New Church

Ryan Carter MONTROSE -- It's a "marriage merger" made in heaven. That's what the new pastor of First Baptist Church of Montrose calls a partnership that has become a reborn church community. For almost three years, the Montrose church was getting by with a devoted-but-interim pastor. "They were without leadership," said the new pastor, the Rev. John May. People weren't even sure the church would remain open. Meanwhile, May was busy leading a Glendale congregation called New Hope Baptist Church in Glendale.

Marshall Allen Angels of all kinds showed up Saturday to the 8th Angel Festival at the New Church of the New Jerusalem in La Crescenta. Vendors sold an assortment of angel paraphernalia, including T-shirts, hats, figurines and jewelry. People even dressed in angel costumes. Participants from all faiths attended the event, which was an open forum to share beliefs about angels. A highlight of the day was an interfaith prayer vigil to recognize and pray for the victims of the Sept.

'Making Friends' is title of six-week class GLENDALE -- "Making Friends with Prosperity" is the theme of a six-week class that will be from 7 to 9 p.m. July 7 at the New Religious Science Church of Glendale. The congregation meets at the YWCA, 735 E. Lexington Ave. The Rev. Meredith Gray will be facilitator. The cost of the class will be determined by the student at the end of the six weeks, based on the value received. For more information, call 244-1404.

One day in 1935, a woman took her very young son to Sunday School at a church near their home. The son has been part of the church ever since. Ronald Banes was 2 1/2 years old when he first set foot in Chevy Chase Baptist Church. His family had moved from Highland Park to a house on Acacia Avenue in 1933 when he was a year old. The church had been there since 1927. On the first Sunday of that year, members of the First Baptist Church on Louise organized Sunday School classes at John Muir school at the corner of Chevy Chase Drive and Acacia.

CONFERENCE MARKS 65TH ANNIVERSARY GLENDALE -- Calvary Presbyterian Church officials have organized a conference celebrating the church's 65th anniversary from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The first session is titled "The Community of the King" and will be led by Dennis Johnson. Other sessions will be led by Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Seminary, the Rev. Ken Jones of the White Horse Inn and Bernard Peterman. A panel discussion will complete the day. The community is invited to this free event.

Gary Moskowitz After having mass in a hall about half the size of their church, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church congregants are coming home this weekend. In the past year, they have spent about $3 million to rebuild the church, which will be unveiled during a dedication service at 4 p.m. Saturday at Holy Redeemer, 2411 Montrose Ave., Montrose. The event is free and open to the public. Cardinal Roger Mahony, along with the Most Rev. Gerald Wilkerson, the Rev. John Foley, the church's pastor, and past and present priests of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church will participate in Saturday's dedication service.

David Black, who moved his family into the wood-frame Dow house on Kenneth Road in 1910, plunged right into the life of the community. Black and his wife, Mary, quickly made friends with the Dan Campbell family, who lived nearby, and joined their church, Glendale Presbyterian, then a very small congregation of 29 members. Black was Sunday school superintendent and elder, and was involved in building the new church and manse. "Membership increased very fast as many people were moving to Glendale," he wrote in his memoirs.

BURBANK -- Archbishop Hovnan Derderian is the new bishop in town. Derderian, 45, was recently elected as archbishop, or primate, of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America's Western diocese. From his new headquarters in Burbank, he is the leader of a diocese that encompasses 14 Western states. Glendale, with about 55,000 members of the church, is his largest parish, but new church communities are popping up around the region. His goals include helping the new and old sects flourish, and having a stronger presence in the community.

A memorial service for Mitchell Henson, a 23-year pastor at Glendale City Seventh-day Adventist Church, who died Dec. 27, will be held Saturday at the church. Henson, 65, who served 16 years as senior pastor at the church, began preaching at the age of 4 to his baby sitter, according to a biography written by his wife, Sue Henson. He learned to sell religious magazines and books when he was a teenager. Henson’s friends remember him as a man who kept his church door open for everyone who visited.

Angel Festival celebrated at New Church GLENDALE - The 7th Annual Angel Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday on the New Church church grounds, 5027 New York Ave., in Glendale. The festival is designed to share thoughts from all religions, faiths and philosophies about angels with the community. There will be music, arts and crafts, dancing, lectures, food and prizes. Swedenborgian ministers will speak, as will representatives from Unique Care Hospice Services and the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.

Gail Marks left her hometown of Oak Park, Illinois on her wedding day in July, 1967 and headed for Glendale with her new husband, Ken. She quickly found a church home at First Congregational Church of Glendale. The church, organized in 1911, celebrated its centennial last year and Marks was instrumental in compiling a booklet detailing those 100 years. Here's a very short summary. Soon after its founding, members began planning a new church at Central and Wilson avenues. Construction began on June 12, 1912 and, amazingly, the small wood-frame church was dedicated on the last day of that same month.

One day in 1935, a woman took her very young son to Sunday School at a church near their home. The son has been part of the church ever since. Ronald Banes was 2 1/2 years old when he first set foot in Chevy Chase Baptist Church. His family had moved from Highland Park to a house on Acacia Avenue in 1933 when he was a year old. The church had been there since 1927. On the first Sunday of that year, members of the First Baptist Church on Louise organized Sunday School classes at John Muir school at the corner of Chevy Chase Drive and Acacia.

A memorial service for Mitchell Henson, a 23-year pastor at Glendale City Seventh-day Adventist Church, who died Dec. 27, will be held Saturday at the church. Henson, 65, who served 16 years as senior pastor at the church, began preaching at the age of 4 to his baby sitter, according to a biography written by his wife, Sue Henson. He learned to sell religious magazines and books when he was a teenager. Henson’s friends remember him as a man who kept his church door open for everyone who visited.

Parishioners gathered on Easter Sunday to worship on the concrete foundation where Christian Life Church once stood for more than 80 years. Pastor Tim Manchester lead a solemn service for about 50 parishioners who sat on folding chairs underneath a cloudy sky. "It's kind of like we are in God's sanctuary," Manchester said, pointing to the trees and clouds above. "We celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of a new building." In December, a fire gutted the church's sanctuary on the 3000 block of Montrose Avenue.

From one perspective, the resolution of the St. Andrew's Church expansion issue was a complete success; from another, it was a complete failure. In late 2002, the church submitted an application requesting a general plan amendment to increase the maximum development allocation for its property by approximately 36,000 square feet. St. Andrew's wanted the space to construct a youth and family center and to replace several buildings. At that time, the church also requested a change in the zoning of the property from single-family residential and two-family residential to zoning for governmental, educational and institutional facilities.

Gary Moskowitz After having mass in a hall about half the size of their church, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church congregants are coming home this weekend. In the past year, they have spent about $3 million to rebuild the church, which will be unveiled during a dedication service at 4 p.m. Saturday at Holy Redeemer, 2411 Montrose Ave., Montrose. The event is free and open to the public. Cardinal Roger Mahony, along with the Most Rev. Gerald Wilkerson, the Rev. John Foley, the church's pastor, and past and present priests of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church will participate in Saturday's dedication service.

'Making Friends' is title of six-week class GLENDALE -- "Making Friends with Prosperity" is the theme of a six-week class that will be from 7 to 9 p.m. July 7 at the New Religious Science Church of Glendale. The congregation meets at the YWCA, 735 E. Lexington Ave. The Rev. Meredith Gray will be facilitator. The cost of the class will be determined by the student at the end of the six weeks, based on the value received. For more information, call 244-1404.

BURBANK -- Archbishop Hovnan Derderian is the new bishop in town. Derderian, 45, was recently elected as archbishop, or primate, of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America's Western diocese. From his new headquarters in Burbank, he is the leader of a diocese that encompasses 14 Western states. Glendale, with about 55,000 members of the church, is his largest parish, but new church communities are popping up around the region. His goals include helping the new and old sects flourish, and having a stronger presence in the community.

-- PRECINCT 1 -- DUNSMORE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Candidates Votes Pct John Robert Christopher 5 1.0 Dave Wallis 40 8.7 Gus Gomez 83 18.0 Rick Dinger 122 26.5 Rafi Manoukian 64 13.9 Larry Miller 82 17.8 Carole Sussman 63 13.7 PRECINCT 2 -- THE NEW CHURCH John Robert Christopher 5 1.2 Dave Wallis 51 12.2 Gus Gomez 84 20.1 Rick Dinger 106 25.4 Rafi Manoukian 43 10.3 Larry Miller...

David and Mary Black, who bought the historic Dow house on Kenneth Road in 1910, had been active in their church in Mendota, Ill., before moving to Glendale. Once here, they joined Glendale Presbyterian. He served as superintendent of the Sunday school and she taught classes. Some years later, Mary Black wrote in her memoirs, David was urged to help start a Sunday school at Grandview School. There was no church in the vicinity, but many families lived in the area by then.