Nondescript church ready for a face-lift
Stephanie Sortijas
COSTA MESA -- Most people may not have noticed, but parishioners of
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant have congregated at the same Fairview
Road location since 1962.
However, Pastor Tim McCalmont says that for a change, the church itself
has received the most attention lately.
The church recently kicked off a renovation project, erecting a sign that
reads “We’re building a church to welcome you -- programs and worship
ongoing during construction” in front of the building.
“In the past two months, we’ve had a lot of people come in to say that
they’ve driven by before and they never even knew we were a church,” said
McCalmont, who has headed the parish for more than five years.
He hopes the church’s current $800,000 renovation project -- which will
add a more visible main entrance, a revamped sanctuary and more natural
light to the worship spaces -- will change all that.
“The renovations are all about helping to improve our presence in the
community,” he said.
More than two years ago, the church had commissioned the San Diego-based
architectural firm Lew Dominy and Associates for the renovation, a
company also responsible for designing the Irvine Presbyterian Church and
several other places of worship in Orange County.
The church’s 360 members, who had pledged money to fund the project’s
completion, were called upon to add their creative input to the
building’s new design.
“We really wanted this to be something that came from our people,” said
McCalmont. “I think it will have an appeal that is both traditional and
contemporary. We have a real spread of ages here with various ideas of
what church is supposed to be, and in our design, we try to incorporate
all that.”
Longtime parishioner Sonja Gray said the church improvements, scheduled
to be completed in late March or early April, are long overdue.
“It’s going to be wonderful,” said Gray, a Lido Isle resident who has
been attending services at the church for 20 years.
“Right now, the building is just very plain. The cross and the sign out
front are small -- nothing jumps out at you,” she added. “This is a
wonderful and warm congregation, and soon we will have a church that will
show that and hopefully be more inviting to the community.”
FYI
Presbyterian Church of the Covenant is at 2850 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.
Call (714) 557-3340 for more information.
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