L.A. Council of Religious Leaders invites public for April 4 gathering at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels as part of nationwide vigil

Commemorating the start of Immigration Awareness Month, the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders invites the public to gather as “One Voice for Immigration Reform” during an interfaith prayer service at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 4 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.

Calling for the Obama Administration to end deportations and for comprehensive and bipartisan reform of federal immigration policy, the service will include testimonials from immigrant families, prayers led by Council members, and music provided for the occasion as part of a wider nationwide vigil planned for the first weekend of April, Immigration Awareness Month.

• Archbishop José H. Gomez will preside and welcome Council members, who include:
• Bishop J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Council President, who will outline reform priorities;
• Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, Los Angeles Area Resident Bishop of The United Methodist Church, who will deliver a call to action;
• Brother Shakeel Syed, Executive Director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, who will join in leading prayers for transformation.
• Rabbi Mark Diamond, Regional Director of AJC Los Angeles, who as the Council’s immediate past president has led its most recent two years of advocacy for comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform.Representing faiths in the Abrahamic tradition for more than three decades, the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders is an informal alliance of heads of major religious bodies in the Greater Los Angeles area consulting and collaborating in common cause.