L.A. to Host 2 Conferences on Children

Children’s advocates will meet in Los Angeles next week for two national assemblies: a two-day Episcopal gathering, “Our Church’s Voice for Children,” and the 25th annual Children’s Defense Fund conference.

Marian Wright Edelman, Children’s Defense Fund founder and president, will be honored at the Episcopalian event Tuesday afternoon. She will deliver the keynote address to the group Wednesday morning, discussing ways that the church can increase its role in protecting and nurturing children.

Also on Wednesday, church conferees will tour Los Angeles-area sites that provide services for children. The conference will be held at the Episcopal Cathedral Center of St. Paul, 840 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles. Information: (213) 482-2040, Ext. 218.

Attendees at the Children’s Defense Fund national conference, Wednesday through Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will discuss issues in the children’s movement, implementation of new health and welfare laws and spiritual renewal techniques for children’s advocates. Plans for the nationwide “Stand for Children” event June 1 will also be outlined. Information: (202) 662-3684.

MEETING

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The All Saints Episcopal Church Men’s Council will host a dinner and meeting with Geoffrey Canada, author of “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Canada, who is president of the Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families in New York City, will discuss his program for protecting children and preserving families and neighborhoods. All Saints Sweetland Hall, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. $15 for the dinner. The meeting, at 7:30, is free, but an offering will be accepted. (626) 796-1172.

DISPLAY

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Community Congregational United Church of Christ, 4111 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos, will display panels from the AIDS memorial quilt in the church sanctuary. Vigils will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday. Visitors will be able to light a candle in remembrance of those who have died of AIDS. “The extraordinary love and spiritual bravery with which the gay and lesbian community has faced this tragedy” is one of the things the memorial quilt honors, said Pastor Jack Shepard. (714) 527-2343.

HOLIDAY

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Families are invited to create a unique matzo cover for the Passover table at an art workshop for children 7 and older and their families at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, at 1 p.m. Sunday. Passover, a weeklong celebration, marks the Jews’ redemption from slavery. A ceremonial meal is shared, the story of Passover is retold and special foods are eaten as family and friends gather. The workshop has a $5 fee for materials. (310) 440-4636.

CONFERENCE

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“Mobilizing the Catholic Family in Today’s Cultural War” will be the theme of a daylong conference next Saturday presented by the Southern California Regional Wanderer Forum at Santa Teresita Hospital, 819 Buena Vista Ave. in Duarte. The Rev. Hugh Barbour, prior of St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, will give the keynote address at 9:15 a.m. Other speakers will include the Rev. John Hardon, executive editor of Catholic Faith magazine, and author and lecturer Therese Ickinger. $25 at the door, married couples $40, students $15.(805) 933-8222 or (626) 331-3549.

MUSIC

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Chorale Bel Canto, under the direction of Stephen Gothold, will perform Claudio Monteverdi’s “1610 Vespers,” with double chorus, orchestra and soloists, at 3 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 997 E. Walnut St., Pasadena. Composed and dedicated to Pope Paul V in 1610, the piece is believed to have been written as a Mass for the ducal chapel of Monteverdi’s patron family, the Gonzagas, in Mantua, Italy. Tickets are $20, $16 and $5. (562) 907-4203.

* Gospel singer Beverly Crawford will be featured in a concert and fund-raiser for the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church at 5 p.m. March 29 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. Proceeds from “A Night of Praise” will be used to buy a bus to provide transportation for senior citizens and young people in the church’s South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood, and especially for those residing at the Mt. Moriah Senior Villa. Other featured guests will include the West Angeles Church of God in Christ Sanctuary Choir and the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Praise Dancers. Tickets are $12, $10 and $8. (213) 846-1950 or (213) 292-4482.

* St. Paul the Apostle Parish, 10750 Ohio Ave., Westwood, will present the musical play “Herstory, a Mother’s Tale” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 28. In a presentation of the Gospel through music and theater, Mary tells the story of Jesus to the evangelist Luke. The production for the family features Sheila O’Connell-Rousell and Jerry Roussell Jr. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. (310) 474-1527.

POETRY

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“Soul Says: Poetry and the Divine” examines the state of spirituality at the end of the 20th century, at the Scripps College Humanities Institute, 1030 Columbia Ave., Claremont, on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, D. Z. Phillips of Claremont Graduate University will discuss mysticism and literature at 4:15 p.m., followed by a poetry reading by Stanford University’s Susan Howe and a recitation on the mystic Rumi by Coleman Barks of the University of Georgia, with live musical accompaniment. Friday’s events will begin at 9 a.m. with a lecture by Colin Thompson of Oxford University, followed by poetry readings throughout the day. Free. (909) 621-8326.

MEDITATION AND HEALING

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Rabbi Shefa Gold will host a one-day workshop, “Ecstasy and Discipline: The Power of Chant,” at Metvita, a Center for Contemplative Judaism, 2001 S. Barrington Ave., Suite 106, Los Angeles, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. $75.

* At 6 p.m. Thursday, the Jewish Healing Center at Metvita will conduct a “healing worship service” at which people who are suffering from illness, grief or other crises may join others in seeking spiritual support through prayer, music and the Jewish community. (310) 477-5370.

FILMS

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Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena will present Cecil B. De Mille’s landmark silent film, “King of Kings,” about the life of Christ, at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Church Worship Center, 393 North Lake Ave. The score will be played on the church’s Casavant pipe organ by Christian Elliott, who is associate minister and organist at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Northern California. (626) 795-7221.

* DreamWorks’ movie “Amistad” and an episode of CBS’ “Walker, Texas Ranger” each won a $25,000 Epiphany award at the evangelical-oriented Movieguide Awards this week. The prizes, given by the Templeton Foundation for “creating inspiring entertainment,” were announced Wednesday night at the Universal Sheraton Hotel. Actor Robert Duvall accepted the $1,000 Grace Prize, an award announced previously, for his performance in “The Apostle.”

FINALLY

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Donations of money and food are needed at the SOVA Kosher Food Pantry of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles. SOVA gives groceries to 1,000 needy people each week, regardless of sex, race, age, citizenship or religion. The SOVA main office is at 2601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 828-0469.

Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or faxed to the Religion desk, (818) 772-3385, or e-mailed to john.dart@latimes.com Items should arrive two to three weeks before the event, except for spot news, and include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date and time.

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SYMPOSIUM

“Challenges, Threats and Pathways--Protecting Jewish Values,” a symposium sponsored by the Sinai Temple Sisterhood, will feature prominent speakers on such subjects as commitment to Jewish marriage, redefining relationships in the Jewish family and communicating with teenagers. Lecturers will include Robert Wexler, president of the University of Judaism, Sinai Temple Rabbi David Wolpe and Carol Levy, executive director of the American Jewish Congress. At the Olympic Collection, 11301 Olympic Blvd., West Los Angeles, Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. $50 at the door. (310) 474-1518, Ext. 778.