Communal Prayers to Celebrate End of Pilgrimage to Mecca

Several thousand Southern California Muslims are expected to celebrate the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with communal prayers Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Eid prayers can be a dramatic tableau of faith as hundreds of Islamic believers form neat rows and bow in unison. All Muslim prayers begin with the recitation of the Al-Fatihah, or opening chapter of the Koran: “In the name of God, most compassionate, most merciful. . . .”

Making a pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five pillars of Islam. The other four pillars are reciting the declaration of Islamic faith (“There is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger”), praying five times daily, charitable giving and fasting.

Maher Hathout is scheduled to lead the Eid prayers, which will be held at 7 a.m. at the Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Free.

The Islamic Center of the San Gabriel Valley will hold Eid prayers at 8 a.m. at the Pomona Fairplex. The Islamic Society of Orange County will hold its Eid prayers at 8:30 a.m. at Hidden Valley Park, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

EVENTS

The Women’s Fellowship of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pasadena will have a luncheon and workshop today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on relationships. Titled “Forgive, Let Go and Let God,” the event will be held at the church, 1700 N. Raymond Ave. $20. (626) 798-0503.

* “The Crisis in Reform Judaism” is the subject of a talk by Rabbi and history professor Robert Seltzer Friday at 8 p.m. at Leo Baeck Temple, 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 476-2861.

* Oxford University professor Keith Ward will lecture on “The Future of Religion: Conflict or Convergence” at 10 a.m. Monday in the Samuelson Chapel of California Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Free. (805) 493-3151.

* The use of civilian aircraft to foster peace between Israel and Jordan, a program known as Operation Peace Flight, will be discussed by author and pilot Barry Schiff on Sunday at 10 a.m. at B’Nai Tikvah Congregation, 5820 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester. Continental breakfast $4. Lecture is free. (310) 645-6262.

* Church and Hollywood Leadership Breakfast organized by Ted Baehr and hosted by the National Assn. of Evangelicals and the Christian Film and Television Commission will be held at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the Hilton Universal Hotel, Universal City. $50. (800)899-6684.

* “Prayer, Distant Healing and Spirituality for a Modern Medical Era” is the subject of Elisabeth Targ, a physician, on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles. $5 donation. (323) 663-2167.

* Father Ernest Larkin, a leading authority on Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, will speak to those who are training for the ministry and others generally interested on “Discernment and the Spiritual Director.” Presentation today from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Doheny Campus of Mt. St. Mary’s College, near Adams Boulevard and Figueroa Street. $20. (213) 747-6508.

PEOPLE

The Board of Rabbis of Southern California has awarded three local rabbis the Edna and Mickey Weiss Foundation grant to study at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel. They are Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, West Coast director of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Rabbi Richard Levy, director of the Rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College, and Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh of Temple Israel of Hollywood.

* F. Thomas Trotter has been named interim president of the Claremont School of Theology, succeeding Robert Edgar, who is the new general secretary of the National Council of Churches. Trotter will not be a candidate in the final presidential selection process.

MUSIC

The Choir of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church will sing a special Evensong on Sunday at 4 p.m., 28211 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Free. (310) 457-7966.

* The Phillips Exeter Academy Concert Choir will perform in the West Coast premiere of Robert Convery’s “The Unknown Region” Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Blvd. at Warner Avenue, Los Angeles. Free. (310) 474-4511.

* The Choir and Schola Cantorum of St. James Episcopal Church will perform Benjamin Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb” and John Tavener’s “The Lamb,” among other works, on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the church, 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. $10 contribution. (213) 388-3015.

* Music director and composer John-Kevin Hilbert will premiere his new work, Requiem, at 8 p.m. Friday at Westwood Presbyterian Church, 10822 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. $15. (310) 474-4535.

* Music of Bach, Handel, Purcell, Campion, Dowland and O’Carolan will be performed by Music Angelica at 8 p.m. Friday at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades. $15. (310) 573-7787, Ext. 127.

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