First Christian Church of Burbank

221 S Sixth St, Burbank, CA 91501
(Sixth and Angeleno)
(818) 845-7459
www.burbankchristian.org

The 11 am service at First Christian Church of Burbank is "a more informal worship experience" according to their website, and indeed, it was positively amateur! It seemed as though the leaders of the service were "playing church". There was little sense of holiness about the proceedings - the announcements seemed to be ad-libbed, the sermon was read verbatim from sheets of paper, and communion was rushed through with little propriety.

Having said that, everyone was very nice. The congregation was mostly young: teens, 20s and 30s. There were perhaps 30-40 people there. The church itself was a good size, and had a comfortable feeling about it. We were welcomed by the leavers of the previous (9.30 am) service, who fed and watered us, and talked to us at length.

The regular Pastor was ill on the day we visited, and the sermon was given by a seminary student, Brian, who is also the Youth Minister. It was a very short sermon, with little depth or examination of the text for the service. It was interspersed with poetry. It came across as though it might have been his first sermon, which if it is the case, is not a bad start... otherwise it needed some work.

All-in-all, a friendly church, but when we visited it, very wishy-washy in content of the service. I don't think we'll be going back!

Chevy Chase Baptist Church revisited

See the entry BELOW.

We revisited this church because another church we'd chosen to visit had cancelled its service.

There were more people here than at the last visit, although a lot of familiar faces. Both Lane and Kerry were both present. Kerry preached, and sang very nicely, whilst Lane lead the service. Both these guys remembered our names which was very impressive!

Of the 40-50 people there this time, there were more young people. A few teenagers sat at the back, and there were a couple of young families. Everyone was again very friendly, and the service was good, if informal. This church always seems to be helping the community in some way, even though there are very few attendees... a very few must be doing a lot of work in this church.

United Community Church

333 E Colorado St, Glendale, CA 91205
(Colorado and Louise)
(818) 240-4380
** no website **

This church is located on the corner of Colorado and Louise. Parking is available in front of the church building, and there seems to be plenty of space. We arrived for the service at 10.45 am (they also have a Bible study at 2.30 pm) and there were perhaps a dozen cars in the parking lot.

This church's building is very impressive. From the outside it's an almost Mediterranean-looking affair - a circular building with a terrace around it. Inside you come out into a mini stadium, with four entrances and stadium seating. It's very impressive - worth the visit in itself.

We were warmly greeted by a couple of people who realised that we must be visiting, and then increasing numbers of people came up to us to wish us a good morning. Pastor Jack came up, too, and also welcomed us by name over the microphone during the service.

The service itself was carried out from the pit in the centre of the auditorium. The music was mostly hymns, and the worship "band" seemed stuck in the 70's, with their tambourines and leather-jacketed leader. It fit in well with the decor inside. The pastor made very clear his views on church government (the sermon was about the service of deacons), and also that he was not a Minister: he was a pastor, and we all were ministers in our own right. It was a decent sermon. It had a very conservative feel - Pastor Jack almost got himself into a mess on the subject of female deacons (deaconesses) but managed to leave everyone in enough confusion as to escape any condemnation for narrow-minded views.

There were around 50+ people at the service, mostly older people. There were a couple of high-school aged girls, and a few younger children who left mid-way through the service. Everyone was very friendly throughout, and when we left we were urged to come back.