An Episcopal Parish at the Corner of Rudnick and Collins
Prince of Peace Episcopal Church sits at 5700 Rudnick Avenue in Woodland Hills, at the corner of Rudnick and Collins Drive, on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley. Two marks of identity set this parish apart. The first is its music: under a long-tenured Music Director, the parish has composed, recorded, and published an entire library of original Mass settings for use in its Sunday worship. The second is the West Valley Food Pantry, which the parish founded in 1975 as a small food closet and which today operates from a community center built on the church's own property, serving more than 4,000 Los Angeles County families each month.
The parish describes itself as "a dynamic Christian community called to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to share His healing and transformation with all people." Four commitments shape life at Prince of Peace - Welcoming All, Encouraging Involvement, Living the Word, and Seeking Better Ways - and they show up in everything from an open communion table to a congregation that actively recruits newcomers into ministries of every kind.
Sunday Mornings at Prince of Peace
Two Sunday services anchor the life of the parish. At 8:00 a.m., a quiet, spoken communion service follows Rite Two from the Book of Common Prayer, with Rite One used during Lent. At 10:00 a.m., the festive communion service fills the sanctuary with hymn singing, the choir, and instrumental music, and is livestreamed for those joining from home. Sunday School and nursery care are available during the 10:00 a.m. service for children from preschool through fifth grade.
During the summer months, the parish gathers for a single 9:00 a.m. service in place of the usual two-service schedule, an arrangement that lets the congregation worship together before the busier program year resumes.
Wednesday Communion and a Prayer-Shaped Week
The week continues to be marked by prayer at Prince of Peace. Wednesday mornings begin with an 8:00 a.m. communion service in the chapel, followed by a continental breakfast. Later the same afternoon, the Prayer Circle gathers in the chapel at 5:00 p.m. for contemplative prayer interspersed with sacred music and silence, ending with a candlelight service of Compline from the Prayer Book. Lent brings an additional Prayer Circle series with the same evening format.
Every weekday morning except Sunday, the parish offers Morning Prayer online via Zoom at 7:00 a.m., using the order of service from the Book of Common Prayer. The chapel is open as one of the parish's dedicated prayer spaces, alongside the outdoor labyrinth and the Memorial Garden, so that quiet prayer is available throughout the week.
A Library of Original Mass Settings
Music holds a defining place in the identity of Prince of Peace. Boude Moore, the Music Director and a graduate of California State University, Northridge, has supported worship at Prince of Peace through music ministry since 1988. The music program includes a mixed choir, a men's choir, handbells, drums, and an organist internship.
What truly distinguishes Prince of Peace musically is its catalog of original Mass settings, all composed by Boude Moore (with Stephen Reasoner contributing the Stephen's Mass). The parish has recorded and made freely available the Canon Mass, the Southern Harmony Mass, the Stephen's Mass, the Timpani Mass (a festive setting with parts for trumpets and timpani), the Tintinnabulation Mass (built around the peal of handbells), and the West African Drum Mass. PDF scores for organ, other instruments, choir, and congregation are downloadable from the parish for any congregation that wants to sing them.
Christian Education for Every Age
Education is built around the conviction that the parish is called to grow "in faith through our love for, knowledge of, and connection to God and His son, Jesus Christ." Children and Family Ministry, led by Tara Sanders Brooks, walks with children from nursery through fifth grade. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade meet in Taylor Hall during the 10:00 a.m. service for lectionary-based lessons with a trained team of volunteers. Preschool and nursery care takes place just behind the Guild Room. All church-school leaders and assistants are required to pass background checks and complete Safe Church training. Family Sundays, Movie Nights, Game Nights, and a Trunk or Treat mark the calendar through the year.
The Youth Ministry, directed by Dave Dumas, gathers students in sixth through twelfth grade twice a month, usually on the second and fourth Sundays at 10:00 a.m. After joining the main service, the youth move to the Youth Room for prayer, fellowship, and faith conversation. Service is built into the program: youth serve as acolytes, members of the livestreaming crew, leaders in Vacation Bible School, assistants in K-5 Sunday School, hosts of the Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner, and organizers of food drives for local charities.
Adult Education offers Sunday Bible Study each week at 9:00 a.m., seasonal classes during Advent and Lent, the Alpha Course, Confirmation preparation, and small groups that meet during the week. Retreats led by spiritual directors round out the program, along with one-day offerings such as a Labyrinth day and a Day of Prayer and Reflection. Vacation Bible Adventure takes place in July in Taylor Hall, pairing Bible stories with an action-packed afternoon camp and a Friday of slip-and-slide fun.
The West Valley Food Pantry: A Ministry Born on This Campus
The West Valley Food Pantry is, in many ways, the parish's most visible contribution to Woodland Hills and beyond. The pantry began in 1975 as a small food closet operated out of Prince of Peace, run by the Rector, parish volunteers, and the church's longtime administrator Margaret Shively, who together fed three to five families a week.
By 1985, parishioners had organized a coalition of ten other churches and synagogues in the West Valley, and the operation grew. The pantry moved into the church's kitchen and eventually added refrigerators, freezers, and storage trailers. By 2010 it was serving more than 100 families a week, and the pandemic briefly pushed weekly service to 700 families through a new drive-through model. Today the West Valley Food Pantry, one of the largest in Los Angeles, serves more than 4,000 families a month from the West Valley Food Pantry Prince of Peace Community Center, a purpose-built facility on the northeast corner of the church property. Merria Velasco has served as Executive Director of the pantry since early 2026, and parish members continue to volunteer in the day-to-day work.
Walking the Labyrinth and a Parish That Prays Together
The labyrinth on the Prince of Peace campus is one of three dedicated prayer spaces, alongside the chapel and the Memorial Garden. The parish describes walking the labyrinth as "a prayerful journey that invites you to slow your body, quiet your mind, and open your heart to God's presence." Eagle Scout James McGrew built the labyrinth in 2006 as his Eagle project. The community marks World Labyrinth Day with a "Walk as One at 1" gathering for world peace, and the parish publishes a set of prayers for ordinary time to be used along the path.
Many other prayer ministries keep the parish in conversation with God throughout the week. The Daughters of the King and the Healing Prayer Ministry offer prayers after each Sunday service. An Intercessory Prayer Group, with a dedicated Internet Intercessors roster of more than 50 parishioners, takes requests by email and circulates them confidentially to those who have committed to pray. A Prayer Shawl Ministry knits shawls for those who are ill, grieving, or in crisis. A Secret Prayer Partner program and a network of small groups add still more ways to be prayed for and to pray for others.
Outreach Beyond the Food Pantry
Prince of Peace supports a wide network of local and international causes. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) provides a setting in which the women of the parish grow in faith and put their talents to work, including through the Kathie Clark Scholarship for young women entering college, an annual rummage sale, and bake sales. A monthly Community Dinner for the Unhoused is held on the third Saturday of each month at 5:00 p.m.
The parish channels its Christmas and Easter offerings into a long list of charities, with the most recent Lent and Easter offering supporting the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in support of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Since 2012, the parish has given more than $500,000 through these seasonal offerings to local and international causes.
The Campus, the Memorial Garden, and Troop 22
The Prince of Peace campus includes the sanctuary, the chapel, Taylor Hall (home to Sunday School and Vacation Bible Adventure in July), Paisley Hall (the administration building), the Memorial Garden with its Water Wall, the labyrinth, a community garden, a patio with a built-in barbecue, and a playground. The Memorial Garden and Water Wall were built by parishioners and scouts, as were many of the other outdoor features.
Prince of Peace has long sponsored Boy Scout Troop 22, whose scouts have left a literal imprint on the property through their Eagle Scout projects over nearly three decades. Past Eagle projects on the campus include the Memorial Garden and Water Wall, the labyrinth, the community garden, the food pantry cupboard, a youth patio gate project, and a campus bulletin board, alongside dozens of other improvements to the buildings and grounds.
Clergy, Staff, and Governance
The clergy team is led by The Reverend Brian Tucker, the Associate Rector, who joined the clergy team in 2022 after a decade of chaplaincy work at Los Angeles County Hospital. The Reverend Deacon George Packer, ordained at Prince of Peace in 2017, brings a ministry centered on taking the church out to the world and bringing the needs of the world back to the church. Boude Moore serves as Music Director, Tara Sanders Brooks leads Children and Family Ministry, Dave Dumas directs the Youth Ministry, and Merria Velasco serves as Executive Director of the West Valley Food Pantry.
The Reverend Canon Rand Reasoner, who served as Rector of Prince of Peace for 36 years before his retirement, and The Reverend Kathie Clark, ordained at Prince of Peace in 1988 and now Pastoral Associate Emeritus, continue to assist in worship and pastoral care in retirement. Three Sunday Assistants - The Reverend Onesmus Tayebwa, The Reverend Steve Dean, and The Reverend Peace Kwikiriza - round out a worship-leading team whose diversity reflects the parish's Anglican roots in Uganda and beyond.
A volunteer Vestry, led by Senior Warden Bill Prescott and Junior Warden Cara Gordon, governs the parish and meets on the third Monday of each month. The Office of Communications and the Treasurer's office support the work of the clergy, and worship is supported online through a livestream on YouTube and through weekly email updates for the parish community.