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If, as the Boy Scout slogan intones, you "do a good turn daily," by year's end you ought to have turned about 365 times, 366 in leap years.

One wonders, however, what the Boy Scouts might say about pulling 365 good turns in one day.

That's more or less the idea behind Congregation Rodef Sholom's "Mitzvah Day," a growing local tradition now in its seventh year at the San Rafael Reform congregation.

In the latest installment of Mitzvah Day on Oct. 22, nearly 800 volunteers lent a hand in a variety of charitable and community activities.

And they weren't just from Rodef Sholom: This year members of St. Raphael's Catholic Church joined the congregation for a pair of interfaith projects.

Members of the San Rafael church had attended a Rodef Sholom Shabbat service in June, which congregants said was the first such service involving Catholic and Jewish congregations in Marin County. After the synagogue extended an invitation to participate in Mitzvah Day, St. Raphael's readily accepted.

"The highlight was seeing the faiths working together," said Rodef Sholom's Suzanne Rush, dicussing the party she coordinated for the residents of the New Beginnings homeless shelter. "Everyone was involved in the kitchen, helping to carve pumpkins. It was a real joy to see the residents getting so into it."

The inspiration for the burgeoning friendship between the two congregations "started back in March of '99, and it really came as a result of Pope John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land during our Lent season," said St. Raphael's pastoral associate Vicky Otto.

"Everyone on our staff was moved by his attempts to reconcile and apologize to people of different faith traditions in the Middle East. I had a wild idea: We can't go to the Holy Land, but why can't we do something like this in San Rafael? Especially with Congregation Rodef Shalom a little less than two miles away from us."

During Mitzvah Day, the congregations worked together to host the party for residents of the Novato shelter, who were treated to a barbecue and live tunes from local band Andy's Gang.

"After we had about 20 pumpkins carved, one of the residents wanted to put candles into every one of them and turn off the lights," Rush recalled. "We got pictures, it was great. People really got into it."

Members of both congregations also joined in a trail cleanup at Muir Woods.

Rodef Sholom's Mitzvah Day was the first in the Bay Area, and is still one of the largest around. Program director Moji Javid says other congregations around the nation now call Rodef Sholom for information on how to start their own Mitzvah Days. As a result, Rodef Sholom congregation members have become "Mitzvah Day consultants."

"People joke and say it's like having a baby," said Mitzvah Day co-director Jan Luxenberg, discussing the nine-month planning process. "But having had a baby and having done Mitzvah Day, I'd say they're different. But they're both extremely rewarding."

During Mitzvah Day's gestation period, Luxenberg and co-director Rhonda Daniels work to find places for hundreds of volunteers to serve. They call up virtually every charitable agency in Marin and offer assistance, searching for projects that helpers of the widest possible age range can accomplish.

As a result members of Rodef Sholom's confirmation class picked up trash on Angel Island, while eighth- and ninth-graders raised money for the AIDS Interfaith Network by washing cars.

Turning to the interfaith aspect of this year's event, organizers hope it will be the first of many cooperative projects between the two congregations.

"We're hoping to do another educational program, a joint event in December," said Otto. "We've got some of the best teachers in the world between the rabbis at Rodef Sholom and the priests at St. Raphael's. Let them facilitate discussions about the significance of the holiday seasons in both our communities. We'd really like if people could experience that."