07687 October 24, 2007
All in the family
Special update on Malibu Presbyterian Church
Editor?s note: As of early Oct. 24, the southern California wildfires had burned 600 square miles from San Diego to Santa Barbara. At least five fatalities have been reported and more than 500,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Jerry L. Van Marter
by Steve Yamaguchi Executive Presbyter Los Ranchos Presbytery
LOS ANGELES The Rev. Greg Hughes, pastor of Malibu Presbyterian Church in Pacific Presbytery, which burned to the ground Sunday has been in the news, testifying to our faith.
He can be seen and heard in a video interview on the <http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.foxnews.com/>Fox News Web site. In the interview he responds: ?Well, you know, we?re an Easter Faith people, so you know on Friday, it looked like things were bleak for Jesus, but we saw that Jesus rose again. And our church is a resurrection church. We?ll gather again. We?re going to regroup again.?
He has also been interviewed and then quoted several times in the <http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/a section/la-me-landmarks22oct22,1,2635611.story?coll=la-news-a_section>Los Angeles Times.
Many in our presbytery remember Greg and Kay Hughes, especially the folks at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Los Alamitos, where Greg was associate pastor from 1991 to 2000 before moving to Malibu.
Many in our presbytery are very sensitive to the needs of fire victims.For example, the people at Laguna Presbyterian Church remember vividly the fires in Laguna Canyon and we can all remember the witness they had in the area as they played a central role in the relief efforts after the fire.
They have been kind and thoughtful to call quickly to ask, ?Is there anything we can we do?? And the answer is: ?Yes! This is a time when it is good to belong to family.?
Respond through the
<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.presbyteryofthepacific.org/>Pre sbytery of the Pacific, our next-door neighbor, which is coordinating response efforts with the Malibu congregation?s leaders. You can get information updates from the Pacific Presbytery office: (310) 670-3687.
Do not try to call the church or church leaders, who have much to do these days. <http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.losranchos.org/MalibuFireRespon se>For more information and a memo from Pacific Presbytery including this info and more.
If you wish to make a cash donation for the Malibu Presbyterian Church, you can do that directly by making a check to ?Presbytery of the Pacific? with the designation ?Malibu Fire Response? and sending it to: Presbytery of the Pacific, 6323 W. 80th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.pcusa.org/pda/>Presbyterian Disaster Assistance arrived on the scene Monday and is working with the congregation already. This is another example of our family connectedness. PDA is always so prompt and responsive truly a ministry of which we can all be proud. This is once again your ?One Great Hour of Sharing? offering at work.
Another family connection:
<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/http://www.cpip.org/>Covenant Presbyterian Insurance Program was involved immediately and is working with presbytery and church leaders to make sure that the church?s needs are taken care of. The church?s damages and losses will be fully covered and the people will be treated with great care because of the excellent service that CPIP provides.
Last year every church in the Pacific Presbytery insured by CPIP had their property revalued and their coverage adjusted, so Malibu Presbyterian Church will be fully covered.
It is good to belong to a family. May we become family for many who are displaced and without family at this time. We are asked to remember that the fire is still not under control and significant areas of Malibu are still evacuated. The two pastors live in the area; much is still unknown. As information becomes available we will learn it from Pacific Presbytery.