2 Long Beach-Area Teenagers to Join Goodwill Trip to Russia

On June 27, a group of teenagers from throughout the United States will depart for Moscow on a goodwill trip to Russia. Among them will be two Long Beach-area 16-year-olds representing their local church.

Wilson High School junior Tim Taylor and Cerritos High School junior Meghan Ramsay of First Congregational Church of Long Beach were recognized at a special service June 13.

During the tour, the first overseas trip for both students, the American group will join Russian teenagers in building a soccer and field hockey complex in Moscow next to Russia’s first crisis center for teenagers.

They will visit the historic cathedral and museum of Dmitrov Kremlin as well as several sites in and around Moscow, including Sergei Pasat, home of the Orthodox patriarch. The group will return to the United States on July 5 after a stopover in Amsterdam and tour of the Anne Frank Museum.

SERVICES

On June 25, 1981, six young people in the village of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina reported that the Virgin Mary appeared to them and gave them a message of peace for the world. According to the teenagers, she called herself the “Queen of Peace” and had a simple message urging prayer and fasting for peace. Although never authenticated by the Catholic Church, the report has since attracted millions of pilgrims to the site. To celebrate the 18th anniversary of that appearance, St. Monica’s Church will have an international Mass and rosary at 7 p.m. Friday. The church is at 701 California Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 393-9287.

* “Shabbat Under the Stars,” an earlier, less formal summer service in the outdoor chapel at Leo Baeck Temple, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The services offer congregants a casual opportunity to meet with clergy, staff and temple members. The outdoor services will continue through the summer. Leo Baeck Temple is at 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd. at Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles. (310) 476-2861.

WORKSHOPS

The Center for Spiritual Development will host a morning workshop on “Living a Simple Life” from 9:30 a.m. to noon next Saturday at 434 S. Batavia St., Orange. (714) 744-3175.

* The Holy Spirit Retreat Center, a ministry of the Sisters of Social Service, will offer a “Centering Prayer Support Group” for those new to meditative practice, as well as daily meditations, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, continuing July 6 and July 20. The evenings will include two centering prayer periods, separated by a meditative walk. A discussion of Fr. Thomas Keating’s “Open Mind, Open Heart” will round out the evening. The center is at 4316 Lanai Road, Encino. (818) 784-4515.

CONVENTION

The Elim Community Church in Hawthorne will sponsor the 1999 Regional Teen Convention on Friday and next Saturday to encourage youth to strive for moral and social excellence and celebrate teenagers who have excelled in education or the arts.

Featured speakers will include Elder Stephen Hamilton, speaking at Bethlehem Temple Church, 958 E. 52nd St., Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Friday and Elder Clinton House, speaking at 6 p.m. next Saturday at the Greater Bethany Community Church, 8400 S. Hoover, Los Angeles. (310) 679-1576.

MUSIC

St. Alban’s Choir and soloists, under the direction of James Vail, will perform Nick Strimple’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, followed by arias and choruses from Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and other operas Sunday at 4 p.m.

Soloists will include soprano Frances Young and tenor Douglas Anderson. At St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 580 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. (310) 208-6516.

* Soprano Anita Protich, who has appeared with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Pacific Symphony, will be the guest performer at the weekly Music at Noon concert presented by the Friends of Music of the Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

The concert will be held in the church sanctuary, on Colorado Boulevard at Madison Avenue in Pasadena, on Wednesday from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. (626) 793-2191, Ext. 2.

* The adult choir of St. John’s Lutheran Church will perform choral works in classical, traditional and contemporary styles Sunday at 7 p.m. William J. Heide, minister of worship and music, will direct. The church is at 185 S. Center St., Orange. (714) 288-4400.

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