy Aitken at 643-8621.

Learning to Make a Prayer Shawl

* Temple Beth Haverim in Agoura Hills will offer a “Tallit-Making Workshop” beginning Jan. 7. The course wil run six Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. and cover the history of the tallit, law and license, fabrics, fibers and tzitzit, among other things.

The cost is $80 for temple members and $90 for nonmembers. Pre-registration is encouraged.

Temple Beth Haverim is a Conservative synagogue serving the Conejo Valley at 5126 Clareton Drive. For more information, contact Eva Gladstone at (818) 991-7111.

Epiphany Celebration Planned for Jan. 11

* An Epiphany celebration will be presented by Camarillo’s St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Jan. 11 at the Greek at the Harbor restaurant in Ventura.

A “Blessing of the Waters” service outside the restaurant will be followed by a buffet lunch, at $20 for adults and $7.50 for children.

The blessing will begin at 1 p.m. The restaurant is at 1583 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor. For reservations or information, call 482-1273.

Exploring the 8 Great Religions

* A look at the eight great world religions will begin Jan. 11 at Camarillo United Methodist Church.

“We will look at Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and find their answers to some of the most important questions in life,” said Jim Decker-Mahin, who will present the series at the church’s Sunday sermons.

“As we find the answers to questions such as ‘Why do I exist?’ ‘What is true and real?’ ‘Is there immortality?’, our faith will deepen and our appreciation will increase for the efforts made over the centuries by many cultures to answer the great questions of life,” Decker-Mahin said.

The church is at 291 Anacapa Drive. For more information, call Patricia Carroll at the church at 482-4312.

Community Lecture Series Begins Jan. 25

* “Heaven and Hell: Life with God in Time, Space and Beyond” is the subject of a Community Lecture Series that begins Jan. 25 at the Ventura Community Presbyterian Church.

Jeffrey Burton Russell, author and professor of history emeritus at UC Santa Barbara, will lead the three-lecture series.

Hours will be 6 to 7:30 p.m. For registration information, call 648-2737. Child care will be provided with advance registration. The church is at 1555 Poli St.

Religion Briefs is a weekly listing that runs each Saturday. Please address items, with a publishable telephone number to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items can also be faxed to The Times at 653-7576 or 653-7548.