Rosary Pilgrimage Planned for Mother’s Day
Three Southland churches will sponsor the 24th annual Mother’s Day rosary pilgrimage Sunday, offering a message of peace and the gift of love through prayer to mothers of all faiths. A statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be carried in a procession as the rosary is recited in each church.
The rosary will be said at 3 p.m. at St. Christopher Church, 629 S. Glendora Ave., West Covina; at 4 p.m. at St. Louis of France, 13935 Temple Ave., La Puente; and at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph Church, 550 N. Glendora Ave., La Puente. The pilgrimage is sponsored by the Legion of Mary. (626) 917-1531.
Events
A three-part lecture series on women in the Torah, and how they are regarded by Rabbinic commentary in the Talmud, will begin today at 9:30 a.m. at Leo Baeck Temple, 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles. Rabbi Emily Feigenson will begin each session with a half-hour Shabbat meditation and learner’s minyan in the outdoor sanctuary. Subsequent sessions will take place May 19 and 26. (310) 476-2861.
* Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh will speak on “Cultivating Peace in Ourselves and Our Communities” today at the San Diego Civic Center’s Golden Hall at 3 p.m. The Buddhist monk, scholar, writer and peace activist, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967, is in exile from Vietnam and now resides in France. Last fall, he founded Deerpark Monastery, a Buddhist community and meditation center of 24 monks and nuns, in Escondido. (760) 291-1003.
* The University Religious Conference at UCLA will celebrate 73 years of interfaith dialogue at its annual awards dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the UCLA Faculty Center. Honorees are U.S. Olympian Rafer Johnson, for outstanding humanitarian work; UCLA student Cynthia Swaeby, for volunteerism; and former UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden for his commitment to ethics and values for young people through sports and academics. (310) 208-5055.
* The Church in Ocean Park will celebrate its 103rd birthday with the third annual Poetry Reading at 7:30 p.m. May 19. Admission is $103, $1.03 or 103 of anything (pennies, nickels or dimes.) Mary Ann Barnard and Joy Buckley will read at the church, 235 Hill St., Santa Monica. (310) 452-7953.
* The Holy Spirit Retreat Center will hold an introductory workshop on “centering prayer,” a Christian tradition of contemplative prayer, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today. The program will include background and instruction in the tradition as taught by Father Thomas Keating. The center is at 4316 Lanai Road, Encino. (818) 784-4515.
* A Festival by the Sea for single Christian adults will feature workshops on sexuality and sacred relationships, starting a single adult ministry and other topics from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at the Carlsbad Seapointe Resort, 6400 Surfside Lane, Carlsbad. Cost is $30. The festival, sponsored by the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church, is aimed at fostering fellowship, spiritual growth and leadership training for single adults. (619) 697-6218.
* Yeshiva of Los Angeles will host a Shabbaton today, featuring Rabbi Herschel Schachter from Yeshiva University in New York. He will speak at 10:15 a.m. on “Industrial and Commercial Kashrut in the USA” and at 5:45 p.m. on “Rabbi Soloveitchik: Halachic Positions and Insights Into Jewish Customs.” Schachter is a Talmudic scholar and senior Halachic advisor to the Orthodox Union. (310) 229-0958.
* L.A. Buddhist Vihara will hold its annual Vesak program, the traditional festival of Buddha’s birthday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 920 N. Summit Ave., Pasadena. The festival, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, will include sitting and walking meditation and dharma talks on the teachings. Lunch is at noon. (626) 797-6144.
Performance
The Chancel Choir of Westwood United Methodist Church will perform Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” today at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at 10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Gina Shaw will conduct. Free will offering. Wheelchair access. (626) 962-5291.
* Temple Beth El Preschool will host a music and comedy program tonight featuring Justin Ezzi, winner of the “America’s Best” Comedy Writing Award and reputedly the funniest teacher at Park Western Place Elementary School in San Pedro. Barbara London, Harriet Rose, Laura Dedona, Mike McCulley and Coco and Penny will also perform. The program begins at 8 p.m. at the temple, 1435 W. 7th St., San Pedro. (310) 833-2467.
* Temple Emanuel will sponsor a concert of music and dance exploring the exchange between Jewish and Catholic cultures in Renaissance Italy on Sunday at 3 p.m. at 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. Featured works will include sacred and secular compositions by Jewish composer Salamone Rossi, and dances from Jewish choreographer Guglielmo da Pesaro performed by Danzando, a Riverside-based troupe specializing in medieval and Renaissance dance. (323) 428-8405.
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