Lead Pastor Jack Winkle of Calvary Chapel of Golden Valley in Canyon Country will inaugurate special abbreviated services for autistic children and others with special needs on Sunday, December 22, from 12 noon to 12:30 p.m.

Designed for sound-sensitive individuals, the special needs-autism service will last only 20 to 30 minutes.

Noah Winkle, son of Jack and his wife, Julie, was diagnosed with severe autism at 2 1/2 years old. When Noah was young, the Winkles regularly went to Malibu to experience the ocean.

Back then, Surfer’s Healing hosted moderate to severely autistic children, like Noah, in swimming and surfing activities.

“It was so comfortable,” Pastor Winkle said. “The whole beach was filled with a community of like-minded people — families and their autistic children. No one stared when one child or another was having a meltdown.”

Noah just turned 20, and his father wants to re-create that same comfortable and safe environment at Calvary Chapel of Golden Valley, with abbreviated church services just for people with special needs and their families.

“We want to comfort those in tribulations with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God,” Pastor Winkle said in an email. “Come join us, walk the sanctuary (as Noah does) or feel free to lift your hands, and let us worship our great God together.”

The Calvary Chapel of Golden Valley sanctuary is located at 18319 Sierra Highway, Canyon Country 91351.

For more information, visit the chapel’s website.

Julie, Noah and Pastor Jack Winkle. Courtesy photo.