First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood

This is location is good for weddings. The interior is beautiful, and the reception is close by.
The church’s coordinator did a very good job and was very nice, allowing us to work comfortably.

Churches in Hollywood are proving to be as much of a façade as the city of Hollywood itself.
However, the money these places are collecting in the name of Jesus is very real, and the suffering of the homeless who rely upon these churches for assistance is even more stark.
Less than 100 feet from the church are makeshift camps, vomit, and visibly ill homeless, ignored by the house of God merely steps away. If you try to sneak a rest in the large garden on church grounds, you will be welcomed if you’re dressed nicely and booted if you look homeless. I’ve been treated both ways on separate occasions, merely based on my dress. Having children who need grass to run around in won’t excuse you from being asked to leave if you fail to don the uniform of a wealthy member.
What makes me say the attendees are wealthy? Let’s direct our attention to the first, last, and only service I will ever attend here, where the word of the day was… well, no word at all. Instead, it was a group meeting welcoming the new associate pastor. Projected on the screen was no sermon, no inspirational word… but an outline of the pastor’s new job duties and his STARTING salary of over $ 90,000 a year.
This is not private information. This was a public service.
And who do you think is footing that bill? You, dear churchgoer, with your «tithe».
Considering the chili and diluted fruit punch they feed the homeless twice a week, I had no idea that was in the budget! And furthermore, he’s an ASSOSICIATE PASTOR. What’s the head guy making these days? Are you kidding me?
The staff who runs the homeless feeds are kind enough, but like most churches, the face of sympathy and compassion disappears like a fart in the wind when the doors close… EXCEPT for Brenda and her staff of nurses in the back. They are angels, angels, angels, and the ONLY reason this place has 2 stars instead of 1.
What I dont understand is… How can people who judge others so badly, and let tyranny, unmentionable behavior, and suffering run so rampant within the church, call themselves people of God? If they knew the Lord’s true standards for service, they’d either quit at the idea of such responsibility, or they’d be paralyzed by the task before them.
Feeding people is great, believe me. The homeless are hungry. But they are also hurting for real, genuine interactions with people who REALLY care.
Considering Jesus was homeless, I fear the reaction he would have if he were to witness lack of true action, and the presence of such hypocrisy, in this place. Overturning tables wouldn’t do it justice. They have enough space in their spanning cathedral halls to give a visibly ill homeless person, or a homeless family, a place to sleep for the night.
Instead, they push them towards a private organization in town ASSIGNED to help the homeless, PATH, and instead takes advantage of them.
When you show back up to the church after their references proved ineffective, they stare at you blankly, not sure why you came back.
Trust me, I’m asking myself why I bothered coming back here, too!
But justice must be served. I am not the only homeless individual who feels this way.

I have been away many years and it still is my favorite church in the world (tho Holy Trinity in London is a close second). The history of this church is phenomenol, and it was, until he passed away last summer, Loius Zamperini’s church (subject of the Angelina Jolet movie Unbroken.) It is also the church of two U.S. Senate Chaplains preached, the one time head of another denoimnation, the Evangelical Free Church (Paul Cedar) and many other church and other ministry leaders including Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. In the past the church was home to many actors and others from the film industry, but that was fading even in my time due to the papparazzi and hangers on, I suppose. I have often thought the church would do well to have a place for well known folks to kind of stay out of sight so they could worship and come and go in peace (I cannot recall a crying room but that function could be televised and… oh well… not my business anyway.
THE most interesting character though was Henrietta Miers (sp?) who I believe was in charge of adult education for years. A wealthy single woman who devoted her life to Christian Service, she was largely responsible for starting Gospel Light Publications, Forest Home Christian Conference Center in the nearby San Bernardino Mtns. and I THINK World Vision Ministries. Oh and Bill Bright virtually grew up under her teaching. I know there have been rough times there over the years, and there likely are those who still struggle with LGBT issues there are well, but I can tell you that it also has some of the kindest most loving practicing Christians anywhere. It is conservative. but with a very gentle edge. And, although it will probably never be known as a «gay church» like Glide Methodist in San Francisco, I hope that it continues to grow in its acceptance of homosexual and bisecual people and finds the sin not in the people but in how they practice their sexual and other drives if that makes any sense at all.
And in the end, What Would Jesus Do trumps even the most detailed analysis of scripture… so yes… it is a very hopeful helpful and loving place despite its many struggles!

I feel super-​weird reviewing my church. (Tacos or phở? Okay! Spiritual enrichment? Uh, awkward!) Let’s get the nitty-​gritty out of the way:
+ Dedicated parking lots, so you don’t have to mess with meters or street parking.
+ 3 different Sunday services — 8am, 9:30am, 11am, plus adult Sunday school classes, and of course youth and children’s classes.
+Actor’s Co-​op Theater, Celebrating Recovery, Grief Share — so many ministries, for whatever your talents or needs may be.
+100 year-​old landmark sanctuary and bell tower — beautiful and historic!
But the reason we go here, the reason our family comes back every week and calls this our home church, is the preaching. Pastor Dan roots everything in the Bible and the saving grace of Jesus. You’d be surprised how many churches don’t make that the cornerstone of their ministry. But I know when I come to service Sunday morning, my children will get a solid, gentle, fun Sunday school class. I will get a first class sermon, contemporary and traditional music, and a congregation that prays, worships, and praised God together.
This isn’t a rock-​n-​roll church. It isn’t new-​fangled or revolutionary. But it is exactly the church that Hollywood needs now.

Several years ago my room mate got married at Hollywood Pres. I enjoyed spending the time there then so when my wife and I were here last weekend we had to go to Hollywood Pres for Easter services. The service was lovely and uplifting.

Amazing! Pastor Dan you Rock! Thursday nights for young adults… leader Joel is awesome too!

LGBT beware. This pastor and congregation does NOT support gay pastors in the Presbyterian chuch. I and my family will not be attending services there any longer! See the homophobic pastor’s quote here:

This is a very good church. I’ve been apart of this church off and on for several years. At one point I was an actual member and lead a bible study group. There are a lot of genuine God fearing people here and I have a lot of dear friends at this church. I was a little disappointed when Pastor Menan disappeared. He was an amazing spirit filled pastor-​a man of God, a fierce leader. This church has a lot of different outreach programs and they really get their hands dirty. I’ve never felt pressured to give or that my tithes were going to something that was not serving God or His people. The Associate Pastors are loving and real, as well as the Elders and the Deacons.
What did not work for me was that the young adult services were combined with the older generation of members. The twenties and thirties age group quickly fizzled out. Though I have a lot of love and respect for the older members, I have a strong desire to worship among my peers or people closer to my age group. I am a free spirit. It’s important that I can go to a church and worship without people putting a lot of energy into my style of dress or the way that I wear my hair and make-​up. I know from experience that a younger church is a little more forgiving when it comes to looking cute and contemporary-​yet not distracting.
The worship is very good and depending on which service you attend it’s contemporary christian music or old school hymns. I’ve always felt the spirit of God at this church. All in all, this is a really good church. I just can’t swing with ultra conservative folks. However, this is definitely a place I will visit whenever the spirit leads me.

100 guests. 200 guests??? 300+ guests??? The Hollywood Presbyterian Church offers flexibilities in how many guests you’re inviting. There’s a bigger chapel and a smaller chapel to facilitate any size of wedding guests. There’s a small garden area for b & g and group’s pictures. The bride’s waiting room is located underground level of the church. It’s a bit smaller in size compare to groom’s room. A private restroom is right next to the brides’s room. The groom’s dressing room is nicely furnished with traditional chairs and sofas. The church’s auditorium can be decorated and prepared as a reception lunch or dinner place. There’s a full kitchen and a stage. I would say you can set up to max. 30 – 35 round tables with 8 people seatings per a table.
The lighting is always a important issue for photographers. Like any other old and historical churches, the inside of the chapel is dark. You NEED professional lighting/​flash units (and a tripod). Pipe organs and stained glasses in the chapel are beautiful. The one awkward thing I encountered was that there is no central/​middle aisle. Thus, I saw the bride and her father walking down the aisle on the right side (looking to the back of the chapel from the front altar). When the ceremony reaches the end, a bride and a groom walk out by using the left side aisle. During the ceremony, there’s a strict restrictions for photographers to stay in one spot for picture taking and there’s also no flash rule. This isn’t good, because photographers are limited to provide various front angles and compositions of the wedding ceremony. We may need to recreate the ring exchange or lighting the candle scenes after the ceremony. The Hollywood Presbyterian Church gets an «A-​Ok» rating from me. My reviews are completely based on PHOTOGRAPHERS’ views.

I came here for a friend’s wedding today and what a beautiful church! Makes me wish I had decided to bring my camera.
The pews are all darkwood, as are the intricate ceiling beams, the enclosure for the massive church organ, and the details for the altar.
The backdrop for the altar (see picture) was a very nice sand colored stone and just added to the overall aesthetic of the sanctuary. Even the rows of beautiful stained glass windows were a great addition.
The property itself seemed very well kept and clean. Even the banquet hall where the reception was held was very clean and the staff was very friendly and took initiative when it was realized some invited but non-​RSVPed people had crashed the wedding and there were not enough tables. Me and my friends ended up sitting in the way way back, using a long table instead of a round table. There was no table cloth or silverware, but we didn’t care because we just wanted to make sure we got some food, haha