Evolving Relations of Jews, Catholics

The evolving relationship between Catholics and Jews will be the subject of a panel discussion Wednesday to be convened by Rabbi Harold Schulweis and Cardinal Roger M. Mahony.

Six panelists will discuss Jewish and Catholic attitudes, the Holocaust, and the interpretation of Christian Scripture free of anti-Semitism. An interfaith ceremony to express optimism and hope will be held after the discussion.

Panelists include Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, western regional director of the American Jewish Committee; Sister Gretchen Hailer, a Catholic consultant on adult faith formation; Father Patrick Mullen, New Testament professor at St. John’s Seminary; Father Alfred S. Burnham, former head of the Los Angeles archdiocese’s office of ecumenical and inter-religious affairs; Daniel Smith-Christopher, professor of Hebrew Scriptures at Loyola Marymount University; and Father Michael Wakefield, pastor of St. Euphrasia Church and co-chairman of the dialogue between priests and rabbis.

Schulweis, senior rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom, and Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, will offer their own remarks apart from the panel discussion. The program will be held at 7 p.m. at Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino. For reservations, call (213) 637-7555 or (310) 282-8080.

PEOPLE

Jesuit Father Robert B. Lawton will be inaugurated Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m. as the 14th president of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Lawton, 52, is a classicist and biblical scholar who previously served as dean of the undergraduate college at Georgetown University.

The Rev. Charles R. Swindoll, former pastor of the Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, has been awarded the 1999 International Broadcaster Award by the Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio, based in Cary, N.C. Swindoll is chairman of Insight for Living and president of the Dallas Theological Seminary.

MUSIC

St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Neenan, will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and the overture to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades. $15. (310) 573-7787, Ext. 2.

EVENTS

Spirituality and the environment is the subject of a talk this afternoon at 4 p.m. by John Quiring, religion philosopher and program director of the Center for Process Studies in Claremont. Sponsored by the Ecology Discussion Group, the talk will be held at Borders Books and Music, 475 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Free.

* Johnnes Tulngen, head of the Center for Human Resource Development in troubled East Timor, will speak on peacemaking Sunday at the 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worship services of Newhall First Presbyterian Church, 24317 N. Newhall Ave., Newhall. (661) 259-0555.

* Gandhi Day will be celebrated Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Valley Hindu Temple of Northridge, 18700 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge. The program includes speakers, Indian dances, songs, a Hindu worship service and complementary Indian dinner. (818) 718-6460.

* “Love Without Honor,” a faith-based support group for women coping with mental, physical, verbal, sexual or spiritual abuse, meets on Mondays through December at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2100 Mar Vista Ave., Newport Beach. Free. (949) 721-8079.

* A seven-week divorce recovery program begins Oct. 3 at 2 p.m., featuring Jim Smoke, author of “Growing Through Divorce.” The program is sponsored jointly by Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Congregation Shir Ha-Ma’alot and St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church. Locations vary from week to week. For details, (949) 644-1341.

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