PENTECOST BRINGS CULTURES TOGETHER.

Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer

CHATSWORTH - With song, music and dance, culturally diverse churches will hold a joint service Sunday to celebrate the Christian holiday of Pentecost.

``Pentecost is the day we remember the Holy Ghost. We commemorate universal salvation, just the opposite of Babel, where language was a dividing factor,'' said the Rev. Sunni E. Mathew of Mar Thoma Church. ``There is no division with his word. It destroyed the walls of division.''

Mar Thoma Church is a Malayalam-speaking congregation originally from the state of Kerala in southern India. The church has been in Los Angeles for 26 years and is based in Glendora.

It has a ``daughter'' outpost meeting once a month at the 115-year-old Chatsworth United Methodist Church.

West Valley United Methodist Church, a predominantly Japanese-American congregation; Elim Church, a Korean-speaking congregation; and Monte de Sion Church, a Wesleyan Spanish-speaking congregation; meet at various times during the week on the CUMC campus, located next door to the offices of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council.

``We want to have a better understanding of other cultures. We all share the facility. We want to do more things in a cooperative way,'' said the Rev. Ruy Mizuki, the senior pastor at both the Chatsworth and West Valley United Methodist churches.

``There was something beautiful at the first Pentecost. There was a diversity of people and languages then, and we have a diversity right here on our property.''

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot, also known as the Festival of Weeks, is the background for Pentecost. Mizuki pointed out that Shavuot is also known as the time of the giving of the law, or the Torah, at Mount Sinai. Pentecost, the word is derived from the Greek word for 50th, comes 50 days after Easter.

Mizuki's idea is for each church to use music and dance - arts that people speaking any language can appreciate.

``The most important message of Pentecost is that we are all together in one place, that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and that we share with each other what we have,'' said the Rev. Jongbin Lim. ``I hope everyone attending the service will remember and think not to have selfish minds, but to get along with people according to God's Commandments.''

Lila Schepler, a member of Chatsworth United Methodist Church since September 1931, will be wearing a red suit Sunday. Why red? Wearing something red on Pentecost is the traditional symbol for the ``tongues of flame'' that touched the disciples and enabled them to speak in many tongues, both known and unknown.

``Pentecost is rather miraculous. It was a miracle that people could understand each other then,'' said Schepler, who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees at CUMC. ``Even now it's hard even if you do speak the same language to understand each other. What's wonderful is to have five churches that meet in one facility trying to understand each other.''

``Celebrating Pentecost: A Multi-Ethnic Music Celebration'' begins at 10 a.m. Sunday at Chatsworth and West Valley United Methodist churches, 10824 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth. A potluck lunch will follow the service. Call [phone].

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From left, the Rev. Ruy Mizuki, Lila Schepler, Sam Oommen, Evelyn Mitarai, Philip Abraham, Milly Peyre, the Rev. Jong Bin Lim and Lissette Reano are among the worshippers expected to attend the joint Pentecost celebration on Sunday.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer