Family-Geared Catholic Conference Will Feature Several Converts

National Catholic Family Conference 2000 will be held July 29-30 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The event, focusing on topics relating to the family, will feature panels for teens and children.

“The conference offers families an opportunity to learn more about Catholicism and how to practice it in their daily lives,” said event spokesman Jim Graves. There will be opportunities for fellowship with Catholic families from across the nation, he said.

Among speakers for the conference is Tim Staples of Orange County, a former Baptist youth minister and convert to Catholicism who has devoted his career to presenting and defending the Catholic faith he once rejected.

Other speakers are former Satanist and Catholic convert Betty Brennan, former Jehovah’s Witness Mary Kochan, and converts Ken Hensley and Stephen Ray. The weekend will also feature performances by the Catholic band Radix.

The cost for the weekend is $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, $25 for teens and $10 for children. The cost for a family is $80. Priests and seminarians are admitted free. Information: (626) 331-3637 or www.catholicresourcecenter.org.

Buddhists Plan Obon Celebration

A celebration of Obon, the time when Buddhists welcome the souls of their ancestors for a three-day visit to the world of the living, will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Newport Higashi Buddhist Temple, 254 Victoria St., Costa Mesa. There will be a traditional Otoki lunch. The Rev. Makoto Honda will lead the Obon service in Japanese, and an English service will be led by the Rev. Tetsuo Unno.

Religious event notices may be sent to Gena Pasillas at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa 92626. They also may be faxed to (714) 966-7711 or sent by e-mail to gena.pasillas@latimes.com