In the Spirit

Michele Marr

In 1977, on the first Sunday in June, Steve Purdue held the first

worship service of his now 25-year-old ministry. It was in Lake Park in

Huntington Beach. There were 76 people there.

This Sunday, Purdue will be at the park again. This time hundreds of

people will be there.

For 25 years Purdue has been pastor of a Huntington Beach church -- a

church first called Calvary Chapel Huntington Beach, then Church of the

Coastland and, since 1999, Coastland Foursquare Church.

Purdue, his wife Joan, his congregation and many friends have

organized a reunion celebration to mark the anniversary of his long

ministry in Huntington Beach.

“We have tried to find the names and addresses of everyone,” Purdue

said.

They have sent out more than 450 invitations. They are still trying to

get the word out to those whose addresses they could not find -- through

family, friends or any source they can.

“We don’t want this to be about us,” said Purdue.

Rather, they want it to be about the hundreds of people they have

known and worked with over all the years. They want it, like his

ministry, to be about service in the Kingdom of God and in the city.

In its early years Purdue’s ministry grew quickly. The church moved

from Lake Park to the auditorium of Dwyer Intermediate School. Later,

with a membership of close to 700 adults, it moved to its own building on

Talbert Avenue.

Then, he said, his understanding of what God was calling him to do as

a pastor changed. He began to lead the church in new directions. As a

result, a division developed in the congregation. More than half of the

congregation left to start their own church.

Dave Nelson, who was music director at Church of the Coastland for

nine years, remembers the time. For him what happened was a lot like a

divorce.

“To all of a sudden not see all of those people on a regular basis was

hard. It tore up a lot of people’s lives for a long time,” he said.

Over the years Nelsen kept in touch with people on both sides of the

divide. He has seen a certain amount of healing take place.

Some people saw each other again for the first time at his wedding two

years ago. Others meet up when they come to see his blues band play at

venues around Orange County.

He said people are at first startled, then glad to see each other.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I haven’t seen you in so long’ or, ‘Whoa.

How are you doing?’ It’s cool and very healing for a lot of people,” he

said.

A year ago Nelson, who now plays in the worship band of Seaside

Community Church, led the worship for Coastland’s Easter sunrise service

along with a number of other Huntington Beach musicians.

“I think there will be quite a few people at the reunion on Sunday who

haven’t seen each other in a million years. I anticipate there being some

real healing taking place,” he said.

Joan Purdue is looking forward to seeing people she hasn’t seen in a

long time and hopes to see kids who are now grown. She hopes to find out

what they are doing now.

“When you are in a church for a while people become your family.

Separation is very painful for those who leave and for those who stay “

she said.

She hopes Sunday’s celebration will honor God for the work he has done

through all the church in the city, not only Coastland Foursquare Church.

She also hopes it will provide a fun, comfortable setting for people

to reunite no matter why they have been apart. She has already heard from

families who are coming to the reunion from as far as England, Arizona,

Colorado, Los Angeles and San Diego.

There will be music -- Nelson’s band, Blue Daddy, will be there. Blue

Daddy, which has opened for the likes of for James Harmon, John Mayall

and B.B. King, will play a handful of songs. The choir of Coastland’s

sister church, Bethel Unspeakable Joy Christian Fellowship, in South

Central Los Angeles will also sing.

There will be games, balloons, bubbles and a bounce house for the

kids. In-N-Out Burger is providing 500-plus hamburgers between 2:30 and

4:30 p.m.

The plan is intentionally loose and informal, said Joan Purdue.

“We want everyone to have time to just sit under a tree and talk to

somebody, somebody they are thankful for, somebody they have missed.”

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer and graphic designer from

Huntington Beach. She has been interested in religion and ethics for as

long as she can remember. She can be reached at o7

michele@soulfoodfiles.com.f7

FYI

What: Coastland Foursquare Church 25th Anniversary and Reunion

Celebration

When: Sunday, June 2 from 2-5 p.m.

Where: Lake Park clubhouse and barbecue area in Huntington Beach

Information: 714-969-1190