Nativities From Around the World

More than 200 nativity scenes representing many cultures will be exhibited in “A Celebration of Christ--Nativities of the World,” through Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ojai.

The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and from 2:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

This third annual exhibit features a diverse collection of nativities ranging from a small set made from a coconut shell to a 30-piece Lenox set. Some of the sets are handcrafted, some are new and a few are about 50 years old.

Visitors of all ages are invited. There is no admission charge.

The church is at 411 San Antonio St. For more information, call 646-7806.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Church Rummage Sale Today

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Thousand Oaks will hold its annual rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in the parish hall.

Proceeds will be used to help Conejo Valley residents. During the past six years, the society has assisted more than 800 families and individuals with food, clothing, gasoline vouchers and financial help for utility bills, rent and medicine.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society is an international Catholic organization of lay persons.

The church is at 15 E. Janss Road. For more information, call 496-0222.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Production to Feature Orchestra

Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village will present the 18th annual production of “Step Into Bethlehem,” highlighted by a 41-piece orchestra.

“Step Into Bethlehem” presents events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The musical production will be held in the new 2,800-seat Celebration Center, which features state-of-the-art sound and stadium-style seating.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. today and Dec. 11, and 3 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 12.

Tickets are $12, with discounts available to groups of 20 or more. Tickets are available by calling (818) 575-2299, or by visiting www.calvarycc.org or the church ticket center.

The church is at 5495 Via Rocas.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Annual Boutique at Church

Covenant Women Ministries will present its annual boutique from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Simi Covenant Church in Simi Valley. There will be a variety of handmade items and a bake sale.

The church is at 4680 Alamo St.

Simi Covenant Church offers a worship service the first and third Sundays of the month with coffee, food and music from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Worship is from 7 to 8 p.m.

The church is at 4680 Alamo St., Simi Valley. For more information, call 526-8855.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Christmas Mission Market

The front lawn of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church will be transformed into its annual Christmas Mission Market today. The public is invited to join in supporting 12 local and international outreach ministries from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Gifts made by artisans in third-world countries to benefit their economies will be for sale along with other crafts.

Chickens, sheep and other farm animals may be purchased and will be distributed by Heifer Project International to needy families around the world. Boards, nails and paint may also be purchased for a Habitat for Humanity home being built in Piru.

Wheels for the World will accept used wheelchairs to be refurbished and provided to disabled people. God’s Hidden Treasures will highlight its ministry to orphans and the needy in the Ukraine with missionary Nita Hanson in attendance and Dima, an orphan boy from the Ukraine who is being fitted with prosthetics for his legs by the Shriner’s Hospital.

Local efforts represented will include ministries for young mothers and grieving families.

There will be holiday music, a snack bar, a car wash and crafts for children.

The church is at Lynn Road and Camino Manzanas, Thousand Oaks. For more information, call 498-4502.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Hanukkah Program at Temple

The public is invited to participate in a special Hanukkah program at Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Rabbi Shimon Paskow, Joyce Bronstein, director of religious school, and Debbie Waltz, director of the preschool, will greet guests. Temple families will lead the lighting of the menorah while Hazzan Jeff Cohen and the Temple Youth Chorale lead the singing of Hanukkah songs. There will be a puppet show and traditional holiday refreshments of auce.

There is no charge and all ages are welcome. For more information, call 497-6891. The temple is at 1080 Janss Road.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Second Sunday of Advent Service

The United Methodist Church in Simi Valley will celebrate the second Sunday of Advent this weekend.

The Rev. Brandon Cho will preach at the 8 and 10 a.m. services. Child care is offered for both meetings. Sunday school for all ages begins at 9 a.m. A new member class will be held in the chapel at 11:30 a.m. A service in Spanish will be at 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary.

The Children’s Choir will present the musical “It All Happened in the Country” at 5 p.m. in Witman Hall. Youth Fellowship for junior and senior high youth will begin at 6 p.m. in the Senior High Room.

The church is at 2394 Erringer Road at Cochran Street. For more information, call 526-6231.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Los Posadas to Start at Ojai Church

Los Posadas, a reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem in search of a room where Jesus would be born, will be sponsored by Lutheran Social Services of Ventura and Santa Barbara County at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The starting point will be Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Ojai at 1212 Maricopa Highway. There will be music, a nativity with live animals and a candlelight soup supper.

Monetary donations will be accepted in the manger at the end of the journey. Proceeds benefit Lutheran Social Services.

For more information, call 646-5652 or 649-4389.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Combined Choirs to Perform

An Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols will be presented by the combined choirs of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Thousand Oaks and St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Camarillo at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Columba’s.

Music of Brahms, Palestrina, Bach and others will be performed.

St. Columba’s is at 1251 Las Posas Road. For more information, call 482-8831.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Santa Lucia Christmas Festival

The Santa Lucia Christmas Festival will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Samuelson Chapel at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

This Swedish tradition has been a part of Cal Lutheran’s Christmas celebration since the university’s early years. Santa Lucia, a Christian martyr who died Dec. 13 in 304, is remembered in the Festival of Lights.

Each year the Cal Lutheran community selects five women to represent Santa Lucia and her maidens and five men to represent wise men. The representatives are selected by Cal Lutheran’s student body as those who represent the Christian attributes demonstrated by Santa Lucia--faith, hope, charity and compassion for humanity. The ceremony includes the lighting of Santa Lucia’s crown of candles and is performed each year as a reminder of the spirit of the holiday season.

Admission is free. For more information, call 493-3151.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Lecture Series Focuses on Holidays

The Rev. Craig Johnson, pastor of Bethel Christian Fellowship in Agoura Hills, will present a winter lecture series as part of the Bethel Forum.

The series will address the holiday season.

On Wednesday, “Who Were Those Wise Men? Christ and the Mission of the Magi” will be discussed.

On Dec. 15, Johnson will answer the question “Why Bethlehem? Christ and the City of the Great King.”

The final lecture, “What Child is This? Christ: the Reason for the Season,” will be presented Dec. 22. Attendees are invited to participate in a dialogue that will follow the formal lecture and question time.

The free lecture series will run from 7 to 9 p.m. each evening, and everyone is welcome. Refreshments and free child care will be provided.

All lectures will take place at the church, 5310 Derry Ave., Suite P, Agoura Hills. For more information, call (818) 889-7215.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Menorah Lighting at Promenade

Temple Beth Haverim of Agoura Hills will hold its fourth annual menorah lighting at the Promenade at Westlake at 7 p.m. Thursday.

After the candles are lit, the Temple Beth Haverim children’s choir, under the direction of Eileen Weiser and Cantor Kenny Ellis, will sing favorite Hanukkah tunes. An all-student klezmer band will also perform, and there will be Israeli folk dancing.

For more information, call (818) 991-7111.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Holiday Musical Extravaganza

Tickets for Camarillo Community Church’s 14th annual holiday musical extravaganza will be available after worship services on Sunday in the last public sales opportunity before opening night Thursday.

Worship services are held at 8, 9, 10:10 and 11:20 a.m.

“Come Celebrate Christmas” features a blend of music, drama, dancing and pageantry. The show will be presented at the church at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Show times will be 4 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 12, with a final performance at 7 p.m. Dec. 13.

Reserved seating is available for $7.50 a ticket.

The church is at 1322 Las Posas Ave. For more information, call 482-2657.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Italian Catholic Federation Party

Branch 380 of the Italian Catholic Federation will have a Christmas party at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at St. Paschal Baylon Church in Thousand Oaks.

All Italian-American Catholics are invited to join the group and share in spiritual and social events. The annual party features dinner and dessert, dancing, door prizes, games and an ornament exchange. The cost is $15 per person. Reservations required.

The church is at Janss and Moorpark Road. For more information, call 497-3275.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Shabbat and Hanukkah Service

JFC-Temple Ner Ami of Camarillo will have a family Shabbat / Hanukkah service at 7:30 p.m. Friday that will be led by the fifth-grade Torah class. All children will be included in the celebration of Hanukkah through song and dance. Refreshments will follow the service.

On Dec. 11, there will be Torah study from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 will be conducted by Rabbi Milhander. Refreshments will be served after the service.

The temple is at 4098 Calle Tosora, Suite D. For more information, call 338-3824.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.

Nondenominational Service

Unity Center Church meets at Old Meadows Park in Thousand Oaks.

On Dec. 12, the Rev. Irma Oestmann speaks on “The Waiting Game.” The community is invited to this nondenominational service that teaches practical lessons for today’s world.

Children of all ages are encouraged to attend the Quest classes. Lisanna Cole and Richard Jones will perform spiritual music.

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Please submit items at least a week in advance to Religion Briefs, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Items may be faxed to 653-7576.