Cardinal Mahony to Honor 5 Area Parishes

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, plans to honor five parishes tonight for their commitment to social justice and empowerment in their communities. The churches are: St. Thomas the Apostle and Santa Teresita in Los Angeles; Our Lady of Victory in Compton; Holy Family in Glendale; and Santa Clara in Oxnard. The churches will receive their parish justice awards at the 12th Annual Justice and Peace Recognition Dinner to be held tonight at 6 p.m. at St. Paul the Cross Church in La Mirada. In addition, this year’s 2000 Empowerment Award goes to Justice for Janitors, the group that worked with union leaders during a three-week strike in April that made national headlines.

EVENTS

Across sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of Christians have a long tradition of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. Historically, Ethiopia and many other parts of Africa also have kept the religious custom. Today, the numbers of Sabbath-keepers are exploding in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gabon, Congo and elsewhere. Many of these 20 million Christian Sabbath-keepers in Africa see the Sabbath as a mark of African consciousness and independence from European civilization.

But, how did this start?

Next week, a two-day conference sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist African American Ministries explores how the paths of African Christianity and Judaism crossed in history and the relevance of African Sabbath for Christians today. The conference entitled “Sabbath Roots: The African Connection” emerged from a book by Charles E. Bradford. Among the presenters at the conference: Gardner C. Taylor, pastor emeritus of Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York; Kofi Owusu-Mensah, African scholar; Mitchell Tyner of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and Jean-Paul Heldt of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The conference takes place Wednesday and Thursday at the USC Davidson Center, at the corner of Figueroa and Jefferson streets in Los Angeles. Registration is $100 and includes lunches. Information: (800) 732-7587.

* Pacific Southwest Region of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism holds its Biennial Convention tomorrow at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. For the first time, the Northern California and Pacific Northwest Regions will participate in the gathering. Seminars will cover issues for synagogues such as fund-raising, membership, programming for seniors and the Internet. The afternoon program, “The Search for Spirituality Today,” will feature perspectives from a panel of Rabbis Bradley Shavit Artson, Elliot Dorff, Edward Feinstein, Daniel Isaak, Alan Lew, Harold Schulweis and David Wolpe. For information and reservations, (818) 986-0907.

* For the first time, Orthodox chaplains will participate in local Veterans Day ceremonies. On Thursday at 10 a.m., the very Rev. John E. Constantine of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Anaheim will deliver the invocation at the Veterans Day service at West Los Angeles Healthcare Center at 11301 Wilshire Blvd. On Friday at 11 a.m., Archpriest Jerome Cwiklinski, Orthodox chaplain, U.S. Navy at Camp Pendleton, will deliver the invocation and benediction at the 41st Salute to World War II Veterans at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. The service is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in Hollywood Hills.

* “Krystallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass,” will be commemorated at B’nai Tikvah Congregation in Westchester on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. Krystallnacht marks the outbreak of the Nazis’ war against the Jews through the destruction of storefronts, homes and synagogues. Holocaust survivors will share their stories, including Miriam Bornstein, whose father’s bookstore was burned on Krystallnacht, and Debra Seidel, who will read portions of her uncle’s diary from that time. B’nai Tikvah Congregation is at 5820 W. Manchester Ave., one block east of Airport Boulevard in Westchester. (310) 645-6262.

MUSIC

John Scott, organist and master of the Choristers at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, will perform at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles tomorrow as part of the church’s 32nd Annual Organ Concert Series. The church is home to the largest pipe organ in the world. Scott’s recital will include compositions by Naji Hakim, J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Edward Elgar and Franz Liszt. First Church is at 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. in Los Angeles. Tickets are $11 for adults, $7 for seniors and students. (213) 385-1345.

* The choir of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills will sing music of Near and Buonemani at a concert tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the parish. Sherril Wood, baroque and modern flute, and Thomas Foster, harpsichord and organ, will perform music of Couperin, Hotteterre, Langlais, Alain and Franck. All Saints is at 504 N. Camden Drive at Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. (310) 275-2910.

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