First Baptist Church of Van Nuys Postcard
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Marty Mcfly
Anything and everything about the San Fernando Valley. This blog will take you back in time when the valley was covered with dirt and orange groves to a leader in the space race to its current status as America's suburb. Come along and join me on this adventure, I guarantee you have been influenced/impacted by the San Fernando Valley in one form or another even if you have never visited or heard of the SFV.
This was a wonderful church 50 years ago. It's congregation funded the Childerns Baptist Home in Inglewood, where my brother and I were raised for some years.
ReplyDeleteI still recall how awesome the pipe organ sounded. I was fascinated with it as a child. You could hear the air hissing and valves clacking as the organest worked gracefully at the keys, while his stocking feet floated over the base petals.
God, how I miss it all. Life was so wonderful then. No cellphone distractions, no altered foods. What a time. I feel so privileged to have been a part of it.
My mother and father were founding members of The First Baptist Church of Van Nuys c. 1950, at the time members of the congregation constructed the first church building, which served the congregation fine until there was no more room for the rapidly growing numbers of newcomers arriving each new Sunday, many of which became new members and Bible believers. That's when the 'new' Sanctuary was built to accommodate the growing numbers. I went to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School there in my early years, got baptized when I was 10 yrs old, sang in the choir, went to summer/winter camps up at Arrow Pines in Arrowhead, went to the L.A. Coliseum on the bus to the Billy Graham Crusade, enjoyed weekend youth activities and outings with my church friends, basically I grew up in the church. I treasure my wonderful memories of singing with all the children, and being taught about the wonderful things Jesus did and taught using parables, and the miracles he did to help and heal others. There was a real sense of 'family' in those early years of the church's history, and like so much else in and around SFV, lots was going on. The golden years and things that I was part of and will always be grateful for. -- Seeing the rapid growth everywhere, the many changes worldwide, ---the people who left their impressions on me and were there with me in the earliest stages of my life's journey, I will never forget them. Porter Barrington was the name of the first pastor of the church in those early years. Royal Blue was our youth pastor. I loved and admired them both. These were the wonder years.
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