Oxnard Church to Honor Sister :...

* A parish jubilee in honor of Sister Mary Ann Martin, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Los Angeles, will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Anthony’s Church in Oxnard. All parishioners, friends and her former students are invited.

Martin is celebrating her 25th year of religious life. She is the pastoral assistant for youth at St. Anthony’s. She also coordinates the confirmation program, serves as a cantor, sings in the choir and teaches religion. She taught eighth grade at St. Anthony’s Elementary School for several years.

The celebration will be held at the church at 2511 South C St., with a reception following in the Condon Center.

For information, call the church office at 486-7301.

Eastern Orthodox Easter Events

* Eastern Orthodox Christians will celebrate Pascha (Easter) on Sunday, said the Rev. Cyril Loeb of Camarillo’s St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.

Today, a resurrection service begins at 11 p.m. for Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday agape vespers begin at noon Sunday. The parish will continue its celebration Sunday afternoon with a roasted lamb picnic. Reservations are necessary.

For details, call St. Demetrios at 482-1273.

The church is at 400 Skyway Drive.

Healing Service to Follow Mass

* Father John Hampsch will celebrate Mass at 2 p.m. Sunday at Ventura’s Sacred Heart Church.

A healing service, benediction and reception will follow.

The church is at 10800 Henderson Road. For information, call Roland Delgado at 983-2506.

Temple Plans Talk on Holocaust

* JFC-Temple Ner Ami in Camarillo will hold a Yom HaShoah program at 4 p.m. Sunday. Rabbi Kenneth Milhander will speak on “The Holocaust: A Message for the Millennium.”

The free program is open to the public and is supported by such Camarillo organizations as B’Nai Brith, Hadassah, NCJW, Tikva and the City of Hope board.

The temple is at 4098 Calle Tesoro, Suite D. For information, call 388-3824.

Unitarian Program in Ventura

* At Ventura’s Unitarian Universalist Church on Sunday, guests Bren Chambers and Marilyn Van Veersen will offer a vision of affirmation to the UU spirit “through a unique and exciting blend of original music, sign language, poetry and commentary,” said the Rev. Dick Weston.

Services are at 9:15 and 11 a.m. The church is at 4949 Foothill Road. Call 644-3898 for information.

Sermon on Laughter and Faith

* A “Holy Hilarity” worship service is set for 10 a.m. Sunday at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oxnard.

The Rev. Alan Gorsline’s sermon will be “Laughter! Prelude to Faith.”

Church school for all ages begins at 9 a.m.

The Japanese language ministry, led by the Rev. Haruyoshi Fujimoto, will worship at 2 p.m. The Spanish-language Sunday school begins at 1 p.m., and the worship service, led by the Rev. Carlos Saavedra, begins at 6 p.m.

St. Paul’s is at 1800 South C St. For information, call 487-2711.

Evening of Fun for Children

* St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Newbury Park invites youngsters in grades three through 12 to its Sunday “God Squad” with youth directors Andre and Sandy Oel for fun and games at 6 p.m.

The church is at 1360 S. Wendy Drive. Call 498-6910 for information.

Singer to Appear at Church

* Singer-songwriter Terry Steele will appear at the 9 and 10:45 a.m. services Sunday at the new Gold Coast Christian Church in Camarillo.

Services are contemporary and casual, Pastor Scott Wilson said.

The church is at the Cowan Conference Center at the Camarillo Airport at the corner of Pleasant Valley Road and Airport Way. For information, call the church office at 485-5433.

Holocaust Survivor to Speak

* Congregation Am HaYam of Oxnard plans a service at a member’s home on Monday at 8 p.m. A Holocaust survivor will be the guest speaker.

For information on the Remembrance Day event, call 985-2853.

Also, the congregation will hold Shabbat services at the Oxnard Monday Club on April 16 and 17.

The Friday evening service starts at 8 and Shabbat morning service begins at 10.

Alice Greenfield will speak on “The Soul of Israel” on April 18 at the Monday Club.

On May 23, Lillian Rosenbloom’s topic will be “Waters of Eden.” Rosenbloom is administrator of the mikvah at the University of Judaism. The mikvah is the ritual Jewish bath, symbolizing rebirth and renewal.

Each free lecture will begin at 7 p.m. at the Oxnard Monday Club. Seating is limited, and attendance at the lecture series is by reservation only.

A five-week class in beginning Hebrew will start at 8 p.m. April 27 in a member’s home. The only charge for the class is for the textbook.

For information on these events call 985-2853.

The Oxnard Monday Club is at 1401 W. Gonzales Road.

Confirmation Rite in Camarillo

* The Right Rev. Chester Talton, suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, will officiate at the sacrament of confirmation at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Camarillo on April 17.

At 3 p.m., members of Episcopal parishes in the deanery and members of St. Patrick’s in Thousand Oaks will participate in the regional celebration.

St. Columba’s is at 1251 E. Las Posas Road. For information, call St. Patrick’s at 495-6441 or St. Columba’s at 526-5141.

Singers to Perform in Ventura

* Christian recording artists Billy and Sarah Gaines will perform at all three weekend South Coast Fellowship services on April 17 and 18 in Ventura.

Saturday’s service is at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s are at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

“As Dove award winners, the Gaineses have five top radio singles,” said Mark Goeser of the fellowship. The two also sing pop and rhythm and blues.

South Coast is at 4050 Market St. Call 658-7646 for information.

Church to Promote Vocations

* Throughout April, St. Anthony’s Church in Oxnard is focusing on the sacrament of holy orders and vocations to religions.

On April 18, a vocations fair will be held in the Condon Center from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members of various religious communities will answer questions from parents and young people about religious life.

Everyone is invited to meet the sisters, brothers, novices, priests and seminarians.

The church is at 2511 South C St. Call 486-7301 for details.

Chamber Singers to Perform

* The Westmont Chamber Singers will perform “A Cappella From the Renaissance to the Present” at 7 p.m. April 18 at Bardsdale United Methodist Church in Fillmore.

The choir, from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, will perform in the church’s 100-year-old sanctuary, which is among the orange groves of the little community of Bardsdale.

The concert is free and open to the public.

The church is at 1498 Bardsdale Ave. For information, call 524-2070.

Thousand Oaks Church Turns 45

* The United Methodist Church of Thousand Oaks will celebrate its 45th birthday on April 18.

The public is invited to join the congregation at its 10 a.m. service. Refreshments will follow.

The church is at 1000 Janss Road. Call 495-7215 for information.

Jewish Academy Offers Classes

* The Conejo Jewish Academy in Agoura Hills will begin its spring semester April 19. The academy offers adult classes to the community on a variety of Judaic subjects.

Course titles include “Home Sweet Home” on Jewish practice in the home, at a cost of $12.

“Biblical Literacy--the Book of Exodus and the Most Important People, Events and Ideas of the Bible” will run for six weeks, starting at 8 p.m. April 19 at a cost of $18.

A five-week class called “Kings” will examine the lives of some of the kings of Israel. The class meets at 8 p.m. Wednesdays beginning April 21. Cost is $18.

Other classes on the Talmud, Hebrew, Kabbalah and Women to Women will be offered. Call the academy at (818) 991-0991 for information. The Conejo Jewish Academy is at 30345 Canwood St.

‘Celebration of Tolerance’ Dinner

* United Jewish Appeal and Federation of Ventura County has scheduled a “Celebration of Tolerance” dinner at Ventura’s Doubletree Hotel at 6 p.m. April 20.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Museum of Tolerance, will receive the Champion of Tolerance award. Hier’s films, “The Long Way Home” and “Genocide,” are past winners of Academy awards and will be shown.

The event is being held in conjunction with Ventura County middle schools’ Teaching Tolerance programs. Robert Lefkowitz of Ventura and Lori Reisman, women’s division chairwoman of United Jewish Appeal, will also be presented with awards for their work on the Teaching Tolerance program.

The public is welcome at the banquet, which costs $50 per person. For details or to make reservations, call 647-7800.

Jewish Academy Hosts Lecture

* The Conejo Jewish Academy will host a lecture and “an evening of inspiration and gratitude” on April 20 for guest of honor Christoph Meili.

Meili is a 29-year-old bank guard from Switzerland who discovered boxes of Holocaust-era bank documents about to be shredded by his employer, the Union Bank. He smuggled the documents to a Jewish organization in Zurich, said Rabbi Moshe Bryski of the academy.

Several community rabbis and community leaders and a talk by Meili are scheduled for the event that begins at 8 p.m in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel.

Advance paid reservations are $7; $10 at the door. Call (818) 991-0991 for information.

Day of Enrichment for Disabled

* Handicapables will offer a day of spiritual and social enrichment for all physically disabled people April 24 at Mary Star of the Sea Parish Hall in Oxnard.

The parish hall is at 463 W. Pleasant Valley Road. Registration is at 11 a.m., and Mass is at 11:30 for those interested. A luncheon with entertainment follows.

There is no charge, and all faiths are welcome.

For information, call Catholic Charities at 643-4694 or 486-2900.

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