Our new Sabbath School class will be meeting each Sabbath before the main worship service at 9:45 a.m. in the downstairs classroom. We’re following curriculum, videos and discussion topics from well-known Biblical scholar and minister N.T. Wright in a series called Simply Christian. This class is a safe place for those who are new to Christianity to explore the faith and some of life’s big essential questions and also offers deep insights and challenges to those who are more seasoned Christians.

We be examining the scriptures and have discussions around questions such as: Why do we expect Justice? Why do we crave spirituality? Why are we attracted to beauty? Why are relationships so painful? How will the world be made right? Is it possible to really know anything about God? How does God relate to the world? How do we “do business” with God? How do I read and engage with the Bible? And much more! It’s a fun and illuminating journey. Hope you can join us—all are welcome! E-mail pastors Ryan or Syd.

Join us in providing relief for those suffering in East Africa.

East Africa is experiencing a devastating famine, some estimate the worst in 60 years, that is causing extreme suffering in the region. Recent news reports suggest that more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone. The U.N. indicates that 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished and many families have left their homes and headed to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Rains are not expected for the rest of the month and conditions are expected to worsen. More than 12 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti need aid.

UPDATE: Download the prayer guide to join us in prayer during this relief effort!

In partnership with Worship Harvest Church in Uganda and Community of Faith in Texas, Hollywood Adventist Church invites you to join in the effort to relieve suffering in East Africa by committing to pray or fast during the week of September 10th-17th or by giving a financial gift to provide 80 tons of food (water, rice and beans) to feed 300,000 people in a refugee camp in Northern Kenya. The food will be distributed in person by Hollywood Church members David and Syd Shook along with their Burundian team leader, Claude Nikondeha. The church will receive a video update letting our members know how their participation impacted those involved in the relief effort. Please take a moment to watch this message about the relief effort from Claude Nikondeha.

If you’ve already signed up to pray, fast or give then we thank you for your commitment. Some church members expressed an interest in online giving. The last day we will be accepting online donations is Wednesday, September 17. To donate online, click “Donate Now” which will take you to the church’s online donation website, and enter your donation amount in the field marked “East Africa Famine Relief.” If you’ve missed the deadline to give, we still invite you to pray and fast with us during the week of September 10–17. For those who have committed to pray, a prayer guide will be available for you at church on September 10.

Thank you for your commitment to stand with those who are suffering both here in Hollywood and around the globe. We are excited to see your participation make an impact in coming weeks. May God bless you as you support our brothers and sisters in East Africa.

We are planning a very special Sabbath service for September 10 to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. We will be joined by local imam Jihad Turk as we commend our shared Christian and Muslim value and practice of peacemaking to our members and our community.

Join us on September 10, 2011 at 11 a.m. at the church.

Every Sabbath at 10 a.m. is our new adult Sabbath School class, Beliefs Revisited. This will be a discussion-format study group to revisit and study our basic, fundamental Christian beliefs. All are welcome.

The class will meet at 10 a.m. in the Downstairs Office (near the back of the church).

Here is an invitation from one of the discussion leaders, Adam Buck:

Over the past several months I have been challenged by a number of people outside of our church on my Christian beliefs. As I attempted to discuss my beliefs with them I began to realize that my answers were less than adequate. This inspired me to attempt to broaden my understanding of the beliefs specific to Adventism. I began discussing my newfound inspiration with Pastor Ryan as well as several members, and after several discussions we decided to start a study on the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. The purpose of this study is to further understand why the 28 beliefs were established and what application they have to our lives today. This will be a discussion-based study where we encourage questions, opinions
and debate.

GOOD FRIDAY
“Christ is Crucified!” 7:30 p.m. • Fellowship Hall
Come to a candlelight vespers for spiritual songs and a telling of the Crucifixion story from the Gospel of John. This is a somber service that takes us into the darkness of the tomb. John 18:1–19:42.
Facebook Invite

HOLY SATURDAY
“Christ has died.” 11:00 a.m. • Sanctuary
Journey from hopelessness towards hope through poetry, hymns, original songs, and classical music. Sal Gulotta and Kelby Joseph present a dramatic encounter between Jesus and Judas. Lamentations 3:1–9, 19–24.
[ https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140005299405625 ]

RESURRECTION SUNDAY
“Christ is risen!” 8:30 a.m. • Bronson Canyon Park
Celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with an Easter Breakfast Potluck at Bronson Canyon Park (1.5 miles up Canyon Dr. from the church). Prayer, good company, and tasty food. Bring a breakfast dish to share—contact Emily McArthur (ecmcarthur@gmail.com). Colossians 3:1-4.
Facebook Invite

Join us on March 9, 2011 for two prayerful services focused on repentance and turning our hearts towards Christ’s crucifixion. This is a beautiful, contemplative day of fasting, prayer, and worship.

Morning worship, 7 a.m., in the prayer chapel in the back of the church.
Evening worship, 7:30 p.m., in the Fellowship Hall.

If you would like to know more about Hollywood’s observance of the biblical practices of Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent, please read Ryan’s latest Pastor’s Journal. You can also watch a video of last year’s evening service.

The season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday. For a number of years now our church has encouraged each of us to take the 40 days prior to Easter in a different way—slower, more reflective, and with fasting.

Growing up in the Adventist Church, I never heard anything about Lent. I suppose that’s because it was considered a part of the Catholic tradition and we were opposed to all things Catholic. In fact there was an intangible fear of anything that seemed remotely Catholic. What is often forgotten in the hysteria about Catholicism is that from about 350 to 1517, the Catholic Church (as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church which branched off in 1054) was the only church. We were all Catholic, so to speak. So, it wasn’t Catholics who adopted the doctrine of the Trinity at the Council of Nicea. It was Christians. It wasn’t Catholics who determined the way of practicing church in buildings with pews and altars and the way the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. It was Christians.

Very few practices that we hold as important to our faith are specifically commanded in Bible. Sure, we are told to pray, but we not given one posture in which to pray or told how often or how long we are to pray. In fact, when the Bible does prescribe certain prayer practices, Protestants have often rejected them because of their perceived associations with Catholicism (the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9–13 or set times of prayer in Psalm 119:164 and Psalm 55:17).

I would suggest to you that there is nothing fundamentally anti-Protestant or anti-Adventist about spending forty days in prayerful reflection and repentance. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, this posture of soul-searching, confession of sin, and sanctification is distinctly Adventist as anyone who has spent time reading Ellen White will know. As mature and maturing Christians it is important to be able to distinguish between something that does not adhere to biblical faith and things that are feared by their association with something we’ve been told is bad. Confessing your sins to another person is biblical (James 5:16). Teaching that you have to confess your sins to a priest in order to find God’s forgiveness is not. There is a big difference.

All that being said, if the whole idea of Lent and Ash Wednesday makes you queasy, then just let it go by or call it something else, but certainly don’t pass up an opportunity to open your life to the searching eye of God that He might sanctify you for His purpose and mission.

Finally, I wrote a short article about Ash Wednesday and Lent in 2009, which you can read here. I hope you will find it helpful.

If you would like to join us for our Ash Wednesday services this year, they will be held on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 a.m. in the small prayer chapel and at 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you there!.

—Ryan

Edited to change some historical facts.

An epiphany is a revealing, an awareness, a moment of knowing. So the season of Epiphany is focused on knowing more about Christ’s revealing of Himself and His mission as recorded in the Gospels, and also as expressed in our own congregation’s missional life here in Hollywood. This is a season for new life, symbolized by the green cross above.

Epiphany lasts for nine weeks. Here are the gospel texts for the first four weeks of Epiphany.

• Epiphany 1
  Baptism of Christ, Matthew 3:13-17
  January 6, 2011
• Epiphany 2
  John 1:29-42
  January 13, 2011
• Epiphany 3
  Matthew 4:12-23
  January 22, 2011
• Epiphany 4
  Matthew 5:1-12
  January 29, 2011

The Hollywood Adventist Church stands with enditnow and women worldwide to say “No!” to violence against women. You can join us in this stand by signing at petition online or at our Sabbath morning worships.

enditnow is a global campaign to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence against women and girls around the world.

This campaign, which extends to more than 200 countries and territories, was launched in October 2009 in partnership between the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)—a prominent humanitarian organization—and the Department of Women’s Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, two entities that are representative of the Adventist Church.

enditnow is the most important stand the Seventh-day Adventist Church has ever taken regarding violence against women and girls. Through this campaign, more than 15 million Adventist church members—men, women, and children— are expected to create a global movement that will be mobilized within their own communities, where each person will actively work to create awareness and share solutions on ways to end this global problem.

Seventh-day Adventists affirm the dignity and worth of each human being and decry all forms of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. is a call to action for all Adventists and supporters to stand up and put into practice those principles we hold true.

enditnow supports the existing programs currently being implemented around the world through ADRA and the Department of Women’s Ministries to end violence against women. These programs provide tangible examples of the work that is already being done to resolve this issue.

Although enditnow seeks to primarily mobilize Adventist church members, all individuals, church congregations of every faith, social groups, schools, and businesses are invited to join. Information about joining is available at www.enditnow.org.

Please join our Hollywood Adventist Church community as we celebrate the release of Stained Glass: Hollywood Blvd., a documentary by filmmaker Melody George. This documentary is a unique behind-the-scenes look at the missional development of the Hollywood Adventist Church. Many of our local denominational Conference leadership will be present. You don’t want to miss this exciting evening!

From the press release:

There are 6,000 Adventist Churches in North America–Each one has a story. STAINED GLASS is an unprecedented documentary series commissioned by the Church Resource Center (Vervent) of the North American Division. The documentaries show the pulse of a church through all the joy and heartache that congregational leadership demands. It speaks to church life as it fades away from its traditional position in society. Uniquely addressing the question; “How do congregations redefine their role in the 21st century?” This riveting film series goes where the camera has rarely been allowed: behind the scenes of three churches on the West Coast trying desperately to keep their relevance alive.

STAINED GLASS : Hollywood Blvd by award-winning filmmakers Melody George and Paul Kim is the first in the series of three to premiere. This part of the series follows the Hollywood church as it is confronted with a dwindling congregation that has reflected the recent troubles of their city. With only a handful of disconnected people straggling in for worship service, an idealistic new pastor and a gifted musician decide to take action. Under their guidance, a group of young professionals commit to wrestling with the pivotal question, “How can we be a people among whom God dwells?”

For more information visit www.stainedglassfilms.org

To reserve a seat or for more information contact the church office (323) 462-0010 or email luck@hollywoodsda.org.

WHERE
American Film Institute
2021 N. Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA  90027 [ Google Map ]

WHEN
Friday, March 5, from 7:00 – 9:30 pm

COST
FREE but you must RSVP. Seating is limited.