Korean Choir to Take Part in Mormon Christmas Tradition

A Los Angeles holiday tradition will continue tonight when more than 350,000 lights are illuminated around the Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The holiday program, entitled “Christmas on Temple Hill,” will feature the Southern California Mormon Choir singing traditional Christmas songs. This year, the singers will be joined by the Korean Choir for a rendition of “Silent Night” in Korean. Nearly 2,000 volunteers, almost half of them teenagers, helped in stringing the lights in palm trees and bushes and along walkways, said Jack Renouf, chairman of the lighting committee. “They came from Bakersfield, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Victorville and everywhere in between,” he said. The temple is at 10777 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Los Angeles; the program begins at 7 p.m.

WORLD AIDS DAY

On Wednesday, religious leaders of all denominations will gather to remember all who have died of AIDS and pray for those who continue living with HIV and AIDS. A diverse group of spiritual leaders including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have endorsed a “Statement of Conscience” that declares that all people with HIV are children of God. The statement, along with the AIDS quilt, will be presented at the opening ceremony of the World Parliament of Religions, which convenes in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday.

* Two Los Angeles groups also will commemorate World AIDS Day. On Tuesday night, the Westside Interfaith Council will hold a prayer vigil at St. Monica Catholic Church. Participants will gather on the church patio at 7 p.m. and each person will enter the church with a candle for a procession of lights at 7:30 p.m. St. Monica is at Lincoln Boulevard and California Avenue in Santa Monica.

* On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Community Church in West Hollywood will hold an AIDS Day service at 7 p.m. The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson and other guests will officiate. The church is at 8714 Santa Monica Blvd. For information, call (310) 854-9110.

EPISCOPAL DIOCESAN CONVENTION

More than 1,000 Episcopal clergy and lay delegates are expected to gather at the Riverside Convention Center on Friday and next Saturday for the 104th annual Episcopal diocesan convention. The Most Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold III, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, is expected to launch the church’s yearlong focus on “Stewardship of All Creation . . . for the Next Century.” A key resolution before delegates will call the diocese to a year of study, prayer and action with regard to environmental and stewardship priorities. Agenda items will include budget issues and consideration of two proposed amendments to the diocese constitution.

The Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles, Frederick H. Borsch, will deliver his annual convention address after the meeting opens at 1 p.m. Friday. For further information, call (213) 482-2040.

BONE MARROW DRIVE

People of all faiths are invited to participate in a bone marrow and blood drive at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. The drive is scheduled for Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. About 16,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed every year with leukemia. Nearly 70% cannot find a suitable marrow donor match within their families and must rely on the generosity of others. The university is at 15600 Mulholland Drive in Bel-Air.

HANUKKAH

The first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, is Friday. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple after the military victory of the Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, over their Syrian-Greek occupiers in 165 BC.

The Stephen S. Wise Temple will hold candlelighting and services on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by dancing and Hanukkah sweets at 7:30 p.m. The temple is at 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive in Los Angeles. Congregants are asked to bring a small, unwrapped gift, under $10, as a donation to the Los Angeles Fire Department Toys for Tots program.

* Sunday morning, Yeshiva of Los Angeles will present a Hanukkah lecture by Hacham Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, former chief rabbi of Israel. The program begins at 10:30 a.m. Yeshiva Los Angeles is at 9760 West Pico Blvd. For more information, call Rabbi Harry Greenspan at (310) 772-2485.

* This year, deaf and hearing-impaired Jews can celebrate Hanukkah in sign language. Tchia Kastor, a deaf activist living in Baltimore, has produced a Hebrew sign language chart containing the Hanukkah candle blessings and describing holiday rituals and customs. The chart is sponsored by the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for the Disabled. To obtain copies of the Hanukkah sign language chart, write to: Our Way, 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, or call the Orthodox Union at (212) 613-8234. The suggested donation is $10.

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Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, faxed to Southern California File at (213) 237-4712, or e-mailed to religion@latimes.com. Items should arrive two to three weeks before the event and should include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date and time.