Event to Celebrate ‘Acts of Kindness’

An Oxnard church that has been urging local governments to support “random acts of kindness” is holding a community event to celebrate civility.

The Church of Religious Science is inviting community members to share their most interesting acts of kindness, whether received or given, during a gathering starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Participants are eligible for drawing for cash awards and other items donated by church members. The church is at 138 South A St.

Church members have taken an active role in promoting Random Acts of Kindness Week, which continues through Sunday, and World Kindness Day on Monday.

At the church’s urging, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, the mayors of Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Paula, and the Port Hueneme City Council have presented resolutions or proclamations of support for the observance.

“Most of us do random acts of kindness often, like letting a car enter ahead of us, even smiling at a stranger in a store or on the street,” said local coordinator M.S. McDonald.

The idea began in Berkeley in 1981 and slowly spread before the nonprofit Random Acts of Kindness group, based in Denver, was founded in 1995, McDonald said.

Volunteers nationwide work in conjunction with the foundation to bring greater awareness and attention to the importance of kindness in daily life, he said.

For more information, call 983-0569.