Church endures earthquake, other woes

It was January of 1921 and the congregation of the First Baptist Church at 401 Sixth Street entered the church and took their seats in the wooden pews to hear their new pastor.

This week we’ll continue our look back at the rich history of this church as it turns 100 this year.

It had been on June 13, 1920 that its pastor, Rev. C. Carey Willitt, had left for Buffalo, New York, to attend the Northern Baptist convention. There, he would visit Niagara Falls, where he had once lived.

During his absence, several pastors would fill in for him, including Rev. W.W. Youell from Los Angeles, Rev. J.M. Boaz, Rev. S.J. McConnell from Echo Park, Rev. Carl Bassett of Los Angeles, and the Rev. Harry Stephenson, the superintendent of the Sunday school.

By the end of 1920, Reverend Willett had left in January 1921 and a new pastor had taken the reins. His name was Luther A. Arthur. This new pastor would be standing at the pulpit and, for the next 33 years, would lead the church on to greater glories.

When Arthur began his ministry there were many poor and suffering families for the church to care for. There were shortages of goods and of food, as a result of World War I, and many families suffered the loss of loved ones. Luther A. Arthur was born in Ohio and had traveled the world. On January 16, 1921, he came to Huntington Beach from Healdsburg, Ca., where he had ministered to a congregation. Arthur and his wife Elizabeth were given the use of a home at 402 Seventh St., which is in back of the church and which still stands today.

Arthur’s sermon on January 8, 1922, added a bit of wit in that it was entitled “Sleeping Through the Sermon.” The next evening about 250 members of the congregation met at the Women’s Club on Tenth Street for a big banquet and to hold the annual church meeting. Inside the club, the ladies of the church had decorated each table with miniature Christmas trees, and a large wind-up Brunswick phonograph supplied the music for the night.

The program began with a song, “Nearer My God to Thee,” sung by Reverend Arthur. This was followed by the naming of the new church officers for 1922.

During this meeting, a subscription was taken to build a 20-by-24-foot bungalow for the rapidly growing Sunday school.

On May 10, 1904 the church officially adopted the name First Baptist Church of Huntington Beach. When Easter Sunday came around on April 20, 1924, a huge 12-foot-high white cross was erected at the end of the pier with a chain of snow-white lilies hanging around it.

As the first morning light fell on the cross, a lone Boy Scout bugler sounded the morning reveille and was answered by another scout some 1300 feet away. Those who attended the sunrise service were welcomed by Reverend Arthur.

In 1930, according to church historian Jim Simpson, the country was hit hard by the Great Depression, and many people suffered the loss of their jobs and family income.

By 1933 President Roosevelt’s plan of recovery was beginning to lift the spirits of the nation. And then it happened.

In the early evening of May 10, the ground began to shake. Parts of Main Street and PCH were soon in ruin from a mighty earthquake.

All around town that night, people slept outside because they were afraid to sleep inside their homes. But in the face of this disaster, the church and its members stood strong, providing both physical and spiritual needs to those in our community.

During this time the National Recovery Act was on everyone’s mind, and even made its way into one of Rev. Arthur’s sermons. On October 29 he included the following topics: “Will the National Recovery Act be a success?” “Is Prosperity Returning?” “What May we Expect?” “May There Be an Oil Boom in Huntington Beach,” and “What is Life Insurance.”

As the Christmas season arrived that year, the church was ready with a pageant entitled “The Nativity” in which Christine Stine portrayed Mary and Robert Day was Joseph. Two groups of carolers from the church went out to the neighborhood to cheer up those who were ill or infirm.

Next week we’ll continue looking at the church as it faces the trials of World War II and as the Korean conflict unfolds.