NEW RABBI: Rabbi Stewart L. Vogel, most...

NEW RABBI: Rabbi Stewart L. Vogel, most recently on the staff of Valley Beth Shalom, has been named the spiritual leader of Temple Aliyah, a 600-family synagogue in Woodland Hills.

The 33-year-old rabbi will begin duties at the temple, 6025 Valley Circle Blvd., in August with a series of get-acquainted meetings, said Howard D. Fox, president of the synagogue. Vogel succeeds Rabbi Melvin L. Goldsteine, who became rabbi emeritus.

“He brings a wealth of ideas with him,” Fox said. Vogel created a family center with innovative programs to enhance Jewish family life during his five years at the large Encino synagogue.

A San Fernando Valley native, Vogel has been on the faculty of the Brandeis Camp Institute and Camp Alonim at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley.

He serves on the executive board of the Southern California Board of Rabbis and is a vice president of the western states regional Rabbinical Assembly, the professional organization for rabbis in Conservative Judaism.

AWARDS LUNCHEON: Reservations for the annual Clergy Network Awards Luncheon in Woodland Hills July 21 should be made by Friday, said organizer Rabbi Bernard M. Cohen.

Psychiatrist Noel Lustig of Tarzana will speak on caring for the aging community. Awards will be given to Willie Jordan of the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles, Jane Anderson of the Woodland Care Center-Summit Care in Woodland Hills and the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council.

Reservations for the luncheon at the Warner Marriott Hotel may be made by calling the Clergy Network office at (818) 225-8125.

LIFE ASSURANCE: The 50-voice Life Assurance Company, a choir of young people at Bethel Lutheran Church in Encino, will leave next weekend for a tour of church concerts in the Pacific Northwest and return for a July 25 performance at the host church.

More than 500 young people have participated in the choir over its two decades of existence.

The concluding concert at Bethel Lutheran, 17500 Burbank Blvd., will start at 7:30 p.m. A free-will offering will be taken. For information, call (818) 788-2653.

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