By Jason KUROSU

La Crescenta Presbyterian Church celebrated its 125th anniversary this past Sunday, following the usual service with lunch in the Fellowship Hall downstairs and a presentation on a recent project to build an orphanage in Rosarito, Mexico. Churchgoers filed into the Hall after the service to a buffet line of tacos, rice, beans, tamales and other Mexican dishes. Mariachi Real de Mexico, a mariachi band from Pasadena, performed traditional Mexican songs while those in attendance ate.

While it was a celebration of the history of one of the oldest churches in La Crescenta, the focus of the day was on future developments, or as church elder Jim Sedgwick put it, “continuing the vision set
forth by the church.”

This is a vision of charity and compassion that the church hopes to further with developments such as the orphanage.

The church has already had its hand in building 11 houses and two churches throughout various parts of Mexico, along with a hospital in the Dominican Republic. The hope is that projects such as this one will not only continue within the church but also throughout all 33 churches in the presbytery of San Fernando.

After lunch and the festivities were over, Sedgwick and pastor Andy Wilson gave a presentation detailing the inception behind, and expected plans of, el orfanato de Rosarito. The orphanage will house 8-12 children of a single gender who will be tended to by a couple or caretaker from the United States. The children’s rooms will feature loft-style beds with a personal space beneath for a desk and their belongings. The land was donated by an anonymous member of the church.

The building was designed by Howard Anderson and Assoc., an architecture company that has designed single and multi-family housing along with commercial buildings and airport hangars. The architects involved designed the orphanage in a week free of charge. It will be built by members of the church as was designed by the architects to be feasible and employable for volunteer labor.

“UNICEF says there are at least 10 million orphans in Mexico currently,” Sedgwick said during his presentation. “We’re hoping that the caretakers and the church can build long-term relationships with these children.”

Once the orphanage is built and underway, several trips will be taken throughout the year to Rosarito, one being a Christmas trip in which church members will bring presents for the children.

The construction will begin in summer of 2011.

  anniversry, La Crescenta Presbyterian