Westwood Church
10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90024 – map
Phone: 310.474.4511
Email: wumc@westwoodumc.org
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Worship with us online via YouTube.
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Secure parking is located below Belmont Village, the building east of the Sanctuary. From Wilshire Blvd., use the driveway by the main steps in front of the Sanctuary. Please observe the signs that identify which spaces are for church use. After parking, proceed to the stairwell and elevator located at the church end (west end) of the parking structure.
THE SANCTUARY GATHERING – 9:30am
Sunday, March 31st
The Sanctuary – In Person and via YouTube Livestream
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“And I Hope” – Rev. Molly Vetter
Join us to celebrate Easter with trumpet fanfare and a joyful procession in our beautiful sanctuary. We invite you to join us to sing resurrection hymns and to hear a word of hope – about a love that triumphs over death. With beloved traditions and pageantry, we get to proclaim the bold, good news of God’s love for all of us here, now. Easter gives us an occasion to notice and celebrate the beauty that is in front of us, and inside each of us, in all our wondrous diversity.
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WESTWOOD KIDS: Children are welcome in our Sanctuary Gathering. Easter is an especially meaningful time to worship together. There are lots of things to notice, from the details of our stained glass windows to the Easter flowers to the trumpets and timpani and organ and choir. We will have kids worship activity kits that you can pick up on your way in, too. During our “Time with Children” we will invite young people to come forward to the chancel steps for a lesson with Pastor Diana; afterwards, they’ll return to their pews to sit with you. Additionally, on-site childcare is available for children from birth through age 5. Our Children’s Choir will sing and Grapple Chime Choir will play during Easter worship.
EASTER FAMILY TEA PARTY – 10:30-11:45am
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Join us upstairs in the Loft for a free Easter Tea Party with tasty treats and conversation with our community. (Fancy hats optional.) During the Tea Party, you can also join us in the playground area for children’s Easter crafts and activities, and a chance to visit real, live bunnies in our Easter petting zoo! Sign up ahead of time to reserve a time with the bunnies. Parents should plan to join their children in the activities. Thanks to our Grapple group and our Westwood Kids Team for hosting these activities!
THE LOFT GATHERING – 11:45am
Sunday, March 31st
The Sanctuary – In Person and via YouTube Livestream
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Join our Loft community for an Easter Sunday Celebration, featuring the Singers of Soul Gospel Choir, with a message from Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter. Children are welcome in The Loft gathering as Easter is an especially meaningful time to worship together. We will have kids worship activity kits that you can pick up on your way in, just in case they need a little distraction during worship; there will be a kids area in the back of the sanctuary for those who need a little more space to wiggle or parents who want to sit on the floor with their kids. On-site childcare is also available for children from birth through age 5.
THE SANCTUARY GATHERING
Sunday, March 24th (9:30am)
The Sanctuary – In Person and via YouTube Livestream
.Rev. Molly Vetter preaching
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Wave palm branches and sing “Hosanna” as we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; little children will lead the procession. This year, we celebrate Palm Sunday as a community of Wandering Hearts, singing “Songs of Loudest Praise.” Worship with us at 9:30am on Sunday in our beautiful sanctuary. After the Children’s Message, young people are invited to exit the sanctuary to share in Sunday School.
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On Palm Sunday, we invite ALL our children to be a part of our Palm procession! In the Sanctuary Gathering, meet up in the back of the sanctuary so we can walk in together during the first hymn. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to walk with us! After processing down the aisle, we’ll deposit our palm branches, and sit together on the front row. After the Children’s Time, we will go to Sunday school as usual!
THE LOFT GATHERING
Sunday, March 24th (10:30am)
Upstairs in The Loft
.Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter preaching
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On Palm Sunday at 10:30am in The Loft, our pilgrimage journey takes a turn. We celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and imagine ourselves into that moment: as faith and politics come into sharpened focus, and heightened tension with the religious and political powers of the time. We wave palm branches as a way of putting ourselves into the story–preparing ourselves to be a part of the movement for Christ-like love and justice.
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On Palm Sunday, we hope that all our children will be a part of this very special day! Check in to Sunday school as usual; the children will join us at the end of the Loft Gathering to share about their Holy Week crowns.
PALM SUNDAY CONCERT
Sunday, March 24th (3pm)
The Sanctuary – In Person and via YouTube Livestream
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Join us for a 60-minute concert performed by Josh Roebuck, Westwood’s organist in residence, on the landmark Shaffer Memorial Organ. Free admission.
CONTEMPLATIVE HOLY THURSDAY SOUND BATH
Thursday, March 28th (8:15-9pm) The Sanctuary
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This Maundy Thursday, join us for a contemplative experience that offers an evening prayer liturgy brought to life with a healing sound bath. Drawing from Christian Tenebrae traditions, the service will lead us into the darkness of holy week and give us an opportunity to contemplate the depth of divine love. Led by Ruth Sie and Pastor Molly Vetter, this experience brings gifts of a meditative sound bath into the sacred beauty of our sanctuary. Please wear comfortable clothes; you are welcome to sit or lie in our pews or bring a mat to lie on the floor.
GOOD FRIDAY GATHERING
Friday, March 29th (6:30-7:30pm) Upstairs in The Loft
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Jesus quotes the psalmist when he cries out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” His final lament gives voice to all those who have been forsaken—those who suffer injustice, those who are abandoned, those who are unjustly convicted. And yet, when we read this lament in light of his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane that God would “take this cup of suffering away from me” we see that these words are the culmination of a prayer between he and God. In his quest for God, in giving up his life, Jesus shows us that we can be confident in knowing that for every sunset there is a sunrise. Please know that children are welcome in The Loft gathering.
WANDERING HEART PRAYER STATIONS
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Visit our outdoor prayer stations near the corner of Warner and Wilshire, along the sidewalk. Featuring sacred art from Sanctified Art. The prayer stations face Wilshire Blvd, and are accessible to the public from the sidewalk; if you are driving to visit, our parking structure is available and they are also close to street parking along Warner Avenue. You can also visit and pray with art in Sanctuary narthex gallery (near our restrooms); the gallery is accessible on Sunday mornings and Tuesday-Friday from 9am-2pm.