DAWN UNITY GROUP

Presents

INTERFAITH DISCOVERY SERIES XIII

Bob Rothman, Moderator HOW IS A GOOD LIFE REWARDED? 7:30 Tuesday October 1, 2013 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5845 Crestridge Rd, RPV Rabbi Charles Briskin, Temple Beth El Rev. Jonathan Chute, Rolling Hills United Methodist Church President Maurice Lam, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Msgr. David Sork, St. John Fisher Catholic Church RELIGIOUS VS. SPIRITUAL II: Mr. Jonathan Whittle-Utter will discuss his personal search for spirituality and dialog with the panel. 7:30 Tuesday January 14, 2014 St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, PVE Rev. Sarah Phelps, St. Francis Episcopal Church Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei, Congregation Ner Tamid Fr. Alexei Smith, Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE IN MODERN LIFE 7:30 Tuesday March 11, 2014 Congregation Ner Tamid, 5721 Crestridge, RPV Prof. Amir Hussain, Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University President Maurice Lam, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Fr. Thomas Rausch, S.J., Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei, Congregation Ner Tamid THE CONGREGATION IN THE COMMUNITY 7:30 Tuesday May 6, 2014 St. John Fisher Catholic Church, 5448 Crest Rd, RPV Rabbi Charles Briskin, Temple Beth El Rev. Jonathan Chute, Rolling Hills United Methodist Church Rev. Judy Siker, St. Peters by the Sea Presbyterian church Msgr. David Sork, St. John Fisher Catholic Church
The Mission of the DAWN UNITY GROUP is to bring together religious communities for the following purposes: to foster understanding of those religious values that unite us; to respect our neighbors and their different religious beliefs and traditions. We will accomplish this through cooperation in works of education and service.

PANELISTS
Rabbi Charles Briskin: Rabbi Briskin is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth El, a Reform synagogue serving the Jewish community of Palos Verdes, San Pedro, and the beach areas. He was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2001. Rabbi Briskin served four years at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills before moving to the South Bay in 2005. He, his wife Karen, and two sons live in San Pedro. Email: rabbibriskin@bethelsp.org Rev. Jonathan Chute: Rev. Chute has been senior pastor of Rolling Hills United Methodist Church since 1998. He also served churches in the Pacific Palisades and Ontario, Canada. A graduate of Harvard in the Comparative Study of Religion, he received his Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. His wife, Dr. Thyra Endicott, is a radiation oncologist at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Their daughter studies harp at Eastman School of Music, the University of Rochester. Email: jonathan@rhumc.org Dr. Amir Hussain: Dr. Hussain is a Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, where he teaches courses on world religions. His specialization is in Muslim communities in North America. Amir has been involved in interfaith dialogue for over two decades. Email: amir.hussain@lmu.edu Pres. Maurice M. Lam: Dr. Lam was called on January 23, 2005 to serve as President of the Palos Verdes Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He previously served as Bishop of the Church in Palos Verdes. He received his MD from UCLA and practices as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist in Long Beach. A native of Hong Kong, Pres. Lam moved to the U. S. in 1968. He and his wife Liz, have 6 children, 3 daughters-in-law and 8 grandchildren. Email: rackolam@yahoo.com Rev. Sarah Hubinsky Phelps is the rector of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Palos Verdes Estates where she joined as Associate Rector in August 2006 and was elected Rector in December 2008. She is thrilled to join the Dawn Unity family and the conversation it fosters among the diverse faith communities of the South Bay. Email: sarah.phelps@stfrancispv.org Rev. Thomas P. Rausch: S.J., Ph.D. in religion from Duke University (1976), is the T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. A specialist in the areas of Christology, ecclesiology, and ecumenism, he has published 16 books and over 200 articles and reviews. Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei was a distinguished student at The Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained. He received his B.A., with honors, from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to coming to Congregation Ner Tamid he served a pulpit in Miami, and earlier served for seven years at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Rabbi Schuldenfrei is married to Rabbi Deborah Schuldenfrei, and they have three sons. Email : rabbi@nertamid.com Rev. Dr. Judy Yates Siker: Rev. Dr. Judy Yates Siker, Research Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at San Francisco Theological Seminary, is currently serving as Interim Pastor and Head of Staff at St. Peters by the Sea Presbyterian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes. Judys most current interfaith work is as one member of a six-member research team assembled by Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem to explore new ways of engaging North American Christian churches in conversations about Israel. Email: jsiker@sfts.edu Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, a Los Angeles native, holds a bachelors degree from USC, was awarded a Master of Divinity Degree, with High Distinction, from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston MA in 1987 and was ordained a Greek Catholic Priest of the Eparchy of Newton, MA. He has been Pastor of Saint Andrew Russian Greek Catholic Church in El Segundo, CA and also Administrator of Saint Paul Melkite Greek Catholic Mission since then. Father Alexei is the Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer of the Archdiocese of LA, having been appointed by Cardinal Roger Mahony in 2000. Email : frARsmith@la-archdiocese.org Msgr. David A. Sork: Msgr. Sork was born in Los Angeles, holds a BA in Philosophy and a MA in Religion from St. Johns College (Camarillo), and an MA and Ph.D. in Religious Education from Fordham University (New York). Ordained a priest for the Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles, he served several parishes in Los Angeles and New York before being assigned to St. John Fisher where he has been pastor since 1999. Email: dasork@sjf.org Jonathan Whittle-Utter is a yoga teacher and holistic bodyworker in Los Angeles. He holds a degree in Literature and Interdisciplinary Studies from UC Berkeley, and is currently earning his PhD in Somatic Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. An passionate advocate for interfaith dialogue, he serves on the board of the Southern California Committee for a Parliament of World Religions. Email: jonathan.whittle.utter@gmail.com