Local Church

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- The start of spring marks a special time for Christians who celebrate Easter. Christians often celebrate with special Sunday church services on Easter, which commemorates the Resurrection ising of Jesus Christ two days after his Crucifixion on what is known as Good Friday. Easter is April 15 this year -- the holiday is on the first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21. EASTER SERVICES The following churches, with at least one representative from each popular faith, have Sunday services planned for Easter, which is April 15. Central Christian Church, 1479 E. Broadway Easter service: 10:30 a.m. 242-4169 Church of Christ, 2021 W. Glenoaks Blvd.

Janine Marnien Pass by the parking lot of the First Baptist Church at La Crescenta on Saturday and it might look like a trip back in time at first glance. A Model T Ford from 1927 and other classic cars will be on display for community perusal at the Foothill Festival of Cars. The first-time event for the church is designed in part as a community outreach, said LeRoy McNees, an event coordinator. "We wanted to let everybody know who we are and where we are," he said.

Darleene Barrientos The parishioners of United Community Church knew something was terribly wrong when two of their children -- Noemy and Gerardo Tellez -- were not waiting to be picked up Sunday morning. Noemy, 8, and Gerardo, 5, were riding with their father, Juan Tellez, just after 2 a.m. Nov. 5 on the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Granada Hills when a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette approached them from behind at more than 100 mph. According to police, Juan Tellez tried to move to the right to allow the Corvette to pass, but the Corvette moved to the right also, resulting in a fiery crash that left a quarter-mile of debris across all the westbound lanes of the freeway.

Alecia Foster NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- There are many people go through life regretting things they have done or should have done. That's no way to live, said the Rev. Joseph Shea of Holy Family Catholic Church. "We don't have the ability to go back and change things," Shea said. Shea will use some of Jesus' last words -- "It is finished" -- to illustrate his sermon about leaving regrets behind during a special worship service on Good Friday.

Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church will present its first Empty Bowls — Hope Not Hunger fundraising and silent auction event from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 22 at the church. Proceeds from the event will go to assist the food pantries Friends In Deed House, based in Pasadena; Fishes and Loaves of Glendale; and Christians Concerned for Burma. Volunteers at Crescenta Valley High School and the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge have, since April, made the bowls that will be sold at Saturday’s event.

Across the world people are remembering the remarkable life of Pope John Paul II, who died last Saturday. He was elected Pope in 1978, succeeding Pope John Paul I. Millions of people, from all faiths, are flocking to Rome to say their final farewells as his body lies in repose at St. Peter's Basilica. International heads of state are coalescing for the funeral mass to be held at 10 a.m., Rome time, this Friday, April 8. The funeral will be held at St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope John Paul II will also be entombed.

Linda Montray hadn’t received an eye exam for several years until Friday. But the 50-year-old Glendale resident got a free eye exam and got to look inside her own eye at the Glendale Healthy Kids’ community health fair at the Church of the Brethren. “There are not a lot of people who have insurance,” Montray said. After noticing that her vision was slowly getting blurry, she decided to go to Friday’s eye-screening event. The Northwest Glendale Lions Club sponsored the free eye screenings, along with Optos Eye Screening, Glendale Optometric Center and Jewel City Optometry.

GLENDALE — Religious leaders eager to offer advice and solace throughout the community pressed Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams on Tuesday for avenues to help police in instances that call for religious leadership. "How can we help?" said Ken Lee, Glendale stake president of the Church of Latter-day Saints. "What can we do?" Adams had answers for the clergy at the Glendale Religious Leaders' Assn.'s first meeting after a summer break at the Church of Latter-day Saints.

GLENDALE — Madeleine and Michael Miller’s poodle-Chihuahua mix, Suki, received a holy blessing from the Rev. Keith Banwart Jr. on Sunday morning at St. Matthews Church in honor of St. Francis Day. The couple traveled from their home in Las Vegas on Friday for St. Matthew’s Church of Glendale and Burbank’s annual animal blessing. They mark their calendar every for the church’s blessing, making sure not to miss it. “Sometimes it looks like Noah’s Ark,” Madeleine Miller said of the blessing services.