Explore Spiritual Ground at Sacred Arts Festival

Ever wondered what Jesus looked like, or wanted to hear the music of Hildegard of Bingen, or to explore the spiritual themes in T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral?”

Artists, actors, scholars and musicians, including the famed Roger Wagner Chorale, will offer their spiritual insights and interpretations on a wide range of topics during a two-day Sacred Arts Festival next weekend in Pasadena.

Sponsored by the Benedictine monks of St. Andrew’s Abbey in Valyermo and the Jubilee 2000 Committee of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the June 10-11 festival is said by sponsors to be the first such event in the region. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 11.

In addition to art exhibits, other events include a workshop on chant in English and Latin, a talk, “In Search of the True Face of Christ,” dramatic presentations about Hildegard and the martyrdom of Thomas a Becket, a Sunday Mass celebrated by the monks of St. Andrew’s Abbey, a workshop on the role of Jewish scripture in Christian art, and a culminating Jubilee 2000 Concert featuring works celebrating the new millennium.

Most events will be held at the Pasadena Center Conference Building, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, where tickets may be purchased. Other events will be held at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. The festival’s culminating Jubilee 2000 Concert will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. Prices vary, depending on events attended. Package prices run $25 for adults for one day, or $40 for two days, excluding Roger Wagner Chorale and Jubilee 2000 concert. General admission: $10 adult in advance, $12.50 at box office. Proceeds benefit St. Andrew’s Abbey.

A complete listing of festival events may be found on the festival Web site on the Internet: https://www.sacredartsfestival.org.

For more information call (818) 773-7947.

MUSIC

*

The Band of the California Battalion, which carries on the musical tradition and dress of its Civil War- era forerunner, will perform at 5 p.m. June 10 at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church, 4607 Prospect Ave., Hollywood. $10 adults, $7 for students and seniors. Call (323) 663-6577.

“A German Requiem” by Johannes Brahms will be presented by the Los Angeles Concert Orchestra, the Santa Monica College Concert Chorale and Chancel Choir of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the church, 1008 11th St., Santa Monica. $10 adults, $5 seniors and students. Call (310) 393-8258.

EVENTS

*

Jewish political alliances with the conservative right are the subjects of a discussion featuring film critic Michael Medved and David Luchins, senior advisor to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.). The program, “Is the ‘Right’ Right for American Jewry?” will be held at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the Westwood Kehilla, an Orthodox synagogue at 10523 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. $18 advance, $25 at door. Call (310) 470-8343.

* The Golden State Klezmer Band will perform music and humor at 8 p.m. tonight at Temple Sholom of Ontario, 963 W. 6th St., Ontario. $18, includes refreshments. Call (909) 983-9661.

* A Palestinian Christian perspective on the controversy involving land, Israel and those who want a Palestinian state will be the subject of a program and Arabic luncheon Thursday, sponsored by the Southern California chapter of Friends of Sabell-North America. Speakers will include the Rev. Naim Ateek, director of Sabeel-Jerusalem, and the Rev. Michael Prior, professor at the University of Sussex. The program will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. Free. Call (818) 353-0306 or (310) 540-7278 for free luncheon reservations.

* Rabbi Debra Orenstein, a writer and lecturer, will speak on “The Meaning and Practice of Holiness” at 11 a.m. Sunday at Congregation Makom Ohr, 13164 Burbank Blvd., Sherman Oaks. $10. (818) 725-7600 or on the Internet at https://www.makom.org.

* Election-year issues of abortion, debt forgiveness for developing countries, homosexual rights, gun control and the working poor will be discussed at four “consultations” sponsored by Mobilization for the Human Family, an ecumenical, progressive Christian organization. The first consultation will be held Wednesday at Los Altos United Methodist Church, 5950 E. Willow St., Long Beach. Free. Others will be held June 14, 19 and 21, in Pomona, Los Angeles and Pasadena, respectively. For more details call (909) 625-8722.

* A three-day seminar on spiritual healing for homosexuality, sexual abuse or sexual addiction and other emotional, physical and relational issues will be held Thursday through next Saturday at the Anaheim Vineyard. It is sponsored by Desert Stream Ministries, founded in 1980 as a “biblically based healing group in West Hollywood for people struggling with homosexuality.” The ministry believes that faith in Jesus can transform those confronting “sexual brokenness.” $50 for individuals, $75 couples. Call (714) 779-6899, Ext. 1011.

* Shnayer Z. Leiman, professor of Jewish history and literature at Brooklyn College, who has also been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Yeshiva Universities, will speak over the Shavuot weekend, Thursday through next Saturday, on the “Bible and Talmud in Light of Modern Archeology,” “Cabalistic and Intellectual Interpretations of the Book of Ruth,” and “The Emergence of Modernity in Western European Jewish Life.” He will speak at Yeshiva of Los Angeles, 9760 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Free. Call (310) 772-2487 for details.

* Michael Ozair, a Hasidic rabbi, and Abdoulaye Dieye, an Islamic sheik from Senegal, will discuss “Building Bridges of Spiritual Unity” at a mystical and musical celebration Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Soka Gakkai International Friendship Center, 5899 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, at the northeast corner of Fairfax Avenue. Free. Call (310) 450-8928 or (310) 772-8888.

*

Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, faxed to Southern California File at (213) 237-2358, or e-mailed to religion@latimes.com. Items should arrive two to three weeks before the event and must include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date, time, and cost if any. Because of the volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee publication.