School’s Rummage Sale This Weekend

* Our Lady of the Assumption School in Ventura will hold a rummage sale, featuring furnishings, appliances, toys and clothes supplied by students and parishioners, today and Sunday at 3169 Telegraph Road, next door to St. Bonaventure High School.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. both days. For information, call Sister Rebekah at 642-7198.

Winter Social Tonight at Am Hayam

* Am Hayam, the newly formed Conservative Jewish congregation in Oxnard, holds its first winter social tonight at the recreation room at Oxnard Shores Mobile Home Park, 5th Street and Mandalay Beach Road.

Live entertainment, dancing and kosher food are on the agenda for the 6 to 10 p.m. event. The cost at the door is $30 per person. For information, call 988-5932 or 985-1574.

Buddhists Offer Japanese Programs

* A Japanese culture and language school will be held in the social hall of the Oxnard Buddhist temple from 9 a.m. to noon today.

On Sunday, the adult Sangha Assembly will feature the Rev. Kay Nakagawa leading the Shinshu practice with the aid of the translated sutras at 10 a.m.

The Oxnard Buddhist Church is at 250 South H St. For information, call 483-5948.

Professor to Lead ‘Life With God’ Lectures

* “Heaven and Hell: Life With God in Time, Space and Beyond” is the subject of a Sunday-evening community lecture series at Ventura’s Community Presbyterian Church beginning Sunday.

Jeffrey Burton Russell, professor of history emeritus at UC Santa Barbara, will lead the series. Russell is the author of 17 books, including “Prince of Darkness” and “A History of Heaven.”

Child care will be provided with advance reservations. To register, call 648-2737. The lectures will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the next three Sundays. They will be held at the church at 1555 Poli St.

Temple to Feature Sunday Discussion Series

* A comparison of the streams of Judaism, Jewish biomedical ethics, Jerusalem at 3,000 years and Israel at 50 years will be discussed in a series that begins at 10 a.m. Sunday at Ventura’s Temple Beth Torah.

“Lifelong Learning With Rabbi Lisa” is the series title, and the public is welcome to attend. The temple is at 7620 Foothill Road. For information, call 647-4181.

Academy Offers ‘Living Judaism’ Course

* A free eight-part “Living Judaism” course begins Monday at the Conejo Jewish Academy in Agoura Hills. A grant from the Oppenheimer Basic Judaism Fund is underwriting the course, which will be a relaxed forum instructed by four local rabbis: Moshe Bryski, Yitzchak Sapochkinsky, Yisroel Levin and Shlomo Bistritzky.

To register, call the academy at (818) 991-0991. All classes begin at 8 p.m. Mondays at 30345 Canwood St.

Talmud, Hebrew Classes Starting at Temple

* Rabbi Shimon Paskow will teach introductory courses in Talmud and beginning Hebrew at Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks beginning Monday. Both classes are free and open to the public.

The traditional evening Maariv service will get underway at 7:30 p.m. Paskow will introduce Talmud with historical background and texts at 8 p.m. The Hebrew language course will start at 8:45 and include some traditional biblical Hebrew prayers.

For information, call the temple office at 497-6891. The temple is located at 1080 Janss Road.

Discussion to Focus on Racial Unity

* The Camarillo Baha’i Community will hear a free presentation by Keyvan Geula called “Our Children in a Rainbow Society--Spiritual Prerequisites” Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Camarillo Library.

Geula will discuss the underlying principles and attitudes required for the attainment of racial and cultural unity and some of the approaches that can be taken to achieve this goal.

Geula has a marriage, family and child counseling practice and serves as a consultant in relations and mediation techniques to public and private schools.

The library is at 3100 Ponderosa Drive. For information, call 987-1253.

Center to Present Drawing Workshop

* Westlake Village’s Unity Center will present a free workshop Jan. 31 on “Creating With the Right Side of the Brain.”

The event will be an evening of drawing using techniques for shifting into the right-brain hemisphere for artistic expression, Unity Center Minister Irma Oestmann said.

All supplies will be furnished. The workshop begins at 7:30 p.m. at 4373 Park Terrace Drive. For information, call 251-4133.

Temple Plans Service for Prayer, Healing

* Friends and members of Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks will meet Feb. 8 in its new sanctuary for a service of prayer and healing. Rabbi Rebecca Lebowe will lead the service.

The service is at 9 a.m. at the temple, 2420 E. Hillcrest Drive. For information, call 495-8567. For directions only, call 497-7101.

Church to Host Play Based on Gospel

* Frank Runyeon’s “Afraid! The Gospel of Mark” will be presented at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 by St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Community’s Adult Education Committee. The theatrical performance was written by and stars Runyeon, a television actor and religion scholar. It will be performed in the church at 155 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks.

“Afraid!” is a one-man play based on the Gospel of Mark translated into contemporary speech. The play is interactive, with Runyeon addressing audience members as he roams the room, and it imparts Mark’s story in the present tense, “giving the audience the opportunity to feel like they have been in Galilee,” Pastor Joseph George said.

Best known for his work in television soaps, Runyeon has been featured in “General Hospital,” “Santa Barbara” and “As the World Turns.”

“Afraid!” is recommended for ages 8 and older. Tickets, $5, are available starting Sunday at St. Paschal Parish Center. For information, call Sister Carol at 496-0222, Ext. 119.

Rabbi and Wife to Lead Tour of Israel

* A two-week tour of Israel will be led by Rabbi Shimon Paskow of Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks and his wife, Carol, departing Los Angeles on June 27.

Transportation will be in an air-conditioned motor coach. Tourists will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Masada, and will swim in the Dead Sea and see the Dead Sea scrolls.

People of all religions and ethnic backgrounds are welcome, said Paskow, who has led several tours to the area.

The trip costs $4,100 per person, including air fare, hotels and meals. For information, call 497-6891.

*

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.