Altadena Community Church Celebrates 75 Years!

ALTADENA COMMUNITY CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

943 East Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91001

For Immediate Release

For additional information and photographs:

Patty Judy 626.372.3750

Altadena Community Church Celebrates 75 years (1940 – 2015)

New Life from Old Stories

Sunday, July 12, 2015

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Altadena, California—

The members and friends of Altadena Community Church invite the community to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the church! A short worship service at 10:00 a.m. will precede a fellowship time of sharing stories and visiting visual displays of the church history. The celebration will also include a catered lunch. Please RSVP to 626-798-1185. We will enjoy sharing memories of times past and hopes for the future!

For more information

Contact Altadena Community Church at 626- 798-1185 or visit our website at www.altadenaucc.org.

The church is located at 943 East Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91001.

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About Altadena Community Church, United Church of Christ

Altadena Community Church was founded in 1940 and strengthened in 1968 by breakaway groups seeking a freedom of religious thought they had not found in other churches. One early statement of faith was affirmed as “a testimony, not a test” and encouraged members in “their own free responsibility to interpret the word of God.” In 1967 ACC joined the United Church of Christ, a denomination of self-governing congregations from different faith streams. In 1986 ACC became the thirteenth UCC congregation nationwide to declare itself Open and Affirming—people of all sexual orientations are welcome.

ACC is a Just Peace congregation. Commitments include generous giving and participation in causes global and local. ACC hosts a food pantry (run in partnership with other congregations). We provide a monthly meal at Union Station, worship and fellowship at a nursing center, and send tutors to an after-school program. We have also provided leadership to Altadena Relay for Life.

The 1948 Spanish Colonial Revival style sanctuary (Harry L. Pierce, architect) was built at 943 E. Altadena Drive (then E. Foothill) on land purchased for $2,850. With beautiful acoustics, Judson Studios stained glass windows, a Cassavant pipe organ, and a side chapel added in 1960. A 2010 building campaign raised funds to repair the roof and refurbish the windows and organ, among other repairs. Artist Karen Bagnard created the Tree of Life mural in the narthex.

Architect Boyd E. Georgi (Altadena Public Library, Noyes School) designed the classroom and fellowship building and modernized the church’s master plan in 1953. Heicher Hall, named for ACC’s original pastor, has a full stage at one end and a kitchen at the other. Millard Sheets tiles decorate an entry wall on the classroom level. Meher Montessori, an AMI-accredited preschool, has joyously inhabited the classroom space and play yard on weekdays since 1972.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph McGowan (Pastor Joe) has served ACC since 1999. Choir director, singer, and pianist extraordinaire Wendy Caldwell celebrated her 20th anniversary as ACC’s director of music in 2012. With a current congregation of about 75, Altadena Community Church is back to its 1940 founding size. In renewed commitment to its heritage of social action, outreach, freedom of faith, and diversity in people as well as to its beautiful buildings, ACC is undergoing a kind of re-founding—but then, a church is always a work of faith and a work in progress.