Good Friday (and Easter)

Though I went to church this Easter at First Presbyterian, what I want to talk about is Good Friday, one of the major Christian holidays. City Ministries of Petaluma, an association of 12 Petaluma chuches, sponsored a joint Good Friday service at Petaluma Valley Baptist Church, but jointly led both by it and St. John's Anglican Church, who focused on Stations of the Cross, a tradition familiar to Catholics, and some Anglicans, but not with most other Protestants.

The tradition of the Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimages to Jerusalem, along the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows), but began as a chapel devotion with St. Francis of Assi, and expanded from there, especially in the Roman Catholic Church.

What I found interesting was observing this tradition in a Baptist church, with Christians from various denominations, or non-denominations. While the Anglicans were in the lead, the Baptist pastor of Valley Baptist, Tom Markum, joined in alternatively leading the readings, meditations, and other aspects of observing this tradition, and the Christians from several churches (and denominations) joined in observing it and in reciting the congregational responses as part of the liturgy in this tradition. It abode well for my spirit to observe and participate in this ecumenical observance of an old tradition of the church in a Protestant/Evangelical church, especially with Baptists, who usually do not observe any such traditions.

After the first hour of the stations of the Cross, the Anglicans continued the service for a second hour on the Message of the Cross, and then for a third hour on the Veneration of the Cross. I remained for all three hours. It was quite an experience in an old tradition of observing Good Friday.

Soveriegn Grace Community Church

This Sunday (April 17th) I visited Soveriegn Grace Community Church. They meet at the site of Bernard Eldridge Elementary School (which has shut down) at 217 Maria Drive. They are a new church, having formed in October of 2010, and currently have about 40 in attendance. However, the pastor and many members are from Petaluma Community Church which used to meet at the Seventh Day Adventist church building (since the SDA didn't use it on Sundays). That church closed down, but the pastor and many members wanted to continue on in a new church.

The Pastor, Kevin Kirby, is a graduate of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He also directs The Biblical Counseling Center of Sonoma County, which is connected with the church, and which shares office space with the church at the site. He is an adjunct professor at a bible college in Walnut Creek where he teaches biblical counseling.

The church affiliates with the Southern Baptist Convention. They participate in a church planting program through the SBC. However, the church sees itself rooted in the Calvinist Baptist tradition, reaching back to the Reformation, and looks to the First and Second London Confessions in 1646 and 1689, respectively.

While there, I met a friend from a long time ago, Kathleen Morgan (Kathleen Belton), whom I used to know at Church of the Open Door. It was a joy to see her and catch up. She told me she was very happy with her new church and their level of Bible teaching.

First Presbyterian Church - Local History

I attended First Presbyterian on Sunday (4/10). Since I wrote about their pastor last time, I will write about their local history this time. The church first met at Derby's Hall, on Main Street (now Petaluma Blvd. N.) and Washington on July 22, 1883 where the Rev. J.S. McDonald gave the first sermon. Before long, the church built its original church building on 4th Street, near the Carnegie Library (now the Petaluma Historical Museum) - just to north of it.

By the 1960s, the church was ready for a new building, and began construction at its current location at 935 B Street. The new building was completed in 1963, and the old church building was demolished. The new church building had a very tall steeple. However, the tall steeple was plagued with problems from the beginning, and was replaced later with a shorter steeple. In the meantime, additional facilities were added so that the church now has a fellowship hall with a fireside room, a counseling center for Hope Counseling, a building for offices, and a building to house its Happy Day Presbyterian School (preschool). You can find out more about its history at this link.

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church

I visited St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on Sunday (April 3rd) at 35 Liberty Street. (Most Petalumans just call it St. Vincent's.) It's the church for the parish for West Petaluma. (St. James for East Petaluma.)

The most fascinating aspect of this church is the art and architecture of the building itself - the first shovel was pushed On April 20, 1926, and the building completed in 1928. (The previous church building was sold to Elim Lutheran Church.) Leo J. Devlin designed it in a Spanish Romaesque style during the height of the California Mission Revival Period.

The interior almost takes your breath away with 3 rose windows, 16 art glass windowns, an alter made of bottocino classico marble (a creamy white stone), various marble throughout, pews made of solid oak, all in a spacious building that holds between 800 and 1000. I was particluarly struck by the columns in the church made of marble of a creamy color and which spiral with deeper colors. The interior bespeaks of an emphasis on art and creativity.

The pastor, Father Gary Lombardi, leads the large congregation (of about 2400 families, about half Spanish speaking) - and has done so since 1994. He is from Southern California, and served as the assistant pastor at St. Vincent's from 1973-1977. He serves as an Affiliate Member of the Community Health Foundation of Greater Petaluma.