Catholic Charities Launches Workers Advocacy Group

A new Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice has been formed with the Rev. Connie Regener as its director. The organization’s goal is to “educate and mobilize the Orange County religious community and people of faith to support issues and campaigns that will sustain a life of dignity for workers and their families.”

The committee, organized by Catholic Charities and funded in part by the Orange County Human Relations Council, meets monthly with more than 50 religious leaders from Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths. Over the last four years, about 40 similar groups have formed nationwide, including committees in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The organizations lobby for such things as better wages, benefits and working conditions.

Regener, an Irvine resident, had been the Orange County interfaith director for the National Conference for Community and Justice. The committee’s office will be at the Catholic Charities’ regional office in Anaheim.

Special Events

* Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in La Habra will host its 19th annual Christmas boutique and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday. A variety of handmade crafts from more than 70 vendors will be available. Shoppers can visit Santa Claus at noon, plus enter to win prizes in one of the hourly drawings. Lunch will be served.

The church’s Respect Life Committee will donate proceeds to the La Habra Life Center, a nonprofit organization helping women who experience problems during pregnancy. The group will be on hand to offer free maternity and baby items, prenatal-care referrals and pregnancy testing. The church is at 900 W. La Habra Blvd. (714) 871-5382.

* Trabuco Presbyterian Church will host an Alternative Christmas Bazaar after worship services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Sunday. Shoppers will have an opportunity to buy hand-crafted gifts from organizations such as Third World Hand Arts, the Heifer Project and Habitat for Humanity. Alternative gifts support food production and living condition improvements in Third-World countries. The church is at 31802 Las Amigas, Trabuco Canyon. 9949) 589-5110. https://www.trabucopres.com.

* A World AIDS Day Interfaith service will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Laguna Beach United Methodist Church. South Orange County religious leaders from diverse faiths will honor those who have died of AIDS and will pay tribute to those living with the disease. The Rev. John Griffen of Crescent Heights Methodist Church in West Hollywood will discuss his experience as a religious leader living with AIDS. A reception will follow. The church is at 21632 Wesley Drive. (949) 492-3542.

* Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and Trinity Episcopal Church have joined forces to form the Corazon building team. Corazon constructs single-family homes for people living in cardboard shacks in the hills of Tijuana. Team members will build their first house today. Members are splitting the costs of building materials, which total about $4,000. For information, call Pastor Steve Beckham at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 800 N. Cambridge St., Orange. (714) 639-9390.

* Author Michael Berenbaum will speak on “Wither the Fifth Generation?” as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. Berenbaum is an adjunct professor of theology at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. His talk will trace each generation of Jews and how each has influenced its successor. Tickets are $25 preferred, $10 general and $5 for seniors and students.

The Temple Bat Yahm Sisterhood will celebrate the grand opening of its gift shop with a Hanukkah Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The shop offers gifts for Hanukkah, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations. Regular gift shop hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays. Temple Bat Yahm is at 1011 Camelback St. (949) 644-1999.

* The 90th anniversary “Phone-A-Friend Campaign,” Hadassah’s renewal and life membership campaign, will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Long Beach/Orange County Area Hadassah Resource Center in Costa Mesa. Hadassah is one of the largest volunteer organizations for women. Members support medical, educational and social services in Israel and the United States. The center is at 660 W. Baker St., Suite 223. (714) 545-7162.

Music

* ‘Tis the Season Handbell Carolers will present a Christmas concert at 7 tonight at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tustin. Tickets are $17 for adults and $7 for children under 12. Children under 4 are free. Two dollars will be given to the American Red Cross Liberty Fund from each ticket sold. The remainder of the proceeds will benefit Wavecrest-Friends of L’Arche, a group using the international community model of Jean Vanier to help people with developmental disabilities. Also at the church, the ancient rite of Evensong will usher in the Advent season during services at 5 p.m. Sunday. Adult and youth choirs will participate in this candlelight service. St. Paul’s is at 1221 Wass St. (714) 544-3141.

* St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar will present its “St. Michael & All Angels Friends of Music Evensong Series” the first Sunday of each month through June, starting Sunday. The series will be led by Grammy-winning musician the Rev. Norm Freeman of St. Michael & All Angels Church in Isla Vista. This month’s event will feature “Lessons and Carols for Advent” with the St. Michael’s choir, children’s choir and soloists. Upcoming concerts are “Lenten Choral Evensong,” “Happy Voices,” “Jazz Vespers,” “OrganSong” and others. Concerts are at 5 p.m. The church is at 3233 Pacific View Drive. (949) 644-0463.

* Concordia University in Irvine will present the Christmas concert “Lulley, Lullay My Dear Son” at 8 p.m. Friday and 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 8. at its Center for Worship and the Performing Arts. Concordia’s Lutheran Chorale, Concert Choir, Women’s Ensemble and hand bell ensemble will sing traditional and contemporary Christmas carols from around the world. This year’s event will also feature a community art project created by Concordia students and children from the Iglesia Cristo Rey and Trinity Lutheran churches in Santa Ana. Tickets are $15 for reserved seating or $10 for general admission. The center is at 1530 Concordia West. (949) 854-8002, Ext. 1526.

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Religious event notices of countywide interest may be sent to Gena Guisar at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa 92626. They also may be faxed to (714) 966-7711 or sent by e-mail to gena.guisar@latimes.com