Professor to Examine Impact of Supreme Court Rulings

How will the Jewish and other minority communities be affected by recent and prospective Supreme Court decisions on voucher systems, states’ rights, school prayer and abortion?

Laurie Levenson, a dean at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles known for her commentary during the O.J. Simpson trial, will address these questions Tuesday and discuss how the outcome of this year’s presidential election may shift the ideological direction of the court.

Her 10:45 a.m. presentation will be preceded by a 10 a.m. light breakfast at the University of Judaism, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. $7 for the public. (310) 476-9777, Ext. 283.

EVENTS

The sixth annual “Mind 2000” seminar, featuring speakers on quantum physics and healing, will be held next Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Founder’s Church of Religious Science, 3281 W. 6th St., Los Angeles. Speakers will include author Jonathan Robinson (“Super Shortcuts to Success”), psychologist Gail Feldman (“From Crisis to Creativity”), physicist Amit Goswami (“The Gift of Living in a Self-Aware Universe: Quantum Consciousness”), the Rev. Rosalyn L. Bruyere (“Using the Amazing Healer Within”) and the Rev. Arthur Chang (“Dancing With Thunder: Tapping Into Your Inner Power”). Reservations are $35 if made by Wednesday and $40 afterward. (213) 388-9733.

* “Kabbalah Goes Mainstream: The Current Jewish Fascination With Jewish Mysticism” is the subject of a four-session series sponsored by UCLA Extension and UCLA Hillel to be held Wednesday and March 1, 15 and 29 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. The series is $50 without credit, $105 with credit. Each session will be at UCLA Hillel, 900 Hilgard Ave. For information, call (310) 825-0500.

* A “Convocation on Religion, Media and the Arts” will be held next weekend, with Richard Hamm, general president of the Disciples of Christ, and author Eric McLuhan speaking on “The Laws of the Media,” “Understanding the Electric Language” and “The Medium and the Light.” Responding to their presentations will be the Rev. Charles W. Doak, secretary of the Presbytery of the Pacific; the Rev. Michael Mata of the Urban Leadership Institute at the Claremont School of Theology; Rabbi David Neiman of the University of Judaism; Stephen O’Leary of the Annenberg School of Communications at USC; the Revs. Dan Oliver and Gayle Schoepf of Chapman University; Rod Parrot of the Disciples Seminary Foundation; Marian Rees, founder, chair and chief executive officer of Marian

Rees & Associates; the Rev. Don Shelton, regional minister in the Disciples of Christ; and Paul Sokup of the American Bible Society. Cost is $20 a day. Students and seniors less. The event is sponsored by Wilshire Christian Church, 634 S. Normandie Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 382-6337.

* Representatives of Jewish, Christian and Islamic legal systems will discuss censorship involving the Internet, other media, hate groups, pornography and the arts, Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. $5. (310) 772-2452.

* A panel of four women from diverse ethnic and spiritual backgrounds will participate in a feminist spirituality colloquium Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m. at Wylder Hall of the Unitarian Church, 5450 Atherton Ave., Long Beach. Their topic will be “Confronting Sexism, Racism, Classism and Body/Sexuality Issues: How Religion Shapes Our Thinking.” For information call the FEASST feminist spirituality center at (888) 394-7942.

* Filmmaker and director Michael Sjabel will lead a discussion about the 1992 movie “The Ox,” which won an Academy Award for the best foreign-language film for its depiction of a poor family’s struggle for survival in famine-ravaged Sweden in the mid-1800s. The program will begin at 5:30 p.m. Free. First Congregational Church, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 385-1341.

PEOPLE

Rabbi Lee T. Bycel has been appointed president of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, a national retreat center for Jewish learning and culture. Bycel most recently has been senior rabbi at Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in Cleveland. Before that he served 15 years as dean of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and as director of its Rabbinical School.

MUSIC

Thomas Randle of the Royal Opera in London will perform Friday at 8 p.m., and organist Leo Marchildon, a fellow in the Canadian Guild of Organists, will perform March 5 at 4 p.m. as part of the City of Angels Festival of Sacred Arts and Music. $10 for each event. Sponsored by Wilshire Christian Church, 634 S. Normandie Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 382-6337.

* The Black Heritage/African Drum Festival will be held Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Double Rock Baptist Church, 1900 W. Alondra Blvd., Compton. (310) 631-2283.

* Cantori Domino, a group of 50 singers, will perform Bach cantatas at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 1227 4th St., Santa Monica. $15. Students and seniors $10. (323) 662-5007.

* The second annual black heritage musical will be presented Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. at First New Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 1555 W. 108th St., Los Angeles. Free. (323) 756-2541.

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