Local Church

Amber Willard LA CRESCENTA -- Judas may have sold out Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver in the biblical story, but Glendale Crime Stoppers offered up to a $1,000 reward Monday for His return. It may not be a mystery of biblical proportions, but police are still searching for someone who stole a statue of Christ from a local church. The reward is for information leading to the arrest of the thief or thieves, police said. The case of the missing Christ started last week, when a worker at St. James the Less Catholic Church told police it disappeared overnight April 9. The wooden statue, which weighs about 90 pounds, depicted Christ as he was crucified, police said.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- Local churches are gearing up for the Easter holiday, starting with Good Friday services today at a handful of local churches. The Glendale Religious Leaders Assn. is presenting a community worship service at noon today at North Glendale United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Joseph Shea from Holy Family Catholic Church as the guest speaker. An offering to benefit the Salvation Army's Meals on Wheels program will be collected.

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.

Amber Willard LA CRESCENTA -- Baby booties, toothbrushes and other items will be spread out at a local church Saturday, waiting to be packed into packages for needy people. Women and girls from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in La Crescenta will assemble kits for newborns and needy people as part of their celebration to mark the 159th anniversary of the parent church's women's group. Women and girls from the community are invited to attend.

Alexa Capeloto A local church has become an unlikely training ground for people who dream of perfecting their singing voices. Eldon Turner, music director at Glendale's St. Matthew's Church, offers free voice lessons to people interested in learning how to read music, increase their range and prepare for show biz auditions. In exchange, his pupils must perform at least five times during the year in the church choir. Three years after starting the program, Turner says it has not only helped the people who take his lessons, but has also reinvigorated the influence of music in the Lutheran church.

State Sen. Adam Schiff stoops to an all-time campaign low, where he is using a program being offered by the Explorer Scouts of the California Highway Patrol to fingerprint children in order to get his name plastered on signs in the parking lot of a local church during "KIDS' RALLY DAY" on a recent Saturday -- and also in the coloring books the scouts passed out to the children. He should not be using the Explorer Scouts for his political gain. These scouts should be allowed to have this program on their own -- without any electioneering or political overtones.