St. Brigid Choir’s Annual Concert to Include Alumni Reunion

The nationally acclaimed St. Brigid New Generation Choir will perform its annual concert, “Shout Praises Unto God,” tomorrow at St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church in South-Central Los Angeles. Also expected to perform are St. Brigid Traditional African Drum Praise Ministry, Maranatha Community Church Sanctuary Mass Choir, the Seventh-day Adventist Youth Choir and Beverly “Bam” Crawford’s Anointed Steps Praise Dancers. A highlight of this year’s performance will be a reunion of New Generation Choir alumni who now serve as role models for current choir members.

Since the inception of the New Generation Choir in 1987 under director Dale Lamont, the group has been a force in defining the sound and choreography of the modern youth choir. The concert will begin at 4 p.m. and admission is free. St. Brigid is at 5214 South Western Ave. (323) 291-5197.

WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

The Love, Peace and Happiness Family Christian Fellowship in Downey will hold its Redeemed Women’s 2000 Conference Wednesday through Aug. 6. Services will begin nightly at 7:30 p.m. The conference will include a one-day seminar Thursday at 10 a.m. and a Universal Studios Tour on Friday, also at 10 a.m. The theme of the conference is “Blossoming Into Great Women of God.” Speakers will include Juanita Sapp of Dallas; Ralphena Dodson of Houston; and Renee Durfield, who will be the guest speaker at a Saturday luncheon. The church is at 11022 Old River School Road. For more information or transportation, call (562) 806-9890.

EVENTS

USC law professor Jody Armour will moderate a public forum on race relations tomorrow at Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes. Armour, author of “Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism,” will speak on “Black as the Face of God--Harmonizing Our Hearts and Minds in Race Relations.” Armour will discuss how the heart’s desire for fairness and justice may be undermined by bias. The talk will take place as part of a special Sunday service beginning at 10:30 a.m., with the forum following at 12:15 p.m. Pacific Unitarian Church is at 5621 Montemalaga Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes. (310) 378-9449.

* Terry Cummings, minister and basketball player for the Golden State Warriors, will be guest speaker tomorrow at the Faith and Love Outreach Ministry Church in Los Angeles. Cummings will pay tribute to community leader and Pastor Paula Johnson. In 1994, Johnson founded the Marcus Johnson Reaching Out Mission, providing food and clothing for poor and homeless families. She can also be heard on KTYM-AM (1460). Cummings will speak at 3:30 p.m. Faith and Love Outreach Ministry is at 4801 Main St. in Los Angeles.

* Bhau Kalchuri, an Indian poet and follower of the Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, will lecture tonight at the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California. Kalchuri is head of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in Ahmednagar, India. He has written hundreds of ghazala, or poems of devotion, and an 18-volume biography of Meher Baba.

Meher Baba was born Merwan S. Irani on Feb. 25, 1894 in Poona, India, into a Zoroastrian family of Persian descent. At the age of 19, followers believe, his identity as God in human form was unveiled to him through a meeting with a Muslim holy woman, Hazrat Babjan. The appellation Meher Baba, which means compassionate father, was given by his mandali, or close ones, who were of many different castes and creeds. He observed silence the last 44 years of his life and died in 1969.

* Congregation Kol Ami, a West Hollywood Reform synagogue, will hold a Women’s Salsa Havdalah tonight at 7:30 p.m. at a private home. A poolside party with salsa dancing will follow a short Havdalah service. The requested donation of $15 will include a fajita bar and drinks. For further information or to RSVP, call the temple office at (310) 248-6320.

* Temple Ner Maarav, a Conservative synagogue in Encino, invites the public to an open house tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will provide prospective members with the opportunity to meet staff members and clergy and learn about the temple’s programs. Next month, open houses will be held on Aug. 13 and 27. The open house will take place in the temple’s new social hall at 17730 Magnolia Blvd. (818) 345-7833.

* Vietnam veteran Bob Wieland will speak tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the First Southern Baptist Church of Temple City. Wieland lost both legs in Vietnam on June 14, 1969. After returning from the war, Wieland walked across America on his arms in three years, eight months and six days from 1982 through 1986. He is also the only double amputee to compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. The church is at 4856 N. Goldenwest Ave. in Temple City.

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