Faith Presbyterian Church of Valley Village

5000 Colfax Avenue • Valley Village • CA • 91601 • (818)766-8103 • Fax: (818)766-2987

Angel with baby

Christmas for the Troops

By Erin Poole

"Sometimes, it feels like America has forgotten about us."

It was that sentence in a letter from a soldier that caused me to start what I then called "Operation Holiday Cheer."

I was in high school and honestly thought it would be a one time event; though it was, and still is, a cause that I care deeply about. The goal was to collect as many Christmas cards and items to put together Christmas care packages for the troops serving overseas.

In the years following, I enlisted the help of everyone from my family, to my school, to the local Republican Assembly to help, and we held a drive every year. When I moved to Hollywood, I didn't know how I was going to keep it going other than sending what I could, personally. Even as a penniless student, I found the help and support to keep it going.

There were several reasons why I approached Jill McNulty with the idea of gathering Christmas cards for the troops through the church. The Sunday bulletin always mentioned keeping the troops in our prayers, and I've spoken with so many people at Faith Presbyterian that have ties to the military. I didn't think there was a more perfect place to take the idea. The holidays can be rough even on the most blessed, and I knew that Faith Presbyterian would make sure that no one serving our country felt like they were forgotten this year.

Before Thanksgiving, the session voted to support the project, quickly named "Christmas for the Troops." David Morehouse immediately set up a section of the fellowship hall, dedicated to writing cards and creating packages. He was an amazing help in organizing the project. By the following Sunday, I was overwhelmed by the response to the "Christmas for the Troops" project. Everyone wanted to help and be a part of it. Two tables were filled with blank Christmas cards, magazines, and boxes of items to be included in packages. Bruce Bailey spent weekdays addressing envelope after envelope. The first Sunday of December saw the children of the church hand-making cards that expressed Christmas wishes and gratitude. Pauline Shaw and her grandson Tyler spent several Sundays with me writing cards in the fellowship hall until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Dave Derus wrote nearly 20 cards to members of the Air Force, which he plans to join as a Chaplain.

In total, six care packages were put together with everything from Christmas lights and shampoo to magazines and snacks. Over 300 cards were written and mailed, making sure that troops from each branch of the military received some Christmas cheer. With such an amazing response, it is my hope that we can continue to show this support of our troops next year as well. Thank you to everyone (and there were so many of you!) that helped make this possible. And, as always, please keep the courageous men and women who are defending our country in your prayers.

Of Dodger Dogs & Dodger Blankets

By Julie Strutt, Sports Correspondent

It was a merry band of Faith Presbyterian Church Irregulars that gathered under the rain shelter of Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, September 15. Our main enthusiasms were greeting friends, keeping Dodger Dogs from falling out of our laps and raining chopped onions and relish down the necks of our friends in front of us.

Faith Pres at Dodger Stadium.

Our group had no idea how to get into the stadium, but an incredulous maintenance man pointed the way and, after climbing a series of stairs that resembled the Himalayas, the escalator appeared and we clung to it for dear life.

It was 'blanket night'; so we all got a Dodger blanket rolled in slippery plastic and, to this person’s dismay, it landed a few times in Dodger dirt and threatened to make it all the way to the infield the next time.

Finding our seats was another challenge, but the smiling stadium worker was up to the challenge and was happy to point the way. Have you ever stood at the top of stadium stairs and looked down? Himalayas going up - Matterhorn ski slopes going down! Hold onto the railing or your jacket, Dodger blanket, your Dodger Dog and you could be hanging out over the heads of the people in the section down below! Amid the catcalls of "You finally made it!" from our dear friends we settled in - which in the tiny seats can be a process.

Amid laughter, clapping, cheering, confetti shooting out from some mysterious place, and plastic beach balls from the 99 Cents Store bouncing from section to section, the game proceeded - slowly. Did you know that during a baseball game you can exchange recipes, plan your summer vacation, text your kids and grand kids, and not miss a thing?

Bottom of the 9th and you realize it is a tie game. "Do they go into extra innings in baseball?" asks a diehard football fan. "Yep" is the cryptic answer. Oh, no! 10th inning, 11 inning....now they have us dancing to Michael Jackson's "I'm Bad" and a few ardent dancers are on camera performing with gusto for all of us. And there’s the "kiss camera." If the camera stops on you, you have to kiss whoever is handy, friend, wife, or peanut vendor amid much clapping and cheering. Is anyone watching the game? Who has time!

The hour grows late, the stands begin to empty. A few times the Dodgers looked like they might score over the Pirates but no.....onto the next inning.

The organ playing, the clapping (until your hands sting), and the cheers keep you awake and you sorta watch the red tail lights of the cars leaving with envy. But leave....well, no....one more inning anyway. 12th inning - the peanut and cotton candy vendors are gone, my legs are asleep as well as my backside.

“Well, we should leave,” says our ride who has an early call in the morning. Somewhere in the game the Pirates have gotten another run; so the Dodgers need two points to win, and it is the bottom of the 13th with one man on first base.....and about 11:15 p.m. Two outs for the Dodgers. Looks like 14th inning coming up.

Andre Ethier steps up to the plate - a swing - and the stadium erupts in screams......"Is it going out?".....YES! A HOME RUN! The man that was on first base comes in, and Andre rounds the diamond and over home plate!

WE WON! WE WON! Lights flashing, confetti flying, people dancing, clapping, screaming, hugging, and people singing, "We love LA!" WOW! If this person never goes to another ball game, the thrill of this one will last forever.

GO DODGER BLUE!

Faith Pres CROP-Walkers Break Record

CROP Walkers.

For the first time in our memory, a record number of walkers raised an amount which we think is also a record for our congregation. Twenty walkers raised $1,255 in the 34th Annual San Fernando Valley CROP Walk on November 8. Bravo!

Allemande Left and Do-si-do to the Chili Bowls

In her church news update, Jill McNulty reported that 42 Cowboys and Cowgirls showed up for the Chili Cook-off and Square Dance. We had 8 chili's to taste test and vote on. The winners included, Best Veggie Chili (the only one) made by Debbie Sloat, the Hottest Chili award was given to Windy Henry, and the Best Overall Chili prize went to Miriam Skarin, who won also last year.

It was great fun for all ages. We had 10 year olds to 70 year olds participating in the square dancing and having a lot of fun. Caller, Ron Black, was very patient with all of us and taught us a lot about square dancing. This is one event that lots of people would like to repeat next year. So if you couldn't make it this year, you will have another chance to experience the fun next time.

Faith Pres Walkers in "Relay for Life"

Cancer Survivors Celebrate Life

By David Morehouse

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Good News editor, Ransin, asked me for the names of people participating. Well, my response is: "Who did not participate?" I am sure most, if not all of you, participated through prayer, walking, operating the booth, or making a donation to the American Cancer Society.

By the way, I learned a new word: "womanning" (dedicated to the ladies who "manned" the booth). Our very own Paddy “I can stay only for an hour” O’Hara womanned the booth for 4˝ hours. The only reason she left was because of the twilight. She does not drive at night.

Pastor Kim and David march with cancer survivors.

Frequent church visitor Erin Poole stayed for 13 hours (I hope my math is right). Catie Merrill and Shari Bates coordinated our youth. And Catie returned at midnight to keep the Eddings family company. And the names continue ...

Fund Raising Results: This was a fund raising event for the American Cancer Society. We were one of seventeen teams. Although we entered the program a little late, our team came in fourth in fund raising. A tip of the Dodger cap to top fund raiser Vincent (an elementary school student). Based on collected funds, to date, we raised 62% of our goal . Still, based on outstanding pledges, we are close to or may even exceed our goal. I can collect your monies on any Sunday. If you were sponsoring someone, give the money to them. They will in turn, give the money to me. A third option. Send your donation to my home (4255 Beck Ave, Studio City, Ca. 91604). All donations should be payable to the American Cancer Society.

As a cancer survivor, I am touched by your participation. Some of you registered to walk for only 30 minutes. Still, you walked for over an hour. I believe it was not for the exercise. I learned later that some of you had lost close friends or a family member to cancer. I think you were walking in memory of that individual and that walking was actually therapeutic. For others, the time was a dedication to the cause. The Federman family actually ran!

Church Wide Event: We did interface and reach out to the community. Several people wanted to know about the church and took our brochure. We hope to see them at church. For those of you who participated and are frequent visitors but are not yet church members, I think you have found a church home. We look forward to worshiping with you as members. See you all in church!

Pastor Kim Strutt Is Leader of the Band at Rose Bowl Game

Kim Strutt leading UCLA band

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Pastor Kim Strutt, who is a UCLA alumnus and also a former UCLA marching band drum major, had the honor of leading a combination marching band that included the current UCLA band and a band made up of former members on to the field at half-time at the Rose Bowl for the UCLA game with Oregon State. The aggregate band members performed better on the field than did the football team.

Pastor Kim recovered enough from his ordeal to preach his sermon titled "A Message of Faith, Hope, and Love" on Sunday morning. Sounds like he may have been musing about the 34-6 loss of the Bruins to the Beavers.