Bel Air Church (also known as Bel Air Presbyterian Church) is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

church located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Its campus is located on

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

in the Encino neighborhood.

History

The Bel Air Church was founded in 1956 in Los Angeles. The church is on the "Educational Corridor" on

, on a hill overlooking the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

. On

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

high holy days The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewi ...

, The Church hosts services for the

Stephen S. Wise Temple Stephen Wise Temple is a large Reform Jewish congregation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1964 by the late Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, with 35 families, the congregation grew rapidly. At various times in its histo ...

, a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

congregation, which is in the same neighbourhood as Bel Air Church. In 2007, the church completed a $12 million campus expansion program, ''The Campaign for Bel Air: Phase I'', which included the two-story Education Building, Discipleship Center, and Administration Building, including staff offices overlooking the

. The campus also has a full-service

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...

. Former senior pastors include Louis H. Evans Jr., Mark Brewer, Michael H. Wenning, Paul Pierson, David G. McKechnie, Donn D. Moomaw, Michael Wenning, and Mark Brewer. Moomaw gave the invocation at President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's first inauguration in 1981. He also gave the invocation at President Reagan's

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

and presided over a private service for the family of

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in Ne ...

before her state funeral at the Reagan Library. belairpresbyterianmainentrance

Drew Sams was officially ordained as the church's senior pastor and head of staff on April 13, 2014, where he joined Care Crawford, Kim Dorr-Tilley, and later Mike Morgan on the church's leadership team.

Congregation

Some notable members of the church include: *

Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

* Leonardo DiCaprio.

Activities

Bel Air Church helped found "Imagine LA", a mentorship program that matches families exiting

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

with volunteer teams from faith communities, corporations, and other committed organizations. The church has an outreach department that partners with other

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

organizations in Los Angeles. For over thirty years, the church has packed and distributed over 10,000 meals to those in need at

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

References

External links

*
Bel Air Church on FacebookBel Air Church InstagramBel Air Church YouTube
{{coord, 34.130581, -118.485296, display=title Presbyterian Church (USA) churches Presbyterian churches in California Churches in Los Angeles Christian organizations established in 1956 Presbyterian organizations established in the 20th century Bel Air, Los Angeles Megachurches in California Presbyterian megachurches in the United States