A Publication of First Christian Church of North HollywoodA Congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Robert M. Bock, Senior PastorLouise Sloan Goben, Associate PastorChristi Anderson, Director of Children’s MinistriesJeremy Gillett, Director of Youth MinistriesAlfredo Gomez & Loydi Rivas Gomez, Pastor, Spanish Speaking CongregationYoung Lan Kim & Young Jun Yang, Korean Pastors
Volume LXII No. 1 June 28, 2017
Page � June �8, �017 First Christian news
Joe and Avalon Cranston were faithful participants and supporters of our 5:30 PM SpiritSong (contempo-rary) service of worship. They asked everyone they met to join them in worship on Sunday evening. They made many suggestions about how we could evangelize our community and boost attendance at all of our services of worship. One of those suggestions was to build a dig-ital sign and take down those “ugly banners” (Avalon’s words).
Following five months of courageous fighting for her life, Avalon passed away as a result of a stroke. Shortly thereafter Joe came to the church office and handed me a receipt for a $5,000 down payment on a digital sign. The sign was to be a memorial to Avalon’s memory.
Permits for the installation of such signs are not easy to obtain. L A City has some very strict regulations and our property did not meet them. We were even-tually able to deal with these difficulties through Luis Oliart, Chair of our Food Pantry Board, and David Weintraub, a community friend of the church.
But months of negotiations turned into years and suddenly, and very unexpectedly, Joe passed away. The sign project faced a myriad of problems and at times looked almost hopelessly mired in red tape. After Joe’s death the company he had chosen refused to honor their commitment. A city inspector lifted our permit because work had not begun on the project. It appeared Joe’s dream of a digital sign would never be realized. But throughout all of these difficult hurdles, Rodney Gould
guided our decisions, gave legal counsel and never gave up that we would eventually accomplish what Joe had started, despite months turning into years.
Then we were blessed with three marvelous gifts. A memorial gift from the Cranston family made com-pletion of the project financially feasible. L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian negotiated a new permit which allowed us to legally proceed with the project. And Stacey McIntosh, one of the motion picture indus-try’s leading set builders, volunteered to build the beau-tiful monument into which the digital sign was placed.
Last week the city permit office in Van Nuys gave their final approval. Staff is now learning all the ins-and-outs of programming the sign to communicate to our community the marvelous services of worship and programs of our church family. I think Joe and Avalon are looking out of their special window in Heaven and smiling their approval. The sign is absolutely beautiful, blending perfectly with the Southern Georgian architec-ture of our church building.
This Sunday, July 2, 2017 at 9:00 AM we will dedicate the Cranston Memorial Sign. Members of the Cranston family will be joining us for the dedication service to be held on the lawn behind the sign. The first “official” message to be posted on the sign after dedica-tion will be a “Thank You” to everyone who made Joe’s dream a reality.
Our first Music Theater Camp was the USO show fulfilling Malia Le’au’s Pastor’s Class philanthropy proj-ect. It earned over $2,500 which will be divided evenly between the Semper Fi Fund and the Wounded Warrior Project, both agencies serving the needs of our veterans and their families.
First Christian news June �8, �017 Page �
A standing room only crowd cheered as thirty campers danced and sang their way into our hearts last Friday evening at the conclusion of the second Music Theater Camp. It is absolutely amazing how much chil-dren and youth can learn and accomplish in just five short days. Jennifer Le’au was the marvelous director of both of these camps.
This week the campus is filled with participants in the Photography Camp led by Scott Lewis. Every camp-er has a camera and every day they are given a series of assignments as they develop their artist’s eye through their camera lens. This Friday afternoon at 12:30 pm, there will be a gallery show in the Social Hall of their work. Stop by and view it. You’ll be amazed at the art-istry of this talented group of children and youth.
CYF II, for 11th, 12th and new graduates, is at Loch Leven Conference Grounds this week. This is the first in a series of camp programs in which members of our church family will be participating. Next week our middle school students will be in this beautiful moun-tain setting above Redlands, CA. These are life-changing experiences for these youth and I thank you, their church family, for helping make these experiences possible.
Sunday is July 2, technically the “4th of July Sunday.” We will be singing some beautiful and familiar hymns. My homily will be entitled simply – “People” – and I hope you are present to share some thoughts with me. I’ll also be speaking at the 5:30 pm service.
Have a wonderful week. If you’re travelling please drive carefully. And remember – “take your time going, but hurry home.” See you in church.
Pergé!Pastor Bob
For those of you who know someone serving in the armed forces, as well as people serving in other capacities, we want to lift them up in prayer... please let us know when they come home!
Brian JohnsonJoshua Bigbee
Christopher A. Bernstein1st Battalion at Pendleton
We also want to continue to pray for peace, for wisdom for the world’s leaders, and for the people of all war-torn areas of our world.
The Cranston Memorial Sign will be dedicated at 9:00 am (before the 10:00
am worship service) THIS Sunday, July 2.
sign dedicationJuly 2 - 9:00 aM
Page � June �8, �017 First Christian news
July 17 Norma Rae
July 24 Cool Runnings
July 31 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
August 7 Kubo and the Two Strings
August 14 The Tempest
August 21 Orchestra of Exiles
August 28 Imitation Game
7:00 PMMondays
in thesocial Hall
Hope is wishing something wouldhappen, faith is believing something will happen,
and courage is making something happen.—Anonymous
Sometimes life throws us curveballs. Other times we just roll with the punches. But it always takes a lot of strength to make changes in our lives or in our world. This year for our Faith in Film series we want to share stories of people who, either through circumstance or conscious
decision-making, created huge changes by choosing to “Make Something Happen!”
July 10 Hidden Figures (2016)PG, 2 hr 7 min
Three brilliant African-American women at NASA -- Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson -- serve as the brains behind one of the greatest opera-tions in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achieve-ment that restored the nation’s confidence,
turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.
First Christian news June �8, �017 Page �
Right about the time the “send” button was hit on the newsletter distribution list last week, I was in the midst of a personal panic attack as the reality that there was truly too much on my plate set in. As you may have read in Pastor Bob’s article last week, VeAnn Clark and I were on board to be the co-Keynote speakers at CYF2 camp at Loch Leven this week. VeAnn is a fellow semi-narian with me at Claremont, the Associate Pastor at Church of the Valley, and a very close personal friend as our daughters have been best buds for the last 5 years… she and I have been through many personal joys and dramas. I’d already spoken to her about my stress level with the amount of stuff I needed to do this summer. I would not have declined my invitation to be part of Loch Leven if not for the fact that they would be in ex-cellent hands without me… I wouldn’t be leaving any-one in a bind by stepping down from camp this sum-mer. So, I made the call and let them know I wouldn’t be joining the Loch Leven team after all.
As we read the Bible, listen to sermons and even scroll Facebook, we are constantly being told to take care of ourselves, to rest, to lead by example. Well, this was an opportunity for me to listen… listen to the fact that I needed to take a break (my rest means staying home from Loch Leven so I can write two papers for school while working at church and helping with Photography Camp…vacation will come later!) We are so pro-grammed to always be on the move, on the go, doing more than the next person. But, sometimes, we are able to do more by letting someone else do the work, let-ting someone else shine. When Jesus was on the cross, he told his favorite disciple to take care of Mary, his
mother. Jesus had faith that the disciple would step up and care for his mom in the same way that Jesus would. In doing this, Jesus showed us another great act of love…of providing for others when it’s impossible for us to do so ourselves.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
3 John 1:2
Christi AndersonDirector of Children’s Ministries
Human Needs is in great need of the following items for the people who attend Lunch in the Park.
Donations can be dropped off at the church of-fice during the week or given to Deborah Luster in the Narthex on the morning of the second Sunday of the month. Please contact Deborah with any questions at 323.854.6707.
t-shirts shorts jeans tank tops light blankets tents
sleeping bags hats/baseball caps
(for men and women) bath wipes/body wipes extra large underwear men’s shoes (sizes 10-12)
Ministering to the Homeless
Donations neeDeD
Page � June �8, �017 First Christian news
1 Ann & Richard Jones John & Catherine Kelleher 4 Christopher & Sheryl Conte 11 David & Pia Friedrich 13 Anita & James Stoker 15 Dave & Dixie Friedrich 16 Stewart & Dolores Morgan 17 Jason & Beth Owen 18 John Kreitler & Patsy Meyer Kreitler 19 Cindy & Jesse Caryl 21 Steve & Susan Lacey William & Megan Snodgrass 24 Scott Lewis & Shannon Webber-Lewis 26 John Towey & Tylie Jones 27 Robert & Peggy Bock
WANTEDBlondes, Brunettes, Redheads,
and All Shades of GrayFor Volunteer Opportunity.
Must desire to serve The Lord, your church and your community, and enjoy female fellowship and camaraderie. Part-time/flexible hours.
Qualifications: Youthful energy and en-thusiasm. Form new and/or expand ex-isting groups to upcoming generations. Cupcake, cookie, and brownie baking ex-perience helpful but not required. Will train or write your own format/job description. Rich rewards.
All who apply are guaranteed a position.
Contact Sheryl FitzpatrickCWF (Christian Women’s Fellowship)
(818) 980-3747
First Christian news June �8, �017 Page 7
Not that kind of selfie... it’s time for you to get some “selfie” time to yourself, kid-free!
This program is for ALL Sunday School chil-dren through 5th grade.
HeRe iS THe FiNe PRiNT:
• You MUST reserve a spot in advance.
• You will drop your child off for Sunday School and pick them up at 2:00 pm on the playground.
• We will serve lunch (pizza and fruit), create craft projects, play on the play-ground and provide loving care for your child while you grocery shop, have lunch with your spouse/bestie/church friends.
• This event is $15 for the first child and $5 for each additional child in the same family to cover the cost of food and childcare.
To reserve a spot contact Christi Andersonat [email protected] or 818-207-1776
Today’s Date: ______________________________
Name(s): __________________________________
__________________________________________
Daytime Phone: ____________________________
Email: ____________________________________
Available dates:
Floral Dedication:
(Please check one of the following and write the specifics of your dedication in the space provide below)
In Honor of ... In Celebration of ... In Memory of ...
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Check enclosed for arrangement ($40)Arrrangements are supplied by Dee’s Flowers.
Flowers for the ChancelTo order flowers for the chancel, fill out the
following form and place in the offering plate or drop at the church office with your check for $40.
6/25 7/2 7/9 7/30 8/6 8/13 8/20 8/27 9/3 9/10 9/17 9/24
Page 8 June �8, �017 First Christian news
Keep calm and call for help! The road To church camp
I greet you in the wonderful magnificent name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I want to give an enormous “THANK YOU” to Stacey McIntosh and the McIntosh family, as they helped to transport our youth to camp.
The plan was set for me to take our high school youth to Loch Leven camp. We met at church, prayed for safe travel, the youth hugged their parents, and fi-nally we drove off in the church van. On Ventura Blvd., a few blocks into our trip an odd thing happened—the gas pedal on the van stopped working. Have you ever been in a hot church van with high school teenagers on their way to church camp only to have the car/van/bus malfunction??? Well, let me tell you, it’s not the best po-sition to be in as the responsible adult on hand. While sweat dropped from my forehead, my t-shirt stuck to my back and simultaneously the anxiety of the youth was rising at the possibility that they might not make camp that day I thought, what do you do? I needed to think quick! I blurted out, “Let’s go get ice cream.”
Silence filled the air at my suggestion as if every-one was stunned by pigs flying above. Then into the silence, I heard “okay.” I thank God for that moment of good will and understanding and I used it to call Stacey McIntosh. After hearing about our dilemma, he replied “Geriann and I will be there shortly. Jeremy,” he said, “you can drive Geriann’s SUV, I’ll drive my SUV, and we will transport the kids to church camp, “Got it?” I stuttered, “Yes, uhh, yes sir.” We hung up the phone.
Next, I called Pastor Bob for the AAA information to get the van towed back to the church, on cue Mrs. Peggy gives me the information. I called AAA. They
agree to come, and, finally, I called Scott Sherman and asked him to come over to stay with the van as it was being towed. I took a deep breath and as I exhaled, re-turned to the ice cream shop to check on the youth. I expected them to ask a million questions, instead they were very calm, enjoying each other’s company and the great tasting ice cream. They asked if I wanted some but with my stomach already churning and my head spin-ning, I had to decline.
As I continued to worry and they finished their ice cream AAA arrived. Stacey and Geriann arrived. Scott arrived. We walked across the street to the gas station and as we approached the van, the gentlemen working for AAA figured out how to repair the van. I looked at Stacey and said, “it was not doing that a few minutes ago.” He replied, “I know. I’m not going to let you drive the kids to camp in the van. Let’s stick to the plan.” We thanked the serviceman from AAA, loaded the kids into the two McIntosh SUVs, returned the van to church and a few minutes later, restarted the journey to drop the youth off at Loch Leven. They arrived safely, smiling and laughing about the afternoon adventure but very grateful to be at camp for another year.
I am so grateful to the McIntosh family for helping get our young people to camp. Stacey, you are a true ev-eryday hero. Thank you for interrupting your day to help transport our kids and support the youth program once again. It takes a village to get kids to church camp. Thanks so much to all of you for being a part of the village.
Blessings, Jeremy Gillett
Director of Youth Ministries
First Christian news June �8, �017 Page �
1 Susan Lummis Leslie Polhemus William Stambaugh2 Jefferson Beeker Barbara Bulen Mary Manocchia Christine Nolan3 Elias Taylor Allison Torres5 Elaine Harris Bryceson Montgomery Collin Morgan6 Rose Tuttle7 Natalie Charouhas Madison Grimmett John Houlihan Penelope Maseredjian8 Dustin Brown Kay Lewis Alec Zbornak9 Carolyn Lorenzo Kaycee Marquez Devon Werble Chloe Wheeler Anastasia Zubkoff10 Jesse Caryl Rick Lewis Martin Smith Myra Smith
11 Susan Hayes Lillian Stoddard12 Remy Gamache13 Jack Fogg Michael Lever Sarah Lord Mikayla Melendez Nyla James Walker14 Chris Carson Scott Crosby Jake Leannah Cambrya Melendez Dan Savage15 Lou Effendi Alison Hawkins-Keogh David Rigsby Mary Ann Steuterman16 Dan Bernard Christian Corzo Darlene Zaun17 Larry Bradfield Elizabeth Coelho William Coelho Kathryn Eddy Lucas Melendez18 Elise Alspach19 Glenda Colwell Norman Fiddmont Jeremy Horwitz20 Nia Askerneese Alyssa Sigala Tana Stevens21 Landon Bailey Liam Cahill Jeff Henderson John Kelleher
21 continued— Nathan Wolfstein Priscilla Yang22 Dean McFadden Anelise Pardo Karen Richardson Jayla Smith Mariana (Dani) Torchia23 Charlotte Dore Claire Dore Lydia Pretlow24 Gary Edwards Michael Kinosian Dan Miller Sarah Ramirez25 Todd Burgess Tylie Jones26 John Currin Sue Malotte Evan Melendez Linda Walmsley28 Romero Hunt Alexandra Markle Tristan Wheeler29 Harriet Brandt Stephen Furry June Jacobs Kevin Kenney Carol Perkinson30 GloZell Green Jason Varon Lindsay Werble31 Stellan Arnold Paloma Dunlap Chris Ellis Richard Lewis
Page 10 June �8, �017 First Christian news
Food Pantry VoLUntEEr ContaCtTransportation Teams:
Heather Hatch 508.667.1609
another way to donate to the pantry
Make your donations to the Interfaith Food Pantry through the FCCNH web page
(https://fccnh.charityfinders.com/Donate%20Cash).
Thursday, June 29Swing Team Art Dielhenn Larry Gerber Sarah Whalen Ian Reed Justin Barnett Danny Pino
Sunday, July 2#2 Fred Sloan Louise Goben Galen Goben Jeff Goben Hutch Hutchinson
Wednesday, July 5Studio City Volunteers
Thursday, July 6#3 Rae Eiklor Mike Eiklor Ryan Eiklor Neil Eiklor Heather Hatch
Sunday, July 9#4 Luis Oliart Ken Wilson Barbara Erdahl Hans Christoph
Wednesday, July 12Studio City Volunteers
Thursday, July 13#5 Rosey Tamkin Heather Hatch Barbara Erdahl Derek Reisinger
Sunday, July 16#6 Kevin Kenney Heather Hatch Barbara Erdahl
Wednesday, July 19Studio City Volunteers
InterFaIth Food pantry
pICKUp SChedULe & newS
t h e
Food pantry IS In need oF:
Canned tuna, canned chicken, rice, canned
beans (pinto, navy etc.), boxed cereal, diapers, powdered milk, baby food,
peanut butter and tomato products!
First Christian news June �8, �017 Page 11
ChUrCh StaFF
Robert M. Bock Senior PastorLouise Sloan Goben Associate PastorAlfredo Gomez Pastor, Spanish Speaking CongregationChristi Anderson Director of Children’s MinistriesJeremy Gillett Director of Youth MinistriesTyana Parr Director of Children’s ChoirJoshua Elson Music DirectorDavid Rigsby OrganistChristine Karasseferian Director of FinanceGillian BonacciChurch AdministratorDiane Hirsch Administrative Asst./Web Master/Publicity CoordinatorGabriela Dorantes Administrative AssistantTerri Burton Church PublicationsMichele Amundsen Wedding Director Elmer Maldonado Building & Grounds SuperintendentMiriam MancillaDirector of Christian Nursery SchoolGreg Kirkland Media Director
VoLUntEEr StaFFCraig Brooks, Jordon Goldschmidt, Janette Jara, John Henry Kreitler, Tom Louie, Susan Marble, Jeff McFadden, Denise Ovaldson, Martin SmithSound Technicians
Luis Oliart Security
In MEMorIaMEarle Immel Minister of Music Emeritus
Merle E. Fish, Jr. Minister Emeritus
By Way oF rEPortSunday, June 18, 2017____________________
10:00 AM Worship 142 5:30 PM SpiritSong Service 35 7:00 PM Evenlight Service 7 7:00 PM Wednesday Worship 9 Sunday School Children 26 Sunday School Youth 12 Sunday Evening Youth
10:00 AM Worship $6,777.00 4:00 PM Service en Español $85.00 5:30 PM SpiritSong Service $697.00 7:00 PM Evenlight Service $130.00 7:00 PM Wednesday Worship $21.00 Sunday School Children $9.00
ToTal General offerinG $7,719.00
Disciples Mission Fund (Pentecost) $25.00
Sunday, June 25, 2017____________________
10:00 AM Worship 184 5:30 PM SpiritSong Service 51 7:00 PM Evenlight Service -- 7:00 PM Wednesday Worship 6 Sunday School Children 34 Sunday School Youth 24 Sunday Evening Youth --
10:00 AM Worship $6,923.03 4:00 PM Service en Español $55.00 5:30 PM SpiritSong Service $2,380.60 7:00 PM Evenlight Service $141.00 7:00 PM Wednesday Worship $7.00 Sunday School Children $3.82
ToTal General offerinG $9,510.45
First Christian News First Christian ChurCh oF north hollywood
a Congregation oF the Christian ChurCh
(disCiples oF Christ) 4390 ColFax avenue
north hollywood, CA 91604 - 2898
THInK GREEn! PLEasE RECyCLE!noTE: If you would like to receive this newsletter via Email, which saves
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First Christian Church of North Hollywood818/763-8218 • FAX 818/763-8457Web Site: www.fccnh.orgemail: [email protected]
Pastor & senior editor Robert M. Bockart direction Terri BurtonWeb Master Diane Hirsch
Production services
Mary Ann Steuterman Byron Armantrout
eMeritus
Billie Kline Lillian Carlson Heather Kenney Margaret Defibaugh Cathy Melendez Fern Donald Chuck Mont Jean Johnson Wanda Kanoy Helen Scarna Kay Smith Betty Van Zanten Shirley McClure Deborah Wheeler Virginia Stebbins Cindy Kaller
July 2, 2017 10:00 am Sheryl Fitzpatrick (O) Fred Sloan (C) 5:30 pm Rodney Gould 7:00 pm Aliza Ramos
diaconate: Jill Groswirth Rodney Hutchens Sheryl Fitzpatrick Mary Manocchia Barbara Wiles Janet Bruce Pam Scott Susan Randi Jeff McFadden Jennifer McFadden
upcoming diaconate: July 9 Donna Loyd & Deborah Currin July 16 Dean Williams & Sue Williams
