CRUSADE RALLY: Evangelist Luis Palau will preach...

CRUSADE RALLY: Evangelist Luis Palau will preach Sunday in Van Nuys at a rally that will preview features of the San Fernando Valley Crusade to be held June 1 through 5 at Van Nuys’ Birmingham High School.

About 180 congregations have pledged to help with donations and volunteers for the Billy Graham-style evangelism event--the first of its kind in the Valley. Palau, an Argentine-born minister who lives in Portland, Ore., will be the principal evangelist.

The two-hour rally, starting at 5 p.m., will be held at the Church on the Way, 14300 Sherman Way, Van Nuys. It is open to the public.

DISASTER RELIEF: Choral music and solos by Jewish cantors will be featured tonight at a Woodland Hills synagogue in a concert to benefit families displaced by the Jan. 17 earthquake.

The Pacoima Mass Choir, Voices of Faith Choir, Sons of Jordan and cantors Doug Cotler and Larry Ellis will sing at the 6 p.m. disaster relief concert at Temple Kol Tikvah, 20400 Ventura Blvd. The event is co-sponsored by Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs and the Rev. C. Henry Young of I.H.S. Ministries.

A minimum $10 donation will be requested at the door. For information, call (818) 348-0670.

KING BIRTHDAY: The sixth annual Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration service in the San Fernando Valley had an impressive lineup of speakers and music last month. The only trouble was that it was scheduled on Jan. 17 and the 6.8-magnitude earthquake wrecked those plans.

Nearly the same program sponsored by the Valley Interfaith Council has been rescheduled, however, for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at Temple Kol Tikvah, 20400 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills.

Speakers will include Rabbi Jerrold Goldstein of Cal State Northridge’s Hillel House, Bahai leader Gloria Haithman-Ali and the Rev. Timothy Stafford of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. The Pacoima Mass Choir and the Granada Hills Chorale/Interfaith Choir will provide music.

For information, call the council at (818) 718-6460.

STUDENT VISIONS: Cal State Northridge students of various faiths will discuss their “spiritual vision for the next century” in a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana.

Sponsored by the synagogue’s sisterhood, the event is free and refreshments will follow. For reservations, call (818) 342-0639.

BIBLE COURSE: “The New Testament as Literature and History” will be taught at Mission College’s Community Extension Program in Sylmar, starting Thursday. The four-week course taught by Mike Duncan, a Fuller Theological Seminary graduate student, costs $29. Call (818) 364-7387 for details.

SINGER-SPEAKER: Ann Downing, a onetime Dove Award female vocalist of the year, will sing and speak on “How to Deal with Difficult Times” at the 10:30 a.m. service Sunday at First Baptist Church of Reseda, 18644 Sherman Way.

News and announcements for this column may be sent to Religion Desk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311.