A Cross, a Marquee, and a Bell on Newhall Avenue
First Presbyterian Church of Newhall sits on the corner of Newhall Avenue and 8th Street, tucked between the Department of Motor Vehicles and Hart Park in the old town of Newhall in the Santa Clarita Valley. Members and visitors alike recognize the church by three things: a wooden cross at the entrance, a marquee out front whose message changes every week, and the drought-tolerant landscaping that wraps around the building. Beyond those signs, the campus also includes Fellowship Hall and Little Shepherd's Nursery School, a preschool that has grown up alongside the church.
The congregation calls itself "a vibrant, multi-generational, inclusive family of Christian faith serving the Santa Clarita Valley and more," and the work that comes out of that calling reaches from a parking lot food drive for Albuquerque - sorry, Santa Clarita - to homebuilding trips in Tijuana, clean water systems in Ecuador, and scholarship students at a university in Nairobi. At the front of the building, a what3words address points first-time visitors in: ///bonkers.cherub.young. Inside, the original church bell from 1896 still hangs on the property and now sits at the center of the church's logo.
135 Years and Counting
In 2026 the congregation is celebrating its 135th birthday. Records kept in the church history span the years 1877 through 1899, with separate pages on early-twentieth-century elders, the long pastorate of Reverend Evans between 1914 and 1930, the Depression years through the Second World War, the 1950s and 1960s, and the 1970s, when a new sanctuary was built. The original bell from 1896 is older than most of the buildings on campus.
The current pastoral chapter began in April 2025, when the congregation voted to call Rev. Richard Poole, known to most as Pastor Rich, as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff. He arrived with fifteen years of ordained ministry in the Presbytery of San Fernando, including a stretch as Moderator of the Presbytery and service as the Presbytery's representative to the 225th General Assembly in Louisville. He holds a double major in Religious Studies and Geology from the College of Wooster, a Presbyterian-affiliated school in Ohio, and a Master of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Most recently he led both Faith Presbyterian Church in North Hollywood and the Kirk O' the Valley in Reseda as a part-time pastor at each.
Pastor Rich joined Rev. Rosie DiBianca, the Assistant Pastor, on the ministry staff. Together they share preaching, teaching, pastoral care, and the work of welcoming newcomers into the congregation.
Worship at Nine on Sundays
Sunday worship gathers at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary and is also livestreamed on Facebook. The order of service includes a "Time for Children" message after which young worshipers are excused to Sunday School, music led by the praise band EverThirst, scripture and prayer, and a sermon that usually runs about twenty-five minutes. Childcare is provided throughout the morning for the youngest children.
Visitors who want to dig deeper before the service are invited to come at 8:00 a.m. for "Faith Talk on the Benches," an outdoor gathering on the church benches (and on Zoom) where members and visitors bring their questions about the Bible and the Christian faith. The service bulletin and liturgy for the coming Sunday are posted online earlier in the week so worshipers can follow along at home if they cannot attend in person.
Music Old and New Together
The 9:00 a.m. service is intentionally blended. The praise band EverThirst leads contemporary praise songs while the congregation also sings traditional hymns. On most Sundays piano and organ music round out the offering, and the chancel choir and handbell choir perform frequently. The combination is meant to feel relaxed, informal, and real, the opposite of what the church calls a "big box performance style." Dress runs the full range, with a wry note that "Hawaiian shirts for men are required... just kidding."
The Lord's Supper is celebrated as an open table. The invitation is extended to all who need to be renewed by the strength of Jesus Christ, not only to Presbyterians or to church members.
An Inclusive Family in the Reformed Tradition
The congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), commonly called PCUSA, and is one of twenty-four PCUSA churches overseen by the Presbytery of San Fernando, which covers the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valleys. Through the PCUSA the church connects with about 1.3 million Presbyterians in roughly 9,000 congregations and with more than 200 missionaries serving in over 50 countries.
The congregation holds to the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the other creeds and confessions adopted by the PCUSA, and it gives a special place to the Brief Statement of Faith written for the 1983 reunion of the two largest Presbyterian bodies in the United States. That statement, which begins "In life and in death we belong to God," summarizes the sweep of Scripture. The Bible is described as the basis for preaching and teaching, and the Holy Spirit as the guide for reading it.
The church seeks to be inclusive of all who wish to join, regardless of status, and to provide shelter, care, nurture, support, and fellowship. Members are taught that each is "gifted by God through the Holy Spirit with unique abilities and character to serve Christ" and that every person is as important as any other in the congregation. Each member is seen as "a minister of Christ" according to his or her calling, and men and women serve equally as Pastors, Elders, and Deacons.
Governed by Elders Elected in Three Classes
The word "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word for elder, and the local church is led by a body called the Session, made up of the pastors (called Teaching Elders) and ruling elders elected by the congregation. The Session is the smallest, most local governing body of the PCUSA; above it stand presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly. Elders at Newhall are elected to three-year terms in three classes so that the work continues from year to year.
The current classes include, for 2026, Jim Combs, Chisato Kanagi, Jung Favalessa, Darin Meadows, Judy Carter, and Sandy Menor; for 2027, Dave Moore, James Allison, and Val Boss; and for 2028, Linda Cummings, Nicole McCreery, and Scott Bullock. Elders chair the standing committees that do most of the day-to-day work of the church: Adult Ministries and Fellowship, Buildings and Grounds, Children's Ministry, Mission, Outreach and Growth, Personnel, Finance and Stewardship, Worship and Music, and Youth.
Children: Sunday School, VBS, and Trunk or Treat
The Children's Ministry Committee invites children to embrace the Word of God through worship, games, songs, and activities, to grow closer to Jesus Christ, and to go out into the world and share God's love. Children's Sunday School meets every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. alongside the main service, with the children's portion of the morning released from the sanctuary after the "Time for Children" message.
Lelia Meadows, the Associate Children's Director, manages the educational program for children from birth through sixth grade, including the church nursery, Sunday School, and the content of Vacation Bible School. He coordinates Children's Choir, the annual Easter Egg Hunt, and the fall Trunk or Treat, which in 2023 drew more than 800 children and families from the surrounding community. During the pandemic the committee pivoted to drive-thru events so that the relationship with the children could continue: an Easter Drive-Thru in March 2021 with bags of Easter goodies handed out in the parking lot, a Valentine's Day Drive-Thru in February 2021, a Vacation Bible Study Drive-Thru in summer 2020, and a Christmas Drive-Thru in December 2020. Most recent Vacation Bible School themes have included "Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus Was a Kid" and "Wilderness Escape."
Linda Weingarten serves as the primary caregiver in the nursery during Sunday services, looking after babies and children up to about two years of age. Parents can leave infants and toddlers in confident hands while they attend worship.
Ignite Youth for Junior and Senior High
Students in seventh through twelfth grade are welcomed into Ignite Youth, the student ministry led by Director of Youth Ministries Bryce Morrow. Bryce grew up in Warsaw, Missouri, set school records in football and track, attended State Fair Community College on a theatrical scholarship, trained at the Second City Training Center in Chicago and later in Hollywood, and spent years working in entertainment - including a Toyota spot that aired during the second quarter of Super Bowl XVII in 2008. After years as an actor and sketch comedian, he felt a second calling into youth ministry and joined the staff of the church, first as Associate Youth Director and then as Director.
Ignite Youth meets weekly on Sundays, and the broader rhythm of the year includes retreats, camps, and mission trips. Bryce is assisted by a Youth Committee and by youth sponsors Rustin Warne, Elder Johnny Howell, and 2019 graduate Jonathan Johnson. He is also developing a sports-ministry emphasis, coaching character in young athletes so that their faith extends beyond the classroom, the playing field, and into their communities. The hope is that students discover their identity in Christ, build authentic friendships, and find ways to serve others with humility and boldness.
Adult Ministry: Pancakes, Benches, and Zoom
Adult Ministry encourages the congregation to mature as disciples of Jesus Christ, both personally and in community. Most gatherings are now hybrid, taking place on church grounds and on Zoom at the same time. Three regular Bible-study and fellowship offerings anchor the week:
- Faith Talk on the Benches, Sundays at 8:00 a.m. on the church benches and Zoom, led by Roland Wrinkle. Members bring any and every question about the Bible and the Christian faith for open discussion.
- MONGOTS (Monday Night Micro Gathering), Mondays at 5:30 p.m., rotating among homes and Zoom, led by John Favalessa and Roland Wrinkle. Worship, prayer, Bible study, laughter, dinner, and (optional) wine.
- WEDGITS (Wednesday Morning Micro Gathering), Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. on Zoom, led by Roland Wrinkle. A morning format of worship, prayer, Bible study, and discussion.
For early risers, Jim Combs leads a Breakfast Bible Study on Thursdays at 7:30 a.m. at the IHOP on Railroad Avenue near Cinema Drive.
Other fellowship offerings include the Handcrafters circle, a Social Justice Book Club that meets monthly in Fellowship Hall, the Home Groups that meet in members' homes on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, Pubology Men's Fellowship on the second Tuesday at Schooners Patio Grille, and Ladies' Night Out and Ladies Out to Lunch that meet in members' homes and around town.
Presby Women and Their Circles
Presby Women, the PCUSA's women's organization, is active at Newhall with a Coordinating Team led by Co-Moderators Carole Wheeler and Carol Hauenstein, Treasurer Sandy Gravitt, and Secretaries Chi Kanagi and Judy Carter. The team's purpose, taken from the national PW statement, is to nurture faith through prayer and Bible study, to support the mission of the church worldwide, to work for justice and peace, and to build an inclusive, caring community of women.
Three circles meet at least monthly: Elizabeth Circle on the first and third Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. in the Evans Room, with babysitting available on request (contact Stephanie Linn); Lydia Circle on the first Monday at 10:00 a.m. in the Evans Room (contact Kay Harris); and Rachel Circle on the second Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in various homes with a shared salad dinner. The Mary Martha Circle is currently inactive and joins the others as schedules allow. The Coordinating Team gathers four times a year, in January, April, July, and October, after church in the Evans Room or at the picnic benches.
Deacons Organized by Zip Code
The Board of Deacons, in the words of the congregation, follows the example of Jesus Christ in providing supportive services and care. Each parish deacon is assigned by zip code so that members know exactly whom to call when they need a meal, a visit, or a prayer. The current zip-code map covers Saugus and Agua Dulce, Canyon Country, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch and Castaic, Newhall, senior residences, and members living out of the area.
The deacons extend their ministry of caring in three ways: a Prayer Ministry open to anyone in the congregation who would like to be prayed for, a Deacon Co-Moderator team led by Debi Dalton with pastoral support from Pastor Rosie, and a meal ministry in which volunteers provide food for members during illness, bereavement, or the arrival of a new baby. Sandy Menor serves as Prayer Warrior Coordinator and Jung Favalessa as Document Coordinator.
Stephen Ministry: Walking with the Hurting
The church runs a Stephen Ministry program, providing one-to-one Christian care for people in and around the congregation who are hurting. Each Stephen Minister is a trained lay person who walks alongside a care receiver for as long as the need persists, bringing Christ-centered, confidential care to bear on grief, illness, divorce, job loss, and other crises. The hope is that those who are hurting no longer suffer alone and grow in a deeper relationship with their Lord through the support of a Stephen Minister. Contact for the program goes through Phil Aijian via the church office.
Little Shepherd's Nursery School
Little Shepherd's Nursery School is a preschool ministry of the church, located on the church campus, serving families in the Santa Clarita Valley. The school was founded as a ministry of the congregation more than fifty years ago and is now led by Director Sharie Dunn Telles and Co-Director Chris Ward. Sharie brings more than twenty-five years of experience in private church-related preschools in Burbank and Santa Clarita, holds an Early Childhood Site Supervisor Permit from the State of California, and has helped other preschool startups navigate California licensing. Chris holds a bachelor's from Auburn University and a Master's in Social Work from Tulane, spent years in child, adolescent, and family counseling and play therapy, taught elementary school for six years and preschool for five, and sent all six of her own children through Little Shepherd's, which she calls "the perfect first school experience." Together they lead a school whose mission is to nurture, teach, and care for the children enrolled in it.
Music: EverThirst, Choir, and Handbells
EverThirst is the church's praise band, led by Sam Besse, who is also the church's bookkeeper. Sam sings and plays guitar, and the band includes Kris Feldman on vocals, flute, and piano; Louis Turman on bass guitar; and Theo Mordey on percussion. The chancel choir and handbell choir also perform frequently during the 9:00 a.m. service. Together the music team carries the blended mix of praise songs and traditional hymns that defines Sunday worship at Newhall.
Caring for the Santa Clarita Valley
The Mission Committee frames its local work around Matthew 25: "For I was hungry and you gave me food... just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." The church partners with a roster of local non-profits and supports them with volunteers, prayer, and financial gifts. The list includes:
- SC Grocery, a 100% volunteer-run food pantry supported by a monthly Food Drive held on the second Saturday of each month in the church parking lot. The October drive is the Gary Kanagi Memorial Food Drive, named in honor of a longtime church member. Members are asked to keep non-perishable items in their trunk or rear of SUV, drive up, pop the trunk, and let the volunteers unload.
- The Alzheimer's Association, whose Walk to End Alzheimer's and other programs the church supports.
- Zoe International, a Santa Clarita-based foundation with a worldwide reach whose mission is to rescue and restore the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children at risk of human trafficking. ZOE operates children's homes in Thailand, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and Santa Clarita.
- Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, which provides affordable quality primary medical care for the uninsured and under-insured.
- Family Promise of Santa Clarita, which provides temporary shelter, food, and support services for homeless families.
- Bridge to Home, the Drayton Street homeless shelter serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the Santa Clarita Valley.
- A Light of Hope, which provides professional help for families, youth, and young adults dealing with mental illness, addiction, and destructive behaviors.
Members of the congregation also prepare bag lunches for Bridge to Home, with six volunteers each providing ten lunches - a sandwich, fruit, snack or chips, and water - on assigned Saturdays.
Standing Together Across Faith Lines
For nearly ten years some members of First Presbyterian and some members of the local mosque have met on the second Wednesday of each month through Standing Together, a program of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group founded after 9/11. The goals are simple: to bring Muslims and Christians together to know one another, to break down the dehumanizing stereotypes that keep people apart, and to create opportunities for faithful Muslims and Christians to engage with one another about beliefs and practices. The group is not about conversion but about understanding, and out of those meetings, mutual respect and rich friendships have developed. Inquiries go through the church office.
AMOR: Houses for Families in Mexico
For more than twenty-five years the church has sent two teams a year to build homes in Tijuana with AMOR Ministries, which also works on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona and in South Africa. Over that span the congregation has built thirty-eight homes in twenty-three years of trips. The teams range in size from ten to twenty volunteers of any skill level; no building experience is needed. Work is done in two days at a secured campsite between Tijuana and Tecate. Volunteers need a valid U.S. passport, a tent, a sleeping bag, work gloves, and a willingness to camp and to sweat. Per-person fees cover materials, food, gas, and insurance, but grant money is always available so that cost never stops anyone from joining. The trip is open to ages 11 to 90 and is described by regulars as life-changing: "I return with a heart that has been filled in ways that few other experiences in life can provide." During the pandemic years the church was not able to send teams in person but sponsored the building of seven additional homes from a distance.
AguaNam: Clean Water in Three Countries
The AguaNam Group is the congregation's clean-water mission, supported by the Mission Committee. Active members include Jack Irwin, Art Moore, Scott Bullock, Johan and Evelin Vandersande, and John Favalessa. The group's work began in December 2014 when Jack and Art joined Living Water World Missions in Coatepeque, Guatemala, to install a clean-water system serving more than 200 Compassion International children and their parents at lunch each day. From there AguaNam took its work to Laos in 2016 and 2017 to inspect, repair, and maintain previously installed systems; to Ecuador in 2018 and 2019, where a complete water system was installed in the village of Pastocalle and continues to be maintained locally. Active members study as back at weeklong training run by Living Waters of the World, the group formally organized itself at the church in December 2018 and named itself AguaNam, combining "agua" and "Nam" as a nod to the regions it serves.
From Kenya to Turkey: Daystar and Antalya
The church supports Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Christ-centered institution educating the next generation of African servant leaders. With more than 20,000 alumni, Daystar shapes students to know Jesus Christ and to represent Him as servant leaders throughout Africa and the world. First Presbyterian of Newhall specifically supports scholarship students who would not otherwise be able to attend university, many of them the first from their communities to do so.
The church also partners with Antalya Evangelical Church in Antalya, Turkey, a Turkish congregation on the southern Mediterranean coast pastored by Rev. Ramazan Arkan, one of its founding members. The relationship began in November 2012 when twenty-four members of First Presbyterian toured Turkey on the "Footsteps of Paul Tour" and visited Rev. Arkan, his family, and the church. From 2012 through 2017 the Antalya congregation built a new facility to house the church and community center, and the Newhall congregation contributed to the funds needed to build and furnish it. Rev. Arkan has preached at Newhall and visited several times since.
Missionaries and Partners Around the Globe
Through the Mission Committee the church also walks alongside a small circle of missionaries and global partners:
- Sarah Henken, a mission co-worker in Colombia with the PCUSA, serving as a peace initiative promoter with the Presbyterian Church of Colombia and site coordinator for the Young Adult Volunteer program.
- Sue and Erik Takamoto, former Newhall youth director and his wife, who were called to bring Christ to Japan by planting Christian churches, including in Ishinomaki, the city destroyed by the 2011 tsunami.
- Rev. Elmarie and Rev. Scott Parker, who have served in Beirut, Lebanon, since Advent 2013, weaving their previous ministries into Christ's work in the region.
- Michele Braceros, a daughter of the church and longtime missionary with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) and UNTO (Global Aid Network), shipping containers of seed packs, wheelchairs, and clothing to underserved communities around the world.
- Rev. Chris and Rev. Greg Ca11ison, pastors serving in the Middle East through The Antioch Partners, in Berlin, Germany, and in Duhok, Kurdistan.
The Bell, the Bible, and the Rainbow: A Logo Story
The congregation's logo, launched at the end of March 2021, was designed by John Irwin and funded by a Transformational Grant from the San Fernando Presbytery. Its symbolism reaches deep into the church's identity. The open Bible at the base illuminates the path through the rolling hills of the original Santa Clarita Valley landscape. The original 1896 church bell sits at the center. A cross on top of the bell acts as a reminder to keep eyes toward Christ. And the icon is capped with a rainbow, signifying God's promise and the congregation's commitment to progressive ideals.
The same rainbow appears in real life: the church is intentional about welcoming LGBTQ members and friends into the full life of the congregation, and the rainbow atop the bell is a public declaration of that welcome. The bold, sans-serif type treatment paired with the icon makes the church's name readable from a distance.
Giving That Flows Through Every Ministry
Members and visitors can give online by credit card or eCheck, by check mailed or dropped off at the church office, or through legacy gifts including wills and trusts, IRA distributions, personal property, and endowment funds. The online giving platform offers one-time or recurring gifts; givers may also choose to cover the transaction fee. Year-end and legacy giving are administered through dedicated contacts listed there.
Every gift, the church writes, "flows through to our mission work, our children and youth activities, our services for the Lord, and much more." Given the breadth of that work - food on local tables, homes in Tijuana, scholarship students in Nairobi, a new sanctuary for believers in Antalya, and a Sunday School full of children chasing candy from trunk to trunk in the church parking lot - the description is not rhetorical. The bell from 1896 still hangs on the property, the marquee still changes weekly, and the work still moves outward from a cross on Newhall Avenue.