GRACE BRETHREN PITCHES EASTER TENT\Church to hold services under canopy.Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer Working under an early morning sun, a 25-man crew pulled and hauled Monday to erect a big top-style tent scheduled to hold the 2,000-member Grace Brethren congregation Easter Sunday. The 18,000-square-foot tent, standing tall across the street from Simi Valley Hospital Simi Valley Hospital (SVH) is a Seventh-day Adventist hospital located located in Simi Valley, California. SVH is a member of Adventist Health. New Construction Simi Valley Hospital is in the process of building a new wing to the hospital. on Cochran Street, will house an Easter service at 10 a.m. The tent also will hold Palm Sunday Palm Sunday, in the Christian calendar, the Sunday before Easter, sixth and last Sunday in Lent, and the first day of Holy Week. It recalls the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding upon an ass, when his followers shouted "Hosanna" and scattered palms in his path. services at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday and a Good Friday Good Friday, anniversary of Jesus' death on the cross. According to the Gospels, Jesus was put to death on the Friday before Easter Day. Since the early church Good Friday has been observed by fasting and penance. concert with Christian singer Steve Green For other people named Steve Green, see . Steve Green (b. August 1, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a Contemporary Christian music singer notable for his vocal range (tenor 3) and flexible solo style. planned for 7 p.m. April 5. A silent and live auction, featuring a pickup truck donated by Galpin Ford, will take place in the tent at 5:30 p.m. April 13. Proceeds will help meet expenses and keep tuition down at Grace Brethren schools. Last year the auction raised $30,000. This is the third year Grace Brethren has paid for pitching the $30,000 tent. The congregation previously met in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. High School's stadium, but had to relocate after the Northridge Earthquake made the site unsafe. Assistant pastor John Boal came up with the idea for the outdoor tent shortly after the temblor, when he noticed a local Pic 'N' Save Pic 'N' Save was, at one time, the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many of the markets in the late-1990s and early-2000s. was being operated out of a tent after its building was condemned. "I saw it as an opportunity for us to expose the church and the Lord to the city of Simi Valley," Boal said. While the congregation was forced to move from where it had been meeting on Easter for four years, Boal said it was a blessing in disguise. The biggest turnout at the high school's stadium was 950, while the tent's largest crowd to date was 1,500 in the pouring rain last Easter. "The Lord works in mysterious ways," Boal said. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color) Raymond Alva lifts a section of the huge tent being erected for Easter week services and events at Grace Brethren Church in Simi Valley. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
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