Night Blooming Jazzmen to Play

* The United Methodist Church of Thousand Oaks will sponsor an afternoon of jazz and hymn-alongs featuring the Night Blooming Jazzmen from 3 to 5 p.m. today.

Concert tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. A portion of the proceeds will go toward a Habitat for Humanity home in Piru.

The church is at 1000 E. Janss Road. For information, call 495-7215.

Pastor Will Discuss ‘Healing’

* First Presbyterian Church of Oxnard will hold a worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday. Pastor James K. Bain Jr. will deliver the sermon “Healing” based on Mark 1:1-12.

There will be Sunday school for youths during the worship service. Adult Sunday school will be at 9 a.m.

Confirmation classes begin at 11:30 a.m. for youths 13 and older. Classes will be held for seven weeks with confirmation March 9.

Child care is available at all services.

The church is at 850 Ivywood Drive. For more information, call 983-0204.

Resource Building to Be Dedicated

* Our Saviour’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oxnard will dedicate a Christian resource building at 3 p.m. Sunday. Bishop Paul W. Egertson of the Southern California West Synod will preach.

Refreshments will be served, and a pinata will be provided for children after the dedication.

The church is at 905 Redwood St. For more information, call 486-5383.

Musical, Interactive Services Offered

* St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Newbury Park will have worship services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Sunday. Music at the 8:30 a.m. service will be by Carla Stoffei and at 10 a.m. by the Chancel Choir, directed by Steve Hobson. The Rev. Lynne Austin will deliver the message “What Do You Stand For?” focusing on Mark 9:1-12.

Worship at St. Matthew’s is relaxed and interactive, with child care and children’s classes available during the second service.

The church is at 1360 Wendy Drive. For more information, call 498-6910.

Church Welcomes All Age Groups

* United Methodist Church in Simi Valley will hold services at 8 and 10 a.m. Sunday. The Rev. David Burgeson will deliver the message.

Child care is provided at both services for infants and preschoolers. Sunday school for all ages begins at 9 a.m., and a Spanish service is at 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. The Discovery Club for pre-kindergarten through grade six and youth fellowship for junior and senior high school students meet at 6 p.m.

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

Dreams Topic of Reverend’s Talk

* Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura will host the Rev. Jeremy Taylor, dream therapist, who will speak on “Dreams and the Symbolism of Waking Life.” Services are held at 9:15 and 11 a.m. Sunday. Child care is available at both services, and religious education for children is available during the 9:15 a.m. service.

The church is at 4949 Foothill Road. For more information, call 644-3898.

Creation to Be Topic of Talk

* Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village will hear Phillip Johnson, author of “Darwin on Trial” and “Reason in Balance,” speak about creation during the 9 and 11 a.m. worship services, at a pizza lunch for teens at 1 p.m. and during a seminar at 4 p.m. Sunday.

All events are free and open to the public.

The church is at 5495 Via Rocas. For information, call (818) 991-8040.

Minister to Address Methodists

* St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oxnard will hear from the Rev. Charles Simmons during worship celebration at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. Children will attend part of the worship services before going to their classrooms.

The Japanese Ministry’s services will begin at 2 p.m.

The church is at 1800 South C St. For more information, call 487-2711.

Casino Night to Benefit School

* The public is invited to Mardi Gras Casino Night 2000 at St. Paschal Baylon’s School at 7 p.m. Feb. 26.

The $30 admission to the fund-raising event will cover $3,000 in fun-bucks, appetizers, desserts and nonalcoholic beverages. A no-host bar will be available. Attendees can participate in a variety of games, such as blackjack, craps and poker.

Proceeds will benefit the school. Tickets will be on sale after all Masses at St. Paschal’s today and Sunday and at the door.

The church and school are at 155 E. Janss Road. For more information, call 496-0222.

Churches Council to Host Dinner

* The Ventura County Council of Churches will host a dinner at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Oxnard.

Tickets for the dinner meeting cost $10 per person.

The church is at 1800 South C St.

The council will sponsor an “Ecumenical Dialogue on Faith and Science” at 1:30 p.m. March 15 in the Salon Room at St. John’s Seminary Theology Library in Camarillo.

Art Exhibit on Display at CLU

* A mixed-media art exhibit titled “The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse” by A. Nancy Snooks will be on display through Feb. 27 at Cal Lutheran University’s Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture in Thousand Oaks.

Snooks, a printmaker and professor emeritus who has received international recognition for her art, works out of her studio in Ventura and lectures at the Carnegie Museum in Oxnard. She has been working on the Book of Revelation series for 30 years using a process that incorporates collage, drawings and photocopying.

For information, call 493-3151.

Course to Cover Jewish Mysticism

* The Conejo Jewish Academy in Agoura is offering a crash course on the basics of Jewish mysticism on three consecutive Mondays beginning at 8 p.m. Feb. 28.

“Going Kabbalistic” will include discussion on topics that include “What is Kabbalah and why was it kept secret all these years?” “What is a soul?” “Do we believe in angels?” “Is there more than one world?” and “Why are Chassidim always happy?”

Rabbi Yiroel Levine will be the instructor. He has been teaching Kabbalah at the academy for five years.

There is an $18 fee per registrant. The academy is at 30345 Canwood St.

Interfaith Panel Discussion

* The Ventura Interfaith Ministerial Assn. and Oxnard Ministerial Assn. invite the public to an interfaith panel discussion on “What My Faith Means to Me” at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in the sanctuary of the First Christian Church in Ventura.

John Sherwood, president of the Ventura Interfaith Ministerial Assn., will be the moderator. The panel will include the Rev. Amy Aitken, First United Methodist Church; practitioner Chuck Filbert, Christian Science Church; Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller, Temple Beth Torah in Ventura, and the Rev. Stephen Klaas, Ventura Friends Church.

There is no charge for the program, which has been organized so the speakers can share what their faith means to them and give information on their beliefs concerning the nature of God, prayer, meditation, marriage, life after death, love, morality, angels, demons, healing and other interests. Five-minute presentations by each speaker will be followed by 1 1/2 hours of questions and answers.

The church is at 38 Teloma Drive. For information, call 985-8253.

Family Building Ministry Offered

* A new family building ministry is being offered at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura beginning March 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Hurley Hall.

The public is invited and there is no charge.

The church is at 3175 Telegraph Road. For information, call Sister Teresita at 289-3499.

Israeli Dance Class for Adults

* Israeli dancing for adults comes to Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks in cooperation with Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks and Temple Beth Torah in Ventura.

The seven-week session will be held at 10 a.m. Fridays beginning March 3.

Temple Etz Chaim is at 1080 E. Janss Road. For more information, call (818) 343-8009.

Students to Help Heart Assn.

* Bethany Christian School of Thousand Oaks will have 125 students participating in a Jump for a Healthy Heart Day on Friday to raise funds for the American Heart Assn.

Proceeds will go to help fight heart disease through research and provide a free healthy heart curriculum to schools.

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Religion Briefs runs Saturdays. 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.