the unfinished cross

“The Unfinished Cross window in our sanctuary is a key symbol of our church, and literally part of the structure, which can been seen by those within and without. It stands for our corporate belief that the work of learning our faith and sharing God’s Word is never done.”

Our Mission

“Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church is a caring community of Christians who seek to continually increase our faith in, and understanding of, Jesus Christ. We seek to provide spiritual growth as we develop our relationship with God, families, friends, and the community in which we live. We are inclusive rather than exclusive, and we welcome all who are seeking answers to the questions we face daily.”

Our denomination

Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church is one of over 9,000 congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The denomination, with 1.4 million members, is a Christian community centered around six Great Ends of the Church:

• Proclamation of the Gospel

• Building up the Christian Community

• Worship of God

• Theology Matters in the World

• Promotion of Social Justice

• Demonstrating Our Faith

what we believe

As a member church of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), our basic beliefs are articulated in the Book of Confessions. While there is a great deal of diversity within the church on some of the specifics of our theology, the Brief Statement of Reformed Faith, written in 1984, well summarizes the core beliefs held in common by most Presbyterians.

Statement of Faith

In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ,
Fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised this Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God,
whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God’s image
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring God’s commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God’s condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
to bless all families of the earth.
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of Israel
from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the Church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in Church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,
praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.*

OUR HISTORY

Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church was the vision of Rev. Dr. Benjamin Franklin Janés, a U.S. Marine Corps Chaplain, who brought his family to Pacific Palisades after his service in World War II. At the time, the closest Presbyterian Church was in Santa Monica, and Rev. Janés desired to serve the unique community of Pacific Palisades. Rev. Janés and his wife quickly organized a Steering Committee, and on September 25, 1949, the Temescal Presbyterian Church held its first service. The church was formally organized in January of 1950.

Dr. Janés served as Pastor for the first 10 years of the church, which initially held its services on the Presbyterian Conference grounds on Haverford Street. After moving to two different American Legion Halls and the New Horizon Theater, the church finally settled in February of 1951 in the former home of Congressman Leland Ford, a Spanish-style mansion at Sunset Boulevard and El Medio, the present location of the church. Under Dr. Janés’ guidance, members of the congregation worked with a builder to remodel the mansion and meet the needs of the growing church. In 1955 ground was broken for a chapel.

By December 1957, the church had completed the “objectives” required by the Los Angeles Presbytery to be on its own as a fully recognized mission church. The next year, the Presbytery released the church from the direction of the New Development Committee. Our new sanctuary, chapel, offices and youth complex were constructed under the leadership of Rev. Dr. John Todd and dedicated to the glory of God in May 1999.

After 19 years of dedicated service to the congregation, Rev. Todd retired in 2004. The period between Rev. Todd’s retirement and today has been one of pastoral instability. Our Associate Pastor, Rev. Dr. Grace Park, began her ministry at Pali Pres in 2006. Rev. Matthew Hardin became the Pastor Pastor/Head of Staff in January of 2021.