Welcome to Burbank First United Methodist Church!
We are a Christian family of faith on a spiritual journey sharing God's love with each other and the world. With over 1,000 members, we offer a wide array of programs and ministries, including Bible study, music, art and dance, for every age group.
We are centrally located at 700 N. Glenoaks Blvd. (at the corner of Glenoaks and Harvard) in Burbank, CA, right across the street from Burbank High School.
We invite you to visit and join in the great variety of ministries and programs available at BFUMC. We offer two traditional worship services on Sunday morning at 9:30 am and 11:00 am. Our 9:30 am service includes a children's message followed by our Sunday School program. Childcare is available in our nursery for both services and for all events at our church.
Please take some time to browse and learn more about us. We welcome you to become a part of our family of faith.
Dr. Wayne Walters, Senior Pastor
Help Build Our New Sanctuary
Our current sanctuary was built in 1952. Some of you were here then and have told me you helped lay bricks. I don’t know how long it took from start to finish but probably longer than a year. As we celebrate our 125th year of ministry in Burbank, I invite you to be part of building the sanctuary all over again but much faster—in just 10 weeks! And we plan to do this during the hottest months of the summer.
Fortunately, the sanctuary we will build is only a Lego model of our actual sanctuary. It has been designed by church member and artist, Ray Cavalluzzi. You may have seen it in the narthex the last several weeks. We are using this model to represent reaching a goal to raise $12,500 for our 125th anniversary. Funds contributed will be used to support our ongoing ministries and commitments.
Here’s how the campaign will work – Each Lego brick represents $6.25. Two thousand of these bricks or blocks were used to build the model. The congregation is invited to contribute to rebuild our sanctuary between now and September 11th. $1,250 will provide 200 bricks; $500 will provide 80 bricks; $125 will provide 20 bricks, $62.50 will proved 10 bricks. A record will be kept of all contributors and will be reported at the end of the campaign. If we can raise over $12,500 we can fill the gap of our current 10% underpayment of conference apportionments. We would be really blessed if someone would commit to a gift of the full $12,500 that we could use to match other gifts.
The model has been taken apart and only bricks which have been provided through contributions have been left. Please consider a gift so that we can continue to support our programs and ministries. Each week check the model to see how far we have come! So far we have raised $8,878 with more pledged. That's 71% of our goal with seven more weeks to go!
Dr. Wayne Walters
Lego Church Pictures
Latest News
The Adult Forum is meeting Sunday morning at 11 am on July 11, 18, and 25th and using curruculum designed to help persons exploring Christian sprituality for the first time as well as long-term Christians who wish to deepen their understanding of Christian doctrines, practices, and rituals. Rev. Heather Blackstone is leading the sessions. The Adult Forum will be dark in August and will meet in the fall for the first time on September 19th when the topic will be how to help when someone is facing a personal crisis.
Wednesday mornings Wayne's Bible Study continues at 10 am in Stamper Lounge through the month of July. Pastor Wayne leads a discussion of the scripture lesson for the upcoming week and you can help him prepare for worship with your insights. Wayne's Bible Study will not meet in August and will start up again in the fall on a weekly basis on September 1.
On Wednesday evenings at 7 pm in July, Rev. Heather Blackstone is offering a class on Prayer Practices. Each week focuses on a different discipline and introduces prayer techniques such as Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer, Labyrinths, mandalas and icons. For more information, contact Heather at hblackstone@bfumc.net.
The Chancel Choir is on rehearsal break until September 9th but sings in worship through July 25th. Advanced Bells is on a summer haitus until September. Practicies begin again Thursday, September 9th at 6 pm in the sanctuary.
If you would like to join the Chancel Choir or Advanced Bells, all levels are welcome. Advanced only refers to the age of the players, not their experience level, thank goodness! Please let Angie Akmakjian know if you would like to join Advanced Bells or Roger Lamb know if you would like to join the chancel Choir. Or talk to any choir member--they would love to tell you all about it!
Online and in-person Registration for Outreach Programs, including some new offerings, will begin August 23rd. It is a good idea to register early for Dance Classes--they do fill up! Keep your eyes open for new classes in Knitting and Crochet, Vocal Technique and maybe even Internet Basics! We will also start registration for our free Church Programs at that time: Children's Choirs, Bell Choirs (various levels), Sunday School, etc.
BFUMC offers a vast array of Outreach Programs for every age: Music, Dance, Acting, Sewing, Yoga, Spanish, Art and more! Please contact Angie Akmakjian for information about any of these programs at aakmakjian@bfumc.net or call (818)845-1531 x117. Thank you for your interest! We look forward to seeing you in the Fall Session which begins Tuesday, September 7th.
As you may be aware, your Webmaster will be out of the office from June 14-August 15. During the break, you can send information to Pastor Wayne or Pastor Heather. If you are a recipient of the Digital First Family News in your email Inbox, these emails are not being sent during the summer. However, the First Family News will be posted on our website on Wednesday afternoons. Please visit the link above and read our Newsletter!
Wendy would like to wish you and yours a safe, relaxing and fun summer!!
