Friends at the Gate

Michele Marr

It’s called the “Gate” -- as in to enter into, not as in gated,

private or keep out. The name was taken from the words of Jesus

recorded in chapter 10 of the Gospel according to John: “I am the

gate. Whoever comes in by me will be saved.”

Everyone -- regardless of age or faith -- has been welcome at St.

James Episcopal Church on Saturday nights for the unconventional

gatherings designed to appeal to young people, ages 15 to 30.

“The Gate is patterned after a service our pastor David Anderson

saw at Holy Trinity Church in Brompton, England,” said Karen Bro, a

member of the Newport Beach church and the parish’s communication

director. “It looks very different from our Sunday morning services.

The music is led by one of our vestrymen, Eric Evans, who is the

Gate’s worship leader. The music is dynamic -- let’s say loud.”

The band is called Fulcrum. It has eight members, ages 14 to 52,

playing drums, electric guitars, bass and, occasionally, an acoustic

guitar.

“We do a variety of music,” Evans said. “Very rock-metal to very

quiet, one-guitar-playing-style songs. We cover the gamut. We’re

covering songs by bands like Audio Adrenaline and Third Day.”

Every Saturday night, you can count on there being high-decibel

music, as well as a popular guest speaker. Tonight radio personality

Lauren Kitchens, co-host for the KFSH-FM (95.9) radio Fish Morning

Show, will speak. Kitchens is also a professor at Azusa Pacific

University and a one-time beauty queen.

There is also prayer at the Gate, but not in a style or church

setting like many may imagine.

“We gather in a church, but no one wears robes and there’s no

communion,” said Pam Narkun, 26.

Narkun, her sister Charis, Evans and Cathie Young, were active in

the start of Gate.

Both of the Narkuns found it difficult to meet people their ages

at church. Churches had youth groups for kids through high school age

and groups for adult singles ages 30 and older, but the women found

little offered to older teens and those who are twentysomething.

“I thought the Gate would be a great opportunity to fill a void I

felt,” Charis Narkun said.

She said it provides a place for her to worship and to pray, as

well as to meet people, share pizza and simply hang out. She sees the

Gate as a fun and comfortable place for young people like her to

approach God in their own ways, a place where they can bring their

questions, their past hurts and their hunger for the truth.

“People our age are constantly searching for peace of mind, love,

acceptance and answers,” Pam Narkun said. “We have all seen a lot.

We’ve been through a lot. The world today is really different from

the way it was when our parents were our age. We have grown up fast.

When you have to worry about guns in schools and kids getting

kidnapped, you start to take life pretty seriously. We are a

reflective generation.”

Young, who is regarded as the spiritual mother of the Gate, saw

the need for St. James to reach out and to try to meet the needs of

this generation.

“It’s a group we were not touching, and we knew it,” she said.

The Gate has changed that. The church distributes fliers to local

businesses, restaurants and bars and hands out fliers at the beach.

And the young people come. After the music and the prayers, after

the guest speaker has wrapped it up, they mingle on the patio of the

church’s courtyard, just inside the church building’s gate. They

share pizza, good strong coffee, chocolate and other sweets.

Pam Narkun tells her peers, “If you’ve knocked on other doors and

they stayed shut or led nowhere, come to the Gate.”

At St. James Church, the gate is always open.