Bel Air is picking up most of the $150,000 cost to upgrade the Union Church sanctuary with new lighting plus audio and video equipment; Union Church has agreed to kick in $15,000.
Bel Air is also recruiting its members to attend services at the downtown site, a step that will help alleviate overcrowding at Bel Air's sprawling Mulholland Drive compound, which attracts 3,000 congregants every Sunday.
Hoping to quell fears of a takeover, Brewer and his fellow pastors emphasize that they envision Union Church as its own unique entity and not as a downtown satellite for their church.
"We respect who they are," Brewer said. "We're not trying to change them. We're trying to add. We're very careful to make sure it's a partnership."
Brewer and others from his church point out that the two congregations, which seem different at first blush, share a focus on evangelism.
Union Church members say they hope the arrival of younger people from Bel Air will allow them to reach beyond their doors, something they have long wanted to do.
The two groups took another step toward that goal in February, coming together for the 6 p.m. Sunday service. The crowd was thin -- about 30 people from the Bel Air church and 20 from Union -- the result of competing with the Academy Awards ceremony, church leaders said.
But the atmosphere in the sanctuary was upbeat as the band played and young and old prayed next to one another.
Bel Air's Dermody, 46, led most of the service. Toward the end, he and Hibino ascended the stage together.
"This evening we come . . . to be reminded that we link arms with two churches," Dermody told the gathering. "God created us to be in relationship."
Hibino, nearly twice Dermody's age, stood quietly as the younger pastor spoke into a microphone.
Dermody finished speaking, then held the microphone for Hibino, as the gray-haired pastor offered his own blessing for their partnership.
"Father," Hibino prayed, "we thank you for this opportunity to gather together."
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duke.helfand@latimes.com
