CHURCH REDEDICATION: Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian will preside...

CHURCH REDEDICATION: Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian will preside over the rededication in Van Nuys Sunday of the repaired St. Peter Armenian Church, which sustained about $1 million in earthquake damage to its church, school buildings and parsonage.

The Northridge quake shattered the stained-glass windows in the dome of the church at 17231 Sherman Way and sent portions of the ceiling crashing onto the marble altar and a mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary and child.

Columns, arches and walls of the church were also badly damaged, said Father Shnork Demirjian, pastor.

The reopening of the sanctuary will achieve the first goal of the restoration campaign. Renovation of the church hall and classrooms is next.

Archbishop Hovsepian, whose diocesan offices have been relocated to Pasadena from Hollywood because of earthquake damage, is spiritual leader in the western states for the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America.

The Van Nuys parish’s reopening service will start at 10 a.m. Sunday. A banquet will be held at 2 p.m. in the church school auditorium.

BUDDHISM DEFENDED: Edward McDonnell, a Buddhist clergyman, will begin a weekly class on Buddhism at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the Wat Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood with a response to Pope John Paul II’s published criticism of the religion.

Although the Pope told Buddhists during a visit to Sri Lanka last month that he has the “highest regard for the followers of Buddhism,” the Roman pontiff earlier cast Buddhism as an atheistic and negative religion in his best-selling book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.”

McDonnell, who has taught introductory Buddhism at the Thai temple and at Hsi Lai Chinese Buddhist Temple in Diamond Bar, also teaches computer and accounting classes at Los Angeles City College.

There is no fee for the classes at Wat Thai Temple, 8225 Coldwater Canyon Ave., just south of Roscoe Boulevard. Information: (818) 242-8012.

SACRED SEX?: The San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council will pose another religious question to a multi-faith panel: “Is Sex Sacred? The Relationship Between Sexuality and Spirituality.”

The free discussion, open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Northridge Seventh-day Adventist Church, 17700 Plummer St. The five panelists, rather than the usual four, will be:

Rabbi Edward Feinstein, Temple Beth Shalom, Encino; Father James Gehl, St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Canoga Park; Dr. Maher Hathout, Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles; the Rev. John Moody, First Presbyterian Church, North Hollywood, and the Rev. Suzanne Spencer, Unitarian Universalist Church, Studio City.

The Rev. Jeff Utter of Chatsworth is the moderator for the four-times-a-year series, which draws audiences of 25 to 75, said organizer Sam Alster. Topics have included angels and demons, religion in public schools, faith and ecology and life after death.

EVANGELICAL FAMILIES: Wayne Mack, who chairs the biblical counseling department at the Master’s College in Newhall, will speak three times next weekend, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church of Canoga Park, 20553 Sherman Way. His topic will be “Building Strong Families Through Effective Communication.”

Information and meal reservations: (818) 348-5801.

News and announcements for this column may be sent to Religion Desk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. News releases may also be sent by fax to (818) 772-3501.