Christians to Mark Unity Week at St. Vincent’s Service

Christians of many denominations, from Roman Catholic to Lutheran, will come together Sunday to observe the annual week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Newly installed Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the United Methodist Church will preach at the 3 p.m. service at St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Church in downtown Los Angeles. The theme of the day is “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” based on John 14:1-6. All Christian clergy and congregation members are invited to the service and to a reception immediately afterward in St. Vincent’s school auditorium. Sponsors of the event are the Southern California Ecumenical Council and the Los Angeles Council of Churches. St. Vincent’s is at 621 W. Adams Blvd., at Figueroa Street. (626) 578-6371.

Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated worldwide every year. The theme and text are chosen and prepared by representatives of the Vatican and the World Council of Churches, then published for use in this country by the Graymoor Ecumenical Institute in cooperation with the National Council of Churches of Christ.

As part of unity week, Lutheran Bishop Paul W. Egerston and Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of the Santa Barbara pastoral region will discuss the controversial Vatican declaration “Dominus Jesus” at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The statement, issued by Pope John Paul II last year, said that Catholicism is the sole path to salvation. The discussion will be in the Prayer Hall of St. John’s Seminary, 5012 Seminary Road, Camarillo.

ORTHODOX UNITY

For the first time in Southern California, clergy and the faithful from more than 100 Orthodox churches will gather at 7 p.m. Sunday for a doxology, or glorification service, at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles. Jurisdictions expected to participate include the Russian, Greek, Antiochian, Serbian and Ukrainian Orthodox dioceses. Clergy and lay people from Coptic, Armenian, Syriac and Ethiopian Orthodox churches have also agreed to attend. The Orthodox Christian Coalition in America has called for the meeting to mark the millennium and help coordinate unity among Orthodox churches here and abroad. Presentations will be given by various churches as well as by Father John Reimann, chairman of the coalition. After the doxology, a reception will be held in St. Sophia Cathedral Hall at 1324 S. Normandie Ave., Los Angeles.

EVENTS

“Unfair Advantage” is the title of a community assembly on the status of human rights for Los Angeles hotel workers scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at First Baptist Church of Los Angeles. The assembly, co-sponsored by the Hotel Organizing Project and the Episcopal diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice, will address the legal rights of workers to organize a union and potential problems in doing so. The lead presenter will be Lance Compa, author of an August 2000 report entitled “Worker’s Freedom of Association in the United States.” Following a panel presentation, participants may attend a workshop. The church is at 760 Westmoreland St., Los Angeles. The registration fee of $5 includes lunch. For additional information, call the Rev. Dick Gillett, minister of social justice for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, (626) 398-4146.

* FAME Renaissance, the economic development arm of the First AME Church, has joined with Fannie Mae Corp. to offer financial seminars. The series, titled “Debt Free by 2003,” will begin at 6 p.m. Monday at the church at 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles. Mark Whitlock, executive director of FAME Renaissance, said the purpose will be to show how to manage and eliminate debt while seeking to purchase a home or property. (323) 730-9194.

* Beth Chayim Chadashim will host a two-part Ethical Will Workshop led by Devorah Servi at 7 p.m. Sunday and Jan. 28. Offering a method for Jews to pass spiritual lessons to their heirs, the ethical will is a less formal companion to the standard financial document drafted by attorneys. The cost for the 90-minute, double-session class is $18 for members and $25 for the public. Beth Chayim Chadashim is the world’s first synagogue for Jews of all sexual orientations. To register, call (323) 931-7023.

PEOPLE

Bishop John Chedid, spiritual leader of Our Lady of Mt. Lebanon-St. Peter Cathedral, will be honored by his congregation Sunday as he resigns after 44 years. The cathedral is one of 11 Eastern Rite Catholic churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Eastern Rite churches follow Orthodox rituals but are loyal to the Vatican. Chedid came to Los Angeles from Lebanon in 1956 as the parish priest for the Lebanese-American Maronites in the Los Angeles area. At that time, the church consisted of about 50 families. Today, Maronite Catholics in Southern California number in the thousands.

* Last month, Pope John Paul II accepted Chedid’s resignation and appointed Robert Shaheen as second bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon. A Pontifical Liturgy will be held at the cathedral at 11 a.m. Sunday. A formal banquet will follow at 1:30 p.m. at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. For more information, call Father Abdallah Zaidan at (310) 275-6634.

* The Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches and former president of the Claremont School of Theology, will speak at the Riviera United Methodist Church on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as part of the Carol Ann Cook lecture series. Edgar will speak twice on Sunday, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday lectures will be at 7 p.m. The theme is “Leadership for the New Millennium: The Effective, Active Church.” Admission is free and child care will be provided. The church is at 375 Palo Verdes Blvd., Redondo Beach. (310) 378-9273.

* Rabbi Ted Falcon, who founded the meditation-oriented Makom Ohr Shalom synagogue in Los Angeles before leaving in 1993 to begin a similar temple in Seattle, will return to California on Friday and next Saturday to lead a Shabbat service Friday night and a Saturday workshop celebrating the spiritual aspects of Jewish identity through meditation, music, teaching and story. The retreat will be at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Road, Encino. Friday evening donation request is $15. For details, call Louise Feinberg, (310) 837-2460.

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