Fire Update

Results of the Dominy Survey

2008-07-31T01:18:26Z

A huge thank you to those of you who came to the "meet the architect" evening and participated in our Church design workshop. We had a great representation of our Church, with over 100 people in attendance which is almost one third of our members!

The results were very informative and gave us insight as to the direction we need to take in order to arrive at our final Church design. As always, BRC committee members are available to talk to before or after Sunday services. In addition, please send us your thoughts through the church website at www.malibupres.org, click on "BRC Update," scroll to the bottom and type your questions or comments. Or you may e-mail the committee directly at building@malibupres.org.

Download the results (.pdf)

BRC Update

2008-05-20T18:31:00Z

Since our last update, the Building Resurrection Committee (BRC) has been actively working to finalize our architect selection process and continue to develop the information necessary for the early stages of designing our new church campus. It has been a month of contract negotiations, site visits to other churches and information gathering with members of the Malibu Presbyterian Church community.

Our New Architect - Dominy + Associates

Based on the BRC's recommendations, the Session of Malibu Presbyterian Church unanimously selected and approved using Dominy & Associates (www.domusstudio.com) as the lead design architect for our project. Dominy & Associates is a well respected firm based in San Diego, one that enjoys an outstanding reputation for church design. The firm was chosen based upon multiple factors, including experience in designing church projects similar in size to ours, historical ability to meet project budgets and schedules, efficiency in the costs of their design concepts and their ability to understand the unique way in which Malibu Pres uses the facility for its various worship and ministry activities.

After receiving Session approval, the BRC negotiated a design agreement with the firm and is now prepared to start the design process. Our first meeting with the Dominy &Associates design team took place during the middle of the month of April. We introduced the principals of Dominy to the congregation.
In addition to hiring an architect, the BRC has also been at work engaging the services of independent firms to perform soils/geotechnical studies as well as on-site wastewater treatment options. This information will be necessary when we eventually apply for building approval from the City of Malibu.

Collecting Information - Building Consensus

The other important step we are taking is to gather the necessary information to create a design that will best serve the interests of our church, moving forward. Since last fall, we have been soliciting and analyzing input from survey forms, programming questionnaires and interviews. This process continued again in April with a planning study conducted by Resource Services, Inc. which included two focus groups, online surveys and additional interviews. We want to thank everyone who participated in these activities and gave us your input.

While everyone has their own thoughts and ideas about what our next church should be, we hope this process will provide us with direction in developing a campus that will allow us to fulfill the vision and mission of MPC and, most importantly, bring glory to God Our Father.

Next Steps

In the coming months, the BRC will begin the challenging task of working with our architect and creating the design for our new church campus. We will be reconciling what we would desire in our church with the constraints imposed by our building budget, schedule considerations and regulations imposed by the City of Malibu. Tough, but necessary, decisions will be required to get all the pieces of this puzzle to fit together properly. While trade-offs are a natural part of this stage of design, the BRC will be working cooperatively with Session and MPC staff in seeking the optimal solutions for our future church home.

Demolition Begins

2008-05-05T17:22:12Z

Bulldozers begin demolition of the remains of MPC's structure. Click the numbers below to see more.

Demolition began this morning on the foundation of MPC's site.

Building Resurrection Update

2008-03-14T22:36:52Z

As we transition from recovery to a rebuilding phase, we will devote this page more specifically towards the efforts of the Building Resurrection Committee.

We are on an amazing journey of rebuilding our Church and we want to bring you all along with us. We will posting updates of our progress here, so please check in frequently! Additionally, we will have our own e-mail address for you to communicate with us. We welcome your questions, your thoughts, and your prayers. We also welcome you to talk to us at anytime, we are all so passionate about this and want you to be informed so that you may share our enthusiasm.

For any questions, contact building@malibupres.org

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We also want you to understand the progress we are making. Three years sounds like a very long time, but when the process is broken down into sections, you will see that we are on a very aggressive schedule and we are currently right where we planned to be at this moment in time.

We began our process identifying 18 architects, all of whom had Church and/or Commercial design experience. Through an RFQ (request for qualifications) we narrowed our list down to eight firms that we then interviewed. Based on their qualifications, presentations, and reference checks, we narrowed that field to three firms. They were given one month to create actual design ideas via models and/or specialized three dimensional computer software. The architects have one week left to submit their design ideas, negotiate contracts and complete the RFP (request for proposal).

It is important to understand that we are not choosing our Church design at this time, we are choosing the best qualified architect to build our Church. The purpose of the design competition is to get a better feel for what their capabilities are aside from a glossy presentation, and also to gain many ideas from all three participants so that we may get a head start on things once they are hired.

We are concurrently working on our programming, meeting with every program leader and Director at the Church, identifying our needs first, and wants second. The programming is a detailed and important part of the process, and we have appreciated all of your input, and will do our best to accommodate everyone’s wonderful ideas.

Additionally, we are meeting with a Fundraising Firm in a few weeks. We will assemble a separate Fundraising committee that will play an integral part in the future of our Church,
and we welcome you to speak with us if you have experience you would like to offer in this area!

Our New Offices

2008-01-30T02:21:04Z

It has been 3 months since the fire, and we are settling into our new workspace. Our offices are located in two new modular buildings located on a portion of our parking lots.

Remarkably, these structures were constructed one month after the fire. We moved into them the first week of December with most rudimentary systems in place. The mobilization of efforts to get these structures up has been amazing.

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The amount of work to put this together is daunting: new power lines had to be erected, water mains run to the units, temporary drainage tanks placed underneath, telephone, computer hookups - all of the infrastructure of a standard office. (We think you will agree, they look like a professional office!)

David Conrad of Systems Logic has worked overtime to rebuild our entire computer network from scratch. We are almost up to 90% of where we were - which is remarkable considering that the old system was built over time. We expect, when all things are settled to actually have a more robust system than before.

In addition to physical needs - there is the significant paperwork. The City's office needed permits, reports and other paperwork filed. We are immensely grateful to the city for fast tracking much of this initial process.

And of course, everything must be tracked for the insurance company - so Noralea and Kris Martin deserve major kudos for the extra hours they have logged.

Our next task is to erect a series of structures for the Preschool on the lower Malibu Knowles lot. This process proceeds more carefully, as they are units designed for our children, and we need to take great care to ensure that we build them to specification. We are in close consultation with several key players to put together an excellent center to last the next few years.

Despite this amazing progress, we still have much to do. Our attention now turns towards restoring the functions and routines of our ministries... which have not really slowed down. We also continue to study our long-term solution for Sunday worship until the new building is built.

We also want to thank the following folks:

Mod Space - for construction of the Mobile Units
Brooks Furniture - for furniture rentals
Rich Campbell of Image 2000 - for quickly restoring our printing capabilities
Accura Telecom - for restoring our phone service

Christmas Eve Service at MPC on Fox

2008-01-04T02:31:17Z

Fox 11 News covered our Christmas Eve Service. Click the image below to see the piece on their site.

One Sunday Morning

2007-12-18T03:56:27Z

Tim Jones woke early on the morning of October 21st to see an orange glow rising over the Malibu skyline. Realizing that a fire had broken out, he called the Malibu Presbyterian Church staff and got in the car. He recounts his memory of that morning.

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So when my friend warned me 80 mile-per-hour winds were forecasted for the weekend, I externally shrugged and dismissed the threat, quipping the intelligence of our glamorized weather anchors and their cheesy green-screen backdrops. Internally, my organs tensed because I know the power of Santa Ana winds in fall.

The next day, as forecasted, the winds began to blow. Violent, merciless winds raced through Malibu, with gusts strong enough to challenge full-grown men. Of course, winds in LA are always attached to the hip with fire. Somehow the two get together and consort, like two school-yard bullies bringing their shared rage to the playground.

That night, I was house-sitting at the Joys in Paradise Cove. Like most nights there, I went out on the patio to get a breath of fresh, ocean air and take in the view. At night, you can see the lights of LA and Palos Verdes. You can even see airplanes land and take off at LAX.

The wind chimes were being tortured so I took each of them and put them in the house. But returning to the patio, I smelled smoke within the wind.

I’ve heard stories of winds and fire in Malibu – it’s not good at all. The canyons of Malibu are magnets for fire and wind, or so I’ve heard. Questioning whether I was truly smelling smoke, I took two deep breaths. It was pitch black and I walked around the house, trying to spot fires on the horizon, but nothing. I thought twice about calling the fire department, but not wanting to be an alarmist, believed someone was simply enjoying their fireplace.

Wind woke me up several times that night. I remember being a kid sleeping in my Grandma’s house as wind blew throughout the night. In a frantic whisper, I swore to her someone was in the house, but she kept reassuring me the wind was simply moving through cracks in the house. I still remember laying there with my eyes wide open, trying to make frantic shadows into figures of men. I barely slept the entire night.

At 6am, a loud noise woke me. Immediately sitting up in bed, I looked out the bedroom glass doors down the coast. Something fuzzy was in the air, between me and the lights of Palos Verdes. I thought clouds, but knew it wasn’t right. I jumped out of bed and went to the doors and my stomach dropped. About four or five miles down the coast over the mountains was a large orange glow. I immediately knew the implications of the orange glow. I’ve seen that glow a few times in Colorado – and both were fires that consumed thousands of acres. And with the wild wind blowing massive clouds of smoke out to sea, an immediate sense of urgency overtook my body, powered by a healthy surge of adrenaline.

Throwing my clothes on, I was more concerned about a co-worker living on Corral Canyon – where I figured the fire to be. Jumping in my car, I expected to hear news on each radio station. Instead, it was business as normal. Stocks, Iraq, weather forecasts. Nobody – at least the media – knew about the fire.

I drove frantically down PCH, sometimes swerving to miss tree limbs in the middle of the street. Occasionally a blur of emergency lights passed by me. The sun had yet to rise, but things grew even darker as I drove down into the colony and Cross Creek area. Visibility faded to less than a quarter mile in the smoke. Electricity was out, everything was dead. Through the smoke, an army of faint emergency lights made their way in caravans up Malibu Canyon. I’ve never experienced a war zone or a natural disaster, but I imagine this something like the end-of-the-world might feel, or at least close to what Spielberg might come up with.

And in every good movie, things got worse. I looked to my gas gauge and realized the needle was below the three, red bars on empty. With no gas station open, I rushed back to the Joys, praying I wouldn’t run out of gas in the middle of a major wildfire.

On my way back, I called Noralea, our church administrator, waking her up with the news. We’ve been through this before, but I warned her the fire looked like it was up the canyon and the winds were blowing south toward the church. She said she’d come down right away. I also tried calling Greg, our senior pastor, but no answer after four or five attempts.

Once back to the Joys, I found the keys to their car and immediately headed back to church. On the way, I was able to talk with Winsome, our administrative assistant, who then called Mike, our associate pastor.

Once to the church, I hesitated for moments, trying to assess the situation. I then drove a block up the canyon to a CHP officer and asked how dyer the situation was at the time. “Very..” he said.

I whipped the car around, rushing into the church parking lot.

Running into the church, it was still pitch black inside. I know the office well, so I had no problem running through the office into the hallway and looking for a flashlight in the janitor’s closet. Noralea calls again. Trying to control a small sense of panic welling up, I was frustrated a flashlight wasn’t immediately available.

After a few moments, I remembered the flashlight in the front office. Quickly locating it, I then started collecting computers. I began with the communications computer. It’s a MAC for one thing – but the hard drive was not backed up. I proceeded to grab the PCs, but was unable to get into the server closet.

At this point, a fire engine sat parked outside with three or four firefighters watching the direction of the smoke. Running up to one, I asked what kind of threat the church was under. The firefighter thought a “3 or 4” on a scale of 10. On hearing this, I relaxed, thinking the wind was moving the fire east of the church.

I returned to the office, grabbing some water and waiting for everyone to show up. Ross soon arrived. Noralea, Greg, then Michael and Karen arrived. Still thinking the church was under a low threat, we grabbed our most important documents, every once in a while looking out the front doors to check on things happening outside.

With the metallic sun rising through thick smoke, we gathered together in the front office to pray. Holding hands, our small circle lifted up our humble sanctuary to our Good God – entrusting all that would happen into His sovereign hands.

About ten minutes later, a sheriff’s vehicle screams into the parking lot and over his loudspeaker yells, “You must evacuate immediately!” I remember the tone in his voice. It wasn’t just a voice of duty, going door-to-door evacuating residents. He had obviously seen something of urgency up the canyon and wanted to communicate immediacy.

Urgency clicked within each of us. Greg suggested taking pictures of the offices. I jetted downstairs to unlock our camera from it’s cabinet. With this invisible clock ticking, I ran through the building, taking pictures of as much as I could. Looking out through the sanctuary windows toward the east, I snapped a shot of one of my favorite views. Michael grabbed the church Bible on top of the piano. On the phone with Josh (our worship director), Ross grabbed his most expensive guitars. I grabbed a guitar from Kristie’s office and the backup disks from the server closet. We rushed out of the church, but I had remembered you’re always supposed to close doors in a fire. So Noralea and I rushed back in and closed all of the doors.

Running into the parking lot, the sense of urgency was explained. Smoke and ash was now blowing directly over the church in gusts of 50-60mph winds. Turning to the mountain behind the church, we saw 20-foot flames up on the ridge.

Driving down Malibu Canyon, it truly looked like a war-zone. The low visibility wasn’t the worst part, but the pink-orange-gray light made me sick. Small spot fires burned on each side of the street.

Then driving past Pepperdine on PCH, we quickly emerged from hell into a beautiful, Sunday morning. Without looking in the rear-view mirror, it was all blue skies and normalcy.

I pulled over on PCH and turned around to take pictures of the smoke. Immense columns of smoke blew out to sea. Just looking at it was enough to put the fear in anyone, but knowing what was inside, quietly replaced the dying adrenaline in my body with sadness and helplessness.

Returning to the Joys, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I debated whether to call somebody or just stay put. The media still didn’t know much. And out those wide windows that tragic view of our threatened church and restless, green ocean.

No longer wanting to be alone, I headed over to the Mudgetts. I remember barely being able to walk up to the door because of the wind. Once in, I thought it was weird Joel Osteen was on the television. I guess people react in different ways to stress like this. I guess Joel’s optimistic and good attitude was appropriate for the moment.

Then my phone rang. I don’t even remember who called me. But again, the tone in their voice said everything.

I told Mike, “turn on the news, it’s our church.” As soon as the second of static cleared from the millisecond it takes to turn from one channel to another, our collective hearts dropped. There was our church, engulfed in flames. Fifteen feet flames were shooting out of the sanctuary windows, where literally I had stood thirty minutes before.

I remember trying to make a sound, but nothing came out of my open mouth. Each of us stood in the living room, bodies awkwardly angled toward the television in silence.

And so the church burned. In the deepest part of my brain I never thought the church would actually burn. I assume firefighters save buildings. But to see it on television burning, jammed my thought process for a moment. It’s almost like you have to re-wire your brain and allow denial to be overwritten with reality.

To be in that space thirty minutes prior, and now that space not existing is something difficult to accept cognitively. As for our hearts, we just wanted to be together. Greg called and soon arrived. And we were just there, with one another. And I suppose that is what made it all okay.

Our phones would not stop ringing for the next two days. Greg would be interviewed for three, continuous days. And we all took deep breaths as we slowly came to realize the long road in front of us.

Throughout that first day especially, memories of what was left behind would unexpectedly burst into realization. The senior pastor pictures in the foyer. The hand-made cross in the sanctuary. A rabbit and a hamster. Practically the entire archive of our church’s history. Diplomas, personal treasures, favorite books, all left behind. It’s hard to lose your church, it’s hard to lose your entire library and years of research as Greg lost.

Greg, Michael and I returned to the church three hours later as the fire burned east. Driving up Malibu Canyon, television breaking news became reality. We passed power poles half fallen with power lines laying near the road, the whole mountain scorched, leaving only black roots.

Walking up into the church, there were numerous satellite trucks in the parking lot. It felt like a Hollywood backlot. And there was the church. Just a pile of debris still smoking with spot fires here and there. The smoke was noxious. Three or four firemen remained, pumping water into the charred but still preserved fellowship room.

I walked around the entire church, as if mourning with a friend on his death bed, the life and oxygen slowly slipping from it’s center. Then, something so foreign – the burned remains of our church – became disturbingly familiar.

Looking upon the remains, I began to think of those places in my life – experiences that seem lifetimes ago, or fresh wounds from weeks ago. Places of my life that seem to have burned down uncontrollably while trying to save a failed relationship, a broken heart, unmet hopes. The charred remnant of what once was or could of been.

The smoke and debris become remarkably familiar as they threaten ruin to the things we thought were once promised and reliable. The ash a reminder that it’s existence is more ordinary than exception. Rising smoke as a testimony of life in a fallen world.

But out of that smoke and down from heaven comes a promise that breathes hope into our very center: “I am making everything new!” says the one seated on the throne (Revelation 21:5). The nature of such news clarifies the presence and inevitability of adversity, pain and fire on earth, but breathes of a new paradigm to come. This is why we hope.

This is why we can stand on a windy day, watch our church burn down and have a sense of optimism, hope and even joy. This is why we are alive. This is why October 21, 2007 and the proceeding events will be a symbol of the greater act to come.

So may we praise God with all of our hearts both in the day of destruction and the day of life. For we know how this story ends.

Making It Beautiful

2007-12-18T03:20:15Z

It’s funny to reflect on Charles Hummel’s classic 1967 essay “Tyranny of the Urgent,” where he identified the telephone as among the worst offenders against our peace and well-being. And that was even before we started to carry the offending instrument with us everywhere, embellishing it with email, computers, cameras, downloadable ring tones, TV, movie and music files.
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A few years ago, Ipsos, a global marketing research firm, announced that almost everybody agrees with the statement, “There is never enough time in the day to get done what I want to get done.” Americans were among the most likely to agree, about 64-percent of us affirming it.

One day, when I was caught up in the tyranny of the urgent, I read these words from Jim Burn’s book “Addicted to God.” His thoughts are gentle reminders of what really is important. Perhaps you need a reminder during the tyranny of holiday shopping and decorating. Burns writes:

Life is too short to nurse grudges or hurt feelings.
It’s too short to keep all your floors shiny.
It’s too short to let a day pass without hugging your loved ones.
It’s too short not to take a nap when you need one.
It’s too short to put off Bible study.
It’s too short to give importance to whether the towels match the bathroom.
It’s too short to miss the call to worship on a Sunday morning.
It’s too short to stay indoors on a crisp fall Saturday.
It’s too short to read all the junk mail.
It’s too short not to call or write your parents (or children) regularly.
It’s too short to work at a job you hate.
It’s too short not to stop and talk to children.
It’s too short to forget to pray.
It’s too short to put off improving our relationships with people that we love.
Life is just too short—way to short—to settle for mediocrity!

Someone once observed that time was invented by God “to keep everything from happening at once.” Cynical Solomon, writing in Ecclesiastes, observed that God “has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 TNIV).

This Christmas Season, and looking ahead to 2008, don’t expect to have the time to do everything you want to do. It may even be hard to get done what you have to do. But do resolve that you won’t let the urgent events get an upper hand over the important events in your life. That’s the first step you can take to making “everything beautiful in its time,” in your life.

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers. Letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness - everything coming together for good - will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7.

Joyfully in Christ, Greg : > )

MPC Building Survey

2007-12-01T01:12:23Z

As we begin the first steps of recovery after the fire, our hearts naturally turn to the future. What will we rebuild? Our Building Resurrection Committee has wrestled with these questions in the recent weeks.

We want to keep in dialogue with you at every phase. We are asking members of the congregation to fill out a simple form, telling us what you liked about the old building, and what you would like to see in the new one.

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We greatly value your input, which will form the basis of our initial process. Please respond by Dec. 31.

Your Name:

*Years attending MPC:

Word Picture:

Please offer us a 1-2 word �Spicture� of what feeling you would like the new building and sanctuary to have. Examples might include (but are not limited to): Open, Intimate, Expansive, Reflective, Bold, Inviting, Stimulating, Contemplative...

What did you like best about the previous building?

Please take a moment to tell us what you liked best about the previous space. (Some thoughts: What worked for you? How did it make you feel as you entered? How did affect your worship? How did it reflect our congregation? )

What would you like to see in the new building?

Please tell us what you hope the new building will offer. What feelings would you like to retain from the old structure? What is something new you would like to see that wasn�"t there before?

MPC Responds To Corral Canyon Fire

2007-11-26T20:42:30Z

Now that the Corral Fire is mostly contained, we are mobilizing efforts to reach out to the community. If you know of anyone who is displaced or has lost a home in the fire, please contact Tim Jones at tjones@malibupres.org. Or respond by commenting, below.

Despite the loss of our own structure, we remain the body of Christ, and stand alongside all those who have suffered a loss this past month. We will let you know of ways to assist in the coming days.

Malibu Threatened By Fire Again

2007-11-24T18:59:16Z

One month after the fire that engulfed MPC, a second fire has broken out in Malibu that already has burned at least 35 structures and threatens about 200 more. Several of our parishioners are evacuated from their homes. Please pray for those affected by this second blaze.

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As of 11:00am - Associate Pastor Michael Mudgett and Winsome Whittemore have been evacuated from their homes. Please send any word of those affected by the fire.

From the LA Times:

The fire, driven by fierce 50-mph winds, engulfed homes along Newell Road in the Malibu Bowl area and Sycamore Road, and was burning west along Pacific Coast Highway toward Kanan Dume Road. It leaped PCH toward the ocean at several spots, but firefighters extinguished the hot spots.

The evacuation zone included neighborhoods in Corral and Trancas canyons and Malibu Bowl. An evacuation center has been opened at Agoura High School.

About 750 firefighters, 45 fire engines, 10 water-dropping helicopters and two fixed-wings planes were attacking the blaze, which broke out at 3:30 a.m. at the top of Corral Canyon Road, fire officials said.

Read the full LA Times Story

Stewardship After The Fire

2007-11-15T00:44:45Z

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ of Malibu Presbyterian Church,

I am still in a state of shock about what has happened these past two-weeks. I have come to grips with the fact that our church building burned down, but what really is amazing to me is that our story received top billing in the news. We were the lead story in the LA Times even over Iraq, Iran and the other fires raging in southern California. Since the fire, I have done dozens of interviews with local and national network stations including: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, and TBN. A friend of mine was surprised to see me on German television, speaking German no less! Can you believe it?

My “fifteen-minutes of fame” are now over, but I believe MPC’s time to shine more brightly is still ahead. ]]>
Several news crews said they wanted to chronicle the rising of our church. They want to be there when we start and finish our building. What will they see? Of course they will see a new building, but more than that they will be able to see clearly the results of the commitments we make now to Christ and His church. In other words, the commitments we make now to God in worship, fellowship, discipleship, service, and outreach will shape the future vibrancy of our church. It may seem like a daunting task to recommit, regroup and reorganize at a different location until our new facility is built, but Christ has promised to be with us always, even until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

Isaiah said of our God,

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31 (TNIV)

As we approach our Stewardship Commitment Sunday on November 18, I would ask that you prayerfully consider your part in helping our church rise up out of the ashes to the glory of God. Now is an opportune time for us to consider the gifts of time, talents, and treasure that God has blessed each of us with, and how we might use them to build up Malibu Presbyterian Church.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Where is Christ calling you to be a light with your time, personal abilities, and material goods? During the next week please pray about the percentage of time, talent, and money that God is calling you to contribute to His work both here at MPC and outside His church. Meditate on the following scripture verses for guidance.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. LUKE 12:34 (TNIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 1 PETER 4:10 (TNIV)
I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7 (MSG)

We have an exciting “Joshua Moment” now in front of us. Remember Joshua’s words to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land? At that time, some of God’s people were tempted to serve lesser gods, but Joshua proclaimed boldly that for him and his household, they would serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15). May we resolve to do the same.

I am looking forward to rising up out of the ashes with you to the glory of God.

Joyfully in Christ,

Greg

MPC Memory Project

2007-11-05T15:33:07Z

Beloved fellow congregation members,

Among the many items we lost in the fire were our archives and memories of the church. We encourage you to participate with us in building anew our memory of God’s house at Malibu Presbyterian Church. What a wonderful way to remind one another of what our Heavenly Father has done for us individually and as a church body.

Journaling can be a precious gift for future generations to enjoy.

There are two ways you can contribute to this project: ]]>

Electronically, via the form at the bottom of this page
By downloading and printing out this form and returning it to:
Jen Bennett
5860 Parkmor Road
Calabasas, CA 91302
Note: Know that whatever you give will NOT be returned to you, so make sure to make a duplicate of what you turn in.

Some suggestions to help you get started:

Photos/Photos of the church building
DVD videos
Hand-written letters
Emails
Drawings
Programs/pamphlets

Feel free to include:

Scripture
Church memories
Prayers
Ceremonies
Celebrations
Ministries
Anecdotes/funny stories
Testimonies
Memorable stories
Personal account at time of fire on Oct. 21, 2007
What our church meant to you
Journal entries
Historical information

Please return to me no later than January 6, 2008.

Gallery, After The Fire

2007-11-01T07:30:39Z

Our Youth Leader, Eric Smith, took these photos a day after the fire.

There is an unreal quality to standing on the church grounds. The weather is peaceful now, and otherwise beautiful.

See Eric's Gallery Here

...But It Doesn't Make It Any Easier

2007-10-31T04:14:14Z

Mike Rupp, a member of the church for 24 years, offered this reflection of his feelings about MPC and the recent fire.

I confess, I am upset about the loss of the building. In my search for “why, it’s just a building” I started thinking.

I figure the first time I came into Malibu Pres was in 1983. I was playing for the Expos and had met my wife and probably attended Christmas service that year, 24 years ago. I was married there in 1989, 18 years ago. My kids were baptized there in 1994 and 1998, 13 and 9 years ago respectively. I was 22 years old when I first came to this church, I am now 46. I have been here more than half of my life... ]]>
The things that have transpired in my life, the spiritual and emotional growth over those 24 years are too vast and lengthy to remember or recount but all along I knew I was getting better. That building for me was a symbol, a reminder of all of this and now it’s gone. That’s why I’m sad.

It’s just a building, a shell like my humanly body. The true church is in the spirit and the building is a shell that house this spirit as my true self is my soul and my humanly body is just the shell that houses it. I understand this…… but it does not make it any easier.

The building was my home, my safe haven, my place of refuge. It was where I came home to talk to my heavenly father, my Dad. I know that God is all around but sometimes I couldn’t find him. I always found Him here. I have been taught, I understand, I study, I know all the right things to say and think….but it doesn’t make it any easier.

I have moved residences many times over the last 24 years since I first came here. When I left a house, I left a house. I never thought about these things like, “this is where I brought my daughter or my son home when they were born and I will never see it again”, because they weren’t my homes, this was my home. No matter where I was, no matter what happened, if I ran away for a couple years, this was my home and I could always come back and seek counsel and talk to my Dad. I came to thank Him, I came to cry, I came to search for answers to stay on the path, I came to pray, to see how I could help others and He always spoke to me. I know he is all around, but sometimes it’s hard to get a hold of Him sitting in traffic on the 405, so I would come here. I have driven by here thousands of times on my way to work. I’d say "Hi, "How’s it going, thanks for everything", as I sped by. I spoke to the building because I knew my dad was in there and it comforted me and I just wanted to say hi. These are all selfish things, I know that but it doesn’t make it any easier.

Then I think, I’m sure I’m not alone. I am lucky because I know the answer. God is everywhere, I just need to find Him. A customer of mine told me when I mentioned how upset I was about the building that, “you know, he’s not in there”. At first I thought he was denying the existence of God and then realized he was merely pointing out that God was everywhere. I know this, but sometimes I can’t find Him. I always found Him in here.

Now my world is rocked. My home, my safe haven of 24 years has burnt down. Although I grieve for my selfish loss, I know I will be better. I’ve had challenges, the near death of both of my kids, the death of my nephew from brain cancer when he was six and my faith has always pulled me through and I found it in the building.
In 2004 my house flooded, pretty much wiped out from a flash flood from the hill above us. I was upset, mostly with my neighbor because I felt it was his fault. After a couple days of deciding that this surely was a sign from God to get off my rear and sue this guy back to the Stone Age I heard God. “Mike, something great is gong to become of this and it is not going to be you get new floors”. I had to trust. I did and it did, mostly I learned about justified anger and that is better left to folks who are better equipped to deal with it than me. So now when things don’t go my way, it’s OK. My faith is not being tested here, I am being given a new tool to put in my tool belt……but it doesn’t make it any easier.

When I saw the church burning, it was like seeing my house burn, all of these memories came flooding back in an instant. My first reaction was this was going to be awesome because God was going to do something great, like he did for me only a hundred fold…..and He will. But for now it doesn’t make it any easier.

My heart goes out to our staff, I can not understand your feelings because I am not in your shoes, and my needs are selfish. My heart goes out to the people of Malibu and surrounding communities who have driven by here in times of despair and did not learn to stop and come in and say hi and now have no hope. My heart goes out to people like me who are grieving, I know how they feel.

In the end it is fear. What am I going to do? Will the building be the same, will I still have a home and will my dad be there so I can talk to Him? If I have a tragedy, where do I go to find God, my home is gone. My needs are selfish and I am thinking of myself and I understand that….but for now it doesn’t make it any better.

I know, as we all do, things will be OK because God will not leave us hanging. I’ve learned it’s called faith and through my growth and life experiences mine is steadfast. It’s an unusual thing in the modern world, faith, by societies standards you can’t see it, you can’t touch it, it’s hard to explain to someone, you can’t quantify or measure it, it just is and I thank God for the gift. I know that myself, along with my church will rise from the ashes and be stronger and do more wondrous deeds than ever imagined. I know through this process I will learn to find God outside a building, it is the miracle working in me. I understand this….but for now it doesn’t make it any easier.