Exploring the Role of Women in Religion

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, three events this week will explore the role of women in religion.

Women of diverse denominations will meet to discuss unity and women’s place in the church at the 12th annual Women Connecting Women conference today in the Donohue Center at Mount St. Mary’s College, 10 Chester Place, Los Angeles. Speakers will include Martha Ellen Stortz of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Roman Catholic theologian Jane Via and the Rev. Betty Hanna-Witherspoon of Allen Chapel, African Methodist Episcopal Church. Registration is $18. Partial scholarships are available. (213) 477-2640.

A workshop on using feminist culture and spirituality to combat racism and violence will be offered Thursday through Sunday at the Immaculate Heart College Center, 425 Shatto Place, Suite 401, Los Angeles. Faculty presenters will include Gloria Johnson, Margarita Flores, Catherine Ferguson, Susan Maloney and Ruthann Rountree. Fee is $200. (213) 386-3116.

A gathering of women to discuss their activities in the fields of spirituality and social justice will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 5450 Atherton St., Long Beach. Sponsored by the FEASST women’s spirituality center, the event will be facilitated by Betty Willis Brooks of Cal State Long Beach. (888) 394-7942.

EVENTS

The future of the Catholic Church, political mudslinging, the ethics of cloning and other topics will be discussed today at Loyola Marymount University, 7900 Loyola Blvd., Westchester. Other highlights of the annual President’s Day program will include a lecture by university President Robert B. Lawton about biblical viewpoints on the meaning of life and a film, “Yellow Lotus,” by alumnus Tony Bui about his native Vietnam. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $30. (310) 338-3065.

* Central Baptist Church will hold a leadership summit of clergy, educators, law enforcement, families and elected officials on the topic of domestic violence in the African American community Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church, 3120 W. 108th St., Inglewood. Grantland Johnson, secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency, will be keynote speaker. (310) 323-3204.

* Jews across America and Canada will aim to rekindle interest in Shabbat, the weekly day of rest, at events Friday evening. More than 750 synagogues and 70 campus Hillel groups will be opened to unaffiliated Jews, including an estimated 3,000 college students.

In the Southland, Temple Ner Tamid, 10629 Lakewood Blvd., Downey, will celebrate the event with a Shabbat kosher chicken dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. (562) 861-9276. B’nai Tikvah Congregation, 5820 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester, will feature musician and song leader Mike Sirota at its celebration beginning at 6:30 p.m. (310) 645-6262.

* The Westside Jewish Community Center will present its Purim carnival Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with game booths, goldfish, prizes, face painting, a petting zoo and other attractions. Free. A can of food for SOVA, a kosher food pantry for the poor, is requested. The center is at 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 938-2531.

* St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Church, 778 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena, will host a retreat for both Orthodox followers and Roman Catholics on April 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature spiritual reflections and services from both denominations. (818) 556-3538.

* Creekside Christian Fellowship will host a symposium on “Discovering God” through the eyes of scientists, mathematicians and astrophysicists today from 1 to 4 p.m. Speakers will include Donald D. Hoffman, a professor of cognitive science at UC Irvine, and Gerald Marley, a mathematics professor at Cal State Fullerton. The fellowship is at 4849 Alton Parkway in Irvine. (949) 786-4849.

LECTURES

Cantor Meir Finkelstein will speak on the challenges of setting sacred text to music on Monday at 9:30 a.m. at the University of Judaism, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. Finkelstein is the composer of three albums and collaborated with Steven Spielberg on “The Shoah,” a documentary film. The event will be sponsored by the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, Pacific Southwest branch. Cost is $6. (310) 476-5359.

* Helen Ferrari will speak on “The Ascetic Practice of Fasting” in the Eastern Orthodox Church on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Archangel Michael Orthodox Bookstore, 12550 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Free. (310) 390-8065.

* The Claremont School of Theology will offer a Bible lecture series, “Reshaping the Ancient Scriptures,” Monday and Tuesday at 10 a.m. Topics will include the reshaping of Genesis, the Greek-language scriptures and the Esther story. Registration is $50, including lunch. The school is at 1325 N. College Ave. (909) 626-3521.

* Terry Cole-Whittaker will lecture on how to attract love, money and good fortune today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Glendale Church of Religious Science, 2146 E. Chevy Chase Drive. (818) 244-8171.

* Ellen Jaffe-Gill will speak on the much-debated issue of intermarriage Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. She is the author of “Embracing the Stranger: Intermarriage and the American Jewish Community.” Program cost, including a light breakfast at 10 a.m., is $7 for guests and $6 for members of University Women. (310) 440-1282.

* Yeshiva of Los Angeles and Community Beit Midrash will present a lecture on Seder laws and insights by Rabbi Harry Greenspan on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. A program on preparing the home for Pesach by time-management expert Esther Simon will follow at 8:30 p.m. Fee is $5. (310) 772-2485.

* Rabbi Baruch Bentzion of Jews for Judaism will discuss how to help Jewish youth assess information from proselytizers on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at B’nai Tikvah Congregation, 5820 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester. (310) 645-6262.

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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) 237-4712 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 and time. Because of the volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee publication.