"He is risen indeed!"
responded the congregation.
Dan called out more loudly, "He
is risen!" and the response was louder still, "He is risen
indeed!"
We sang "He Lives." It was
great to visit the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood on Easter Sunday.
Yes, it was October. Their calendar is a little off this year. They had their
Christmas in June. Creation itself took place in January. They're working
through the story of the Bible, and we were there for the conclusion of the
Gospels; Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation will be filling out the rest of
their calendar year.
This is Miracles, Signs and Wonders
Month here at D&MGtC, so it seemed right that we arrived on a day focused
on the Resurrection, which is perhaps the greatest miracle of Scripture. But the
miracles don't stop there. The very existence of this vibrant evangelical
church in the city that has the worldwide reputation for depravity is something of a wonder.
When most people think of Hollywood,
the first thing they think of is movies and the business of show. First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood has,
throughout its history, ministered to a number of people in the industry and
continues to do so. The church has made the industry part of their ministry. At
the top of their web site there is a link to information for campus rental for
film and television shoots.
A unique part of their ministry
is Actors Co-op. On the church grounds there is a theater and a production
company with year round productions. At the time we visited, "The Baker's
Wife" was playing (a musical from the creator of "Wicked" and
"Pippin"), and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was scheduled
to open later in the month. The Actor's Co-op mission statement reads that they
are "a company of Christian actors driven by passion for the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are dedicated to pursuing the highest standards of theatrical
excellence and to building up our members spiritually, personally and
professionally in order to be an outreach of Christ's hope". Daily Variety
has called the theater "the 99 seat miracle."
The morning we visited sign-ups were
being taken for an upcoming one day retreat in Griffith Park. I found it
interesting that along with activities one would expect at most church retreats
-- workshops, games, hiking and such, there was also an emphasis on art and
music. Creativity and esthetics are quite obviously important values in the
church.
The campus itself is quite
beautiful. The sanctuary was built in 1923 (which makes it, for those of us on
the West Coast, a piece of antiquity). Between the structures there are lovely
terrace areas and gardens that provide a focus for fellowship. There is not
only a very nice library, but also a separate children's library. I was
interested to see that their catalog of books wasn't exclusively religious.
Both libraries had secular novels and nonfiction (but Tom the librarian pointed
out they're careful to exclude anything that might be deemed
"controversial". So if you hoped to brush up on the oeuvre of the
recently deceased Jackie Collins, this is not the place to go.)
The sanctuary has a full pipe organ
and, unlike some churches, makes regular use of it. We attended the traditional
service and didn't just hear the adult choir perform, but also a children's
choir (both groups in traditional robes). As one might guess by the names of
the services, hymns were sung in the traditional service and worship choruses
in the contemporary service (which we also attended, and the children's choir
sang again -- without their choir robes).
There was a short greeting time
during the service. We met a woman named Ann, a graphic artist. After the
service she introduced us to Pastor Dan and also his wife, who were both quite
gracious. Also after the service, Ann needed to take pictures of stained glass
in the church for an art project for the one day retreat. (Side note -- Yay,
Ann. Thank you so much!)
During the worship service, we heard
the first in what we were told would be a series of testimonies entitled,
"Making a Difference." The testimony we heard from a married couple,
Kara and Brian Thevenot, provided a most encouraging picture of God's work at
Hollywood Pres. The couple moved to the area a couple of years ago when Brian
got a job with The L.A. Times. Kara became a part of a Bible study and decided to
give her life to Christ. Someone in the Bible study recommended First
Presbyterian Church of Hollywood.
Kara wanted to bring the family to
the church, but was concerned about their 16 year old daughter who is deaf. She
called the church and found that they not only printed up all the sermons, but
they had an interpreter for the deaf in the 9:30 service. Kara was excited that
her daughter for the first time was gaining an understanding of Scripture.
Brian began attending the church
even though he would have described himself at the time as an agnostic. He was
impressed by the culture of study and debate. He attended a Sunday School class
taught by Dr. Dale Bruner, one of the nation's foremost Biblical scholars. One
Sunday they brought in a guest speaker to discuss the subject of homosexuality.
The guest's opinions were at odds with the teaching of the church, and Brian
appreciated the freedom of the discussion. Brian believes dogmatism drives
people away from many churches, but that wasn't the case at this church. He
soon came to faith in Christ as well.
-- Dean
I trust that Kara's and Brian's
story is just one of the little miracles of Christ working through the ministry
of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood -- as many such miracles have come
before and will continue on in the future.
Service Length: 1 hour 2
minutes
Sermon Length: 17 minutes
Visitor Treatment: greeting
time during worship, parking lot designated for first or second time visitors
(and handicapped parking), visitor card in pew rack to be put in offering plate
(although our row didn't have any, the other rows all seemed to have a couple)
Followup by Tuesday Morning:
none*
Our Rough Count: 200
Probable Ushers' Count: 225
Snacks: coffee and water
(water was available in several locations around the campus...temperatures had
been over 100 degrees F for several days). Donuts were available for purchase as
well
Musicians: adult choir had 27
singers, plus organist, pianist and an oboe soloist; children's choir had 27
singers an an adult leader (and piano accompaniment)
Songs: "He Lives"
"My
Heart is Ready to Sing" (children's choir)
"Prayer"
(choir call to prayer)
"Nearer,
Still Nearer" (choir offertory)
"I
Know that my Redeemer Lives"
Miles to place: 578
Total California Miles: 14,013
Church website: www.fpchollywood.org
*We got an email during on Wednesday with an attached welcome letter
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