Clinton Drops In on Church Congregation

When you have only a few minutes notice that the president of the United States is on his way, all you can do is pray that everything goes smoothly.

That’s certainly the way it was Sunday at the Malibu Presbyterian Church as President Clinton dropped in on 360 surprised congregation members attending their regular 9:30 a.m. worship service.

“Nervous? Yes, I was nervous. I only had 10 minutes warning that he was coming,” Pastor David Worth said.

A four-piece rock band standing next to the altar at the front of the Malibu Canyon church sanctuary had begun an energetic version of “As High as the Heavens” when Clinton slipped into a fourth-row pew next to Rachel Holland.

Holland, a Calabasas second-grade teacher, did a double-take. Still standing, Clinton pulled a pair of reading glasses from his coat pocket, picked up a song sheet and joined in.

“He blended right in with the rest of us,” said Holland, who lives in Agoura. “I leaned over and said, ‘Welcome to our worship service.’ ”

But many at the service were unaware that the president was in the room until the singing ended. When the congregation sat down, Worth also welcomed Clinton. Worshipers tried not to stare.

Worth talked of an upcoming Thanksgiving food drive and the availability of advance tickets for the Christmas musical before leading the worshipers in prayer. Even then he spoke of several ailing church members before turning to world affairs.

“Let us pray for our Lord, our president and the United Nations in this time of crisis,” he said.

Clinton’s head was bowed as Worth asked for “wisdom for our president . . . we pray that peace will prevail.”

Latecomers to the church service were scanned with metal detectors by Secret Service agents and security officers. One of the last to enter was Frances Forbes.

The only empty seat she could find was directly behind Clinton. Except that Forbes didn’t recognize him at first.

She climbed over a startled Secret Service agent sitting in the pew behind the president. She didn’t recognize him either.

“I said, ‘Excuse me, there’s an empty spot there,’ and I pushed right by him,” said Forbes, a technical training saleswoman who lives in Calabasas.

Forbes said she noticed that the man in front of her “had a nice haircut”--but didn’t recognize Clinton until he turned and she glimpsed his profile.

The president “has lost a lot of weight. He looks good,” Forbes said.

Clinton, a Baptist, took an envelope from the pew and dropped it into the collection plate when it was passed among worshipers. Sneaking a peek, Holland couldn’t tell if he stuffed any money inside. But it looked as though he’d written a prayer request on it, she said.

With such short notice, Worth had no time to customize a sermon for the president of the United States. So he delivered the same message about religious persecution that he had planned to preach.

The service ended with a mother-daughter duet performed by Melody and Raeanne Jones. “It was great singing to the president,” Raeanne Jones confided afterward. “But it’s more important to sing to God.”

Worshipers applauded as Clinton rose to leave. He shook hands with congregation members on his way back up the church aisle and paused outside to chat briefly with Worth.

Worth introduced him to Cathy Lewis of Malibu, who had asked the pastor if her son could meet the president. Two-year-old Rex Lewis is blind. Cathy Lewis thanked Clinton for his efforts on behalf of those with disabilities.

Clinton lingered with about 50 older children from Sunday school classes before returning to the nearby Malibu beachfront home of film producer Jerry Katzenberg, where he stayed during his weekend Democratic fund-raising trip.

Before attending an evening “Rock the Vote” event and a private fund-raising dinner, Clinton relaxed privately Sunday afternoon there with daughter Chelsea. She flew down from Stanford University for the day.

Back at the church, meantime, the last word came from church member Phil Fleeman. He is a former Las Virgenes Unified School District trustee who lives in Montenido and he had a prayer.

“God bless you, sir, with all your problems,” Fleeman shouted as Clinton disappeared into his black Cadillac.