Hope exists for more neighborly relations

Geoff West

With the Christmas holidays upon us, I find myself thinking how

ironic it is that two of the most contentious issues in Newport Beach

this year have had to do with churches.

The travails of St. Andrew’s and St. James, the churches in

question, have provided fodder for the Forum page of this newspaper

for months. These two churches, supposedly major sources of

inspiration, guidance and solace, have become the focus of rancorous

and divisive dialogue, pitting neighbor against neighbor.

As seems to be the case with any discussion involving religion or

religious institutions, it looks like there is no common ground to be

found by the proponents of either side in each case. Minds are made

up and heels are dug in, so it looks like it’s going to take an act

of divine intervention to resolve each one.

We have links to both institutions. My wife and I were married at

St. James more than a third of a century ago -- before it underwent

its physical and apparent theological metamorphosis. At that time. it

was a nice, cozy little brick edifice, impossible to miss as you

drove along Via Lido. Today, that same drive exposes you to the “new”

church -- or, at least, its haunches -- which looks like an ordinary

office building.

Of course, the issue that made the front pages of newspapers

around the world has nothing to do with the size of the building,

but, rather the polarizing positions regarding the tolerance of

homosexuality within the Episcopal Church. St. James and a couple of

other like-minded churches chose to align themselves with an African

church, and now the squabble about who owns what is in progress.

There seems to be no middle ground.

We live a mile or so from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, drive

the neighborhood it serves very frequently, and have many friends and

neighbors who worship there. It, too, has grown and casts a much

wider net for parishioners -- most of whom apparently drive to

church, rather than walk.

I used to attend a “neighborhood” church when growing up. On most

Sundays my family would walk to church -- it was only a few blocks

and it was a nice, family thing to do. That church, too, expanded to

meet the demands of its congregation, but nothing on the scale of St.

Andrew’s. They simply bought the two homes next door, tore them down

and built a new sanctuary, leaving the old building to serve as a

fellowship hall and a gymnasium. Their goal, too, was to accommodate

a growing congregation and provide a safe venue for the children -- a

place to blow off steam without getting into trouble.

St. Andrew’s, however, has evolved in the era of the “mega-church”

-- a time when the personality and presence of a dynamic pastor

drives the demand for more seats, programs and parking.

While, in some people’s views, St. Andrew’s’ size and expansion

plans don’t fit the definition of a mega-church, many of its

neighbors have an opposing viewpoint. It’s easy to understand both

sides of this issue. The arguments pro and con, as expressed in these

pages, have included a few knee-jerk diatribes and many thoughtful,

considerate, convincing dissertations.

About the only resolution I don’t recall being proposed is for the

church to pick up and move -- lock, stock and Bible -- to a more

suitable location. Perhaps a spot somewhere near the industrial

section of town could be found to accommodate the size of the

facility proposed. Although the Newport Beach Planning Commission

recently approved the scaled-down expansion, I doubt we have heard

the last of this issue.

One can only hope that, in the spirit of the season, an acceptable

resolution to both these issues will soon be found. It seems to me

that, as time passes and they continue to fester, it will only become

more difficult to explain to the children of this community why

neighbors are angry at their neighborhood church.

Happy holidays to you all.

* GEOFF WEST is a resident of Costa Mesa.