In the Spirit

-- Michele M. Marr

* Church name: Fairview Community Church

* Address: 2525 Fairview Road at Fair Drive in Costa Mesa

* Telephone: (714) 545-4610

* E-mail: faircom@gateway.net

* Web site: o7 www.fairviewcm.orgf7

* Denomination: The church’s denominational ties are to the American

Baptist Church, which emphasizes congregational autonomy and democracy.

This congregation intends to provide for the spiritual growth of all

people. Members come into the congregation from many branches of

Christian heritage.

* Year church established: 1949. The congregation first met in the

Newport Beach American Legion Hall. The developer of Costa Mesa’s College

Park provided the grounds for its present location.

* Service times: Sunday worship is at 10 a.m. Children and youth share

in the opening of the service and then go to appropriate, age-related

programs. During the second weekend of October each year, anyone coming

to worship for the first time will find a sign on the door telling them

that the congregation is away. The congregation meets for worship at a

retreat facility near Crestline that weekend. Other programs, such as

Adult Bible Study, are scheduled throughout the week.

* Christmas service times: Christmas Sunday services will be held at

10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

* Pastors: Gary Barmore, who has served as senior pastor for 25 years,

and Joyce Smith. Barmore recently announced his decision to retire from

full-time professional ministry. He submitted his resignation as senior

pastor of Fairview Community Church, effective Dec. 31. To his

congregation, he remarked, “The coming seasons seem quite appropriate. My

birthday: how time has flown! Halloween: this feels a bit scary.

Thanksgiving: gratitude is the attitude! Christmas: awaiting surprises,

comforts and joys within God’s gift of grace for new journeys. Carry on,

sisters and brothers, carry on.”

* Pastoral staff: Catherine Wright, the church’s full-time secretary,

and a number of ministry associates, who lead programs for youth,

children and choirs.

* Size of congregation: Worship attendance averages 130. Active

membership is 150.

* Makeup of congregation: Varied and inclusive, primarily families

whose adults have educational and/or professional careers and children.

Most of the congregation’s members come to the church with some kind of

church background. Many had abandoned church participation because of

what Barmore calls “one of the three ‘A’s: adolescence, apathy, and

anger.”

He estimates that 70% to 80% of the members arrive while seeking a

church in which to be married.

* Child care: Professional, licensed child care is provided during

worship and for social and study programs.

* Type of worship: A blend of contemporary and traditional styles, so

that every generation is touched and taught to value a wide expression of

music and proclamation. The mix brings free-church exuberance and

liturgical responsibility together.

* Type of sermon: Sermons are based on the Bible, which Barmore and

Smith interpret with historical consideration to apply to real-life

situations. They aim to reach each listener, both intellectually and

emotionally, through serious thought and powerful proclamation.

* Recent sermons: The church has just completed a series of messages

on applying a pledge of nonviolence locally and globally.

* Upcoming sermon: Pre-Christmas messages will come from the Book of

Jonah, a drama that makes the case for God’s inclusive love.

* Welcome wagon: The congregation meets visitors and builds

friendships during a time of refreshment and fellowship. A garden

courtyard adjacent to the sanctuary provides a warm and hospitable

setting.

* Outreach programs: A food and cash offering for the needy is

collected each month. Volunteers go out to serve at various community

assistance agencies. Many members of the congregation are involved in the

activities of local organizations like Fish-Harbor Area, S.O.S. and the

Interfaith Council. Environmental concerns are also regularly addressed.

Members work in a variety of ways throughout the community at large

desiring to help make the community a better place for all.

* Dress: All types of California-style attire are seen, from suits and

dresses to jeans and shorts.

* Church design: Barmore says that people frequently tell him the

church is like the church they grew up in. The sanctuary interior has

high beams, panels of natural mahogany and cushioned oak pews. The center

aisle leads to the Communion table and a raised cross. The building is

set among well-tended grassy areas and gardens. A

California-Mediterranean courtyard provides a place for quiet meditation,

suppers and parties.

* Mission statement: We are called by God to create, enjoy and extend

gracious Christian community, which is characterized and recognized as

accepting, not judging; including, not rejecting; connecting, not

isolating; serving, not vaunting; empowering, not exhausting; healing,

not hurtful; intelligent, not mindless; faithful, not flashy; zestful,

not dull; Christlike.

* Interesting notes: While pastor at Fairview Community Church,

Barmore has also taught the Life and Times of Jesus classes for the

religious studies department at Orange Coast College for 15 years. The

church has inaugurated a program called “Fantastic Fridays” for kids of

the church and neighborhood.