First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood

"He is risen!" called out Senior Pastor Dan Baumgartner.

"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

Four (or seven) iconic sights that we could see from Sunday's church

The church we visited this week is something of a landmark; its sanctuary was built before movies had sound, and it's plainly visible from the freeway.

As we drove in, we got to wondering how many other Los Angeles icons we could see from the church property. Though we didn't see the Hollywood sign until we were about a block away and headed for home, here's what we did see:

1. Palm Trees

2. LA Fitness (and the sign for Hollywood Boulevard)

3. Capitol Records Tower

4. Hollywood Tower

and the Hollywood Freeway

and a homeless encampment*

-- Mindy

*This is an incredibly serious problem in the area. While I was writing this post, I was glad to see that the church has a number of programs (as well as partnerships with other organizations) to help those literally on their doorstep. 

Five Things I Didn't Know about Los Angeles

1.   Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States (New York City is the largest). In 2010, its population was approaching four million. It's the largest city in California and about 342 miles south of San Francisco. Since 1995, it has had no NFL team (but wants at least one). 


 2.  In 1781, the group of twenty-two adult settlers (with twenty-two children and four soldiers) who founded and named "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River were known as "Los Pobladores." Half of the adult settlers were women. The adults were a multi-ethnic group as well as varying in age: one was a Spaniard born in Spain, one a Spaniard born in "New Spain," nine were American Indians, two were African, one had both Spanish and Indian heritage, and were both Spanish and African in their ethnicity.

3.   After oil was discovered in the city (and surrounding area) in 1892, California became the country's largest oil producer. By 1923, about one-quarter of the world's petroleum output came from the state.

4.  Downtown Los Angeles averages just over fifteen inches of precipitation, mostly rain, each year, and almost all of that falls during the winter and spring On most days, the difference between the high and low temperature in any location is over 30 degrees Fahrenheit (16 Celsius). Due to the diversity in habitats, including beaches, wetlands and mountains, Los Angeles is rich in native plant species.

5.  When Hollywood merged into Los Angeles, in 1910, there were already ten movie companies operating in the city at the time. Eleven years later, more than 80 percent of the world's film industry was located there. Because of the money generated by the industry, the economic effects of the Great Depression were lessened in the area. Even now, the city has more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors and dancers living there than in any other city at any time in history. One in six residents works in a creative industry.

-- Mindy