COUNTYWIDE : Worship Occurs in Unorthodox Places

As they have every Sunday morning for more than a year, the families start filtering into Anaheim’s Cinemapolis 12-screen theater as early as 9 a.m.

The marquee above advertises a variety of current hits from “Passenger 57” to “Aladdin.”

But these people aren’t here to sample Hollywood’s holiday fare. The members of the Community Christian Church have come to pray.

Like clockwork each Sunday, the congregation quietly transforms the multiplex where images of Julia Roberts and Eddie Murphy appear larger than life into a house of God.

As high real-estate prices, complex zoning laws and strict religious rules stymie their efforts to find permanent homes, some of Orange County’s newer congregations have been forced to hold services in unusual places.

The situation has caused some bizarre moments, like the years Irvine’s Beth Jacob Congregation was forced to use a room above a bowling alley.

But in the view of many, the experience has made them appreciate the services and their fellow parishioners all the more.

“A church is not the building; it’s the people,” said Greg Curtis, co-pastor at Community Christian Church.

At Curtis’ church, members take turns hauling chairs, partitions, lights, sound equipment and religious objects, such as a Communion table, into the theater complex each Sunday. They are in and out before the curtain goes up on the first matinee.

The cineplex’s layout does present some problems. Extra lights are required, because the lighting in the theater is not strong enough to read the Bible, Curtis said.

But the location also brings unexpected advantages. Church officials project the words to songs performed during the services onto the movie screen.

The church leases an office near the theater, where it conducts business during the week.

Eventually, Curtis said, the congregation hopes to find a permanent home. But for now, “this is just fantastic,” he said.

Money is a key factor in keeping them from a new home. “To buy a few acres for a church here, it will cost a few million dollars,” Curtis said.

Not all congregations are quite as enthusiastic about their temporary digs.

Irvine’s Beth Jacob Congregation met in rooms inside a bowling alley for several years while searching for a permanent home.

Though the rooms used for services and classes were above the bowling alley, the sound of falling pins could sometimes be heard.

“It took adjusting,” said Cheri Kessner, a member of the orthodox congregation. “It showed us that what counts is the service and the people.”

Last year, the congregation moved into a permanent home at a former bank building.

“We always have the vault door staring you in the face as a reminder that this (building) wasn’t designed to be a synagogue,” she said.

For Kessner’s congregation, the search for permanent quarters was slowed by the requirement that the synagogue be within walking distance for its members, who are not supposed to drive during the Sabbath.