MONTEBELLO --- "Walk of Faith," an ecumenical event to pray for end to violence in the community, especially among youth, will take place Sept. 1, beginning at St. Benedict Church, Montebello.

Several local churches will participate, said Deacon David Estrada, director of the Synod Office and deacon at St. Benedict. During the 2 1/2 mile walk through the community, beginning at 8:30 a.m., participants will stop briefly at each of the participating churches, and concluding at St. Benedict, with a barbecue lunch for all participants at approximately noon.

The group will also stop at Montebello City Hall for a brief period during which there will be a faith sharing/experience among all of the participating churches. For information, call St. Benedict, (323) 721-1184.

Immaculate Heart Community chooses new leadership team
LOS ANGELES --- The Immaculate Heart Community recently elected Dr. Fran Burnford, IHM and Rosemary Hart, IHM as co-directors for the next three years. The ecumenical community engaged in a rigorous four-month process of prayerful discernment, followed by the election.

Rosemary Hart is a parishioner at St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Church in Lomita. Previously she was the parish's religious education director for nine years and at Incarnation Church in Glendale for five years. She is a master catechist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and serves on committees for the Religious Education Office.

Fran Burnford has served the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the past 21 years, both as a church-wide executive and for 13 years as director for Congregational Ministries of the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA. Along with her ministry in the Immaculate Heart Community, she will continue as director of workshop for the Lutheran Synod.

One-woman show at Madrid Theatre explores death penalty
CANOGA PARK --- Actress/playwright Marion Scherer, who has presented her one-woman show, "A Prison of the Mind," at local Catholic churches and the annual Religious Education Congress, will perform her play at the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park on Sept. 13 at 8 p.m.

Scherer spent two years writing the play about the death penalty after interviewing teenage and young adult inmates at the California Youth Authority. She performs an entire cast of characters, switching voices and changing body movements, to impersonate prisoners, chaplains, lawyers, victim's family members and relatives of the incarcerated.

Audience discussion will take place following the performance. Admission is free, but audience members are advised to call for reservations at (805) 371-0087. A donation of an unwrapped toy for "Toys for Tots" is appreciated. The Madrid Theatre, a facility of the City of L.A. operated by the Department of Cultural Affairs, is located at 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park.

Bereavement support group begins
LA CANADA --- St. Bede the Venerable Church in La Caņada will start a six-week bereavement support group Sept. 15, 7-8:30 p.m., at the parish center for those who have lost a loved one through death. The series includes information on the grieving process and an opportunity to share with others. To pre-register, or for additional information, call the parish center, (818) 949-4300. Participants are encouraged to bring a small photo of their loved one to the first session.

Democrats' interfaith gathering disrupted by anti-abortion protests
DENVER (CNS) --- It was a rocky start to the Democratic National Convention's first "Faith in Action" interfaith gathering at the Colorado Convention Center's Wells Fargo Theater Aug. 24. What was billed as a chance to "honor the diverse faith traditions inside the Democratic Party" quickly devolved into controlled chaos as anti-abortion activists interrupted the opening proceedings. Shortly after the beginning of a performance by the Spirituals Project singing group based in Denver, Randall Terry from Operation Rescue --- a pro-life organization based in Wichita, Kan. --- interrupted the proceedings by saying "Obama supports abortion, a system responsible for the murder of children." He was quickly drowned out with boos and chants of "Yes We Can!" from the crowd of roughly 1,500 attendees before he was escorted out of the hall by security. Another Operation Rescue activist quickly followed suit, standing up and exclaiming that "Abortion is murder!" Once again, boos resounded throughout the hall before he was led out. A third heckler stood up and shouted "Obama is a baby killer!" The statement was met with chants of "Obama! Obama!" Once the disruptions ended, the program continued with keynote speeches from religious leaders and a prominent Colorado politician.

Convention panel stakes out interests on immigration
DENVER (CNS) --- Reform, rather than enforcement of the broken U.S. immigration system, is the most viable way to address illegal immigration, a panel of speakers said during the first day of the Democratic National Convention Aug. 25. "We have to make sure that ... right-wing radicals like Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs aren't tainting this debate," said Andres Ramirez, vice president of host organization NDN, formerly known as the New Democrat Network. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House immigration subcommittee, said one institutional problem in need of change is that there is no comprehensive computer system for immigration agencies. She also took to task the way Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, has been run, particularly under Julie Myers, its director since 2007. Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, said some people's opposition to immigration reform is based in racism and bigotry. "(Opponents) are referring to our community in animallike terms," said Murguia, adding that hate speech "is being parroted by cable news shows every night."

Pope condemns Cold War attitudes of nationalism, suspicion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Exaggerated nationalism that unleashes bloodshed and Cold War attitudes of suspicion must be a thing of the past, Pope Benedict XVI said. Saying he was "deeply worried" about international tensions, without mentioning any specific situation, the pope said it was obvious there was "the risk of a deterioration of that climate of trust and collaboration that should characterize relations." Pope Benedict spoke about the world political scene after praying the Angelus Aug. 24 at the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. The week before he spoke, the Vatican newspaper gave regular front-page coverage to ongoing tensions between Georgia and Russia over control of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions in Georgia. The early August fighting in Georgia led to new tensions between Russia and the European Union and between Russia and the United States.

U.S. watchdog group expresses concern over religious freedom in Vietnam
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- A U.S. watchdog group released a report expressing concern over persistent religious freedom violations in Vietnam. Religious freedom "in Vietnam continues to be mixed, with improvements for some religious communities but not for others, progress in some provinces but not in others, reforms of laws at the national level that are not fully implemented or are ignored at the local level, and still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious freedom affecting most of Vietnam's diverse religious communities," said the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in a 32-page report released Aug. 25. The report includes findings from the commission's 2007 trip to Vietnam. The commission is an independent, bipartisan federal agency mandated by Congress to review international religious freedom and recommend to the U.S. secretary of state which countries should be designated as "countries of particular concern." "The U.S. government still needs to press Vietnam's leaders to make immediate improvements to end religious freedom abuses, ease restrictions and release prisoners," said Felice Gaer, a commissioner, in an Aug. 25 press release.

Catholics to explore evangelization in cutting-edge online conference
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- More than ever, Catholics are using modern technology as an evangelization tool. More than 500 national, diocesan and parish ministry leaders will gather online Sept. 16-18 to explore the beliefs, values and spiritual longings of active and inactive Catholics in the U.S. today. "Proclaiming Christ 2008: Sharing the Gift of Our Catholic Faith" is the topic of the online national evangelization conference presented by the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association. Sister Susan Wolf, a Sister of Notre Dame, is senior vice president and executive director of the Washington-based association. In an Aug. 20 interview she told Catholic News Service that the conference will take place entirely over the Internet by using Web 2.0 technology, considered the newest horizon for social networking. "We now have 500 registrants from 99 dioceses," said Sister Wolf, adding that with more than three weeks to go "the attendance will be much higher."