First Lutheran Church of Venice

Infobox religious building
building_name=First Lutheran Church of Venice


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location=Venice, Los Angeles, California
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religious_affiliation=Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
district=Pacific Southwest
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leadership= [http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/locators/nworkers/w_detail.asp?W1014377 Rev. Thomas R. Brewer]
website=http://www.flvenice.org/
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architecture_type=Church
architecture_style=Mission Revival
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year started=1944
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First Lutheran Church of Venice is a congregation in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), located on the westside of Los Angeles. It serves the communities of Venice, Mar Vista and Marina del Rey, and is in the Pacific Southwest District of the LCMS. The church offers both traditional and contemporary services and runs First Lutheran School of Venice. The church was founded in 1944.

With 331 members as of 2006, it is the third largest LCMS congregation in Los Angeles and the largest in its circuit, which includes churches in Beverly Hills, Inglewood and Santa Monica.

Venice is home to a thriving artistic community, and church programs and activities draw on that resource. Since 2001, the church has hosted a Masters in the Chapel music series which has featured performances by artists from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale. The series was begun in the wake of the church's restoration, following a 1998 electrical fire which gutted the sanctuary. The church's pipe organ, which was designed in 2004 by the builder of those at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, is also featured in the events.cite news |first=Betsy |last=Goldman |title=Masters in the Chapel Concert Series: music to our ears |url=http://www.argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2005/12/08/columns/besty_goldman/bg.txt |work=The Argonaut |date=2005-12-08 |accessdate=2007-02-12] Also, since 2002 the church has staged an annual production of "A Christmas Carol", starring church member and Tony Award nominee Orson Bean. [cite news |title=Local festivities begin countdown to Christmas |url=http://www.argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2006/12/07/entertainment/wo3.txt |work=The Argonaut |date=2006-12-07 |accessdate=2007-02-12]

The church also features an external mural, "Jesus Roller Skating with Friends in Venice Beach" [http://www.lamurals.org/MuralFiles/Westside/JesusRollerSktg.html] , created in 1997 by Father Maur Van Doorslaer [http://www.valyermofallfestival.com/gallery/maur.htm] , a Benedictine monk. The work has been described as being second in local popularity only to Venice's Ballerina Clown statue.

References

External links

* [http://www.flvenice.org First Lutheran Church of Venice website]
* [http://www.lcms.org/locators/nchurches/c_detail.asp?C930430 LCMS congregation profile]