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.

St. John's Anglican Church

I visited St. John's Anglican Church this Sunday (March 27) which meets at the Luccessi Community Center at 320 N. McDowell (with a Traditional service at 8:30, and a Contemporary service at 10:30 - I went to the 10:30 service). Though the service is liturgical, the setting is informal. This is because they broke with the Episcopalian denomination a few years back and lost their beautiful church building at 40 Fifth Street (after arbitration with the denomination). They (along with many other conservative Episcopalians) broke with the denomination over the promotion to bishop of an openly homosexual priest (the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, though many other issues had long been a source of contention between conservative and liberal Episcopalians for many years).

Anyway, most members followed the conservative pastor/priest, David Miller, to the community center, though the church seeks another building. David Miller, at one time used to be a hippie guru before converting to Christ and his Episcopal upbringing. The church has an average attendance of around 200 between both services.

Anglicans/Episcopals trace their roots back to when King Henry VIII of England broke with Rome in order to annul the marriage to his wife with whom he had no child. Their history sways back and forth between Catholic and Protestant traditions, though mostly leaning towards the latter. After the American Revolution, it was not PC to be part of the Church of England, so the churches in America became the Episcopal Church with ties to the Anglican Communion. The Anglo-Catholic movement during the latter 19th and early 20th Century brought a resurgence in Catholic tradition. These days, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between a Catholic or Episcopal/Anglican service.

Anyway, I have known this community for sometime who ardently prayed for me while I literally laid on my deathbed a number of years ago, and they always hold a special place in my heart.  I am always encouraged when I visit them.

Iglesia Apostolico

This Sunday (March 20), I visited Iglesia Apostolico, which meets at the facility of Open Door Christian Church at 16 Fifth Street (corner of 5th & B) at 2 p.m. It's a Latin Pentecostal church with between 60 - 80 in attendance. I have been interested in visiting it for sometime, since Pentecostal churches in Latin America have been reported as the fastest growing segment of Christianity for sometime now. (However, 2 p.m. is not my normal church time - and they told me it went till 5 p.m. - a 3 hour church service is not exactly my cup of tea, though some church services go about this long with Sunday School, fellowship time, and the service.)

I got there a bit early, as is my practice. Everyone was deep in prayer - many on their knees up front. Soon the worship service began - and it quickly progressed to exuberant music - with lots of clapping, enthusiatic singing, shouts of joy, dancing in the ailes, with pauses of more meditative music. While I have experienced this in other Pentecostal churches, it had a unique flavor in a Latin church, which almost had the feeling of a fiesta and a bala at times. While I know Spanish (not fluently), I couldn't tell if they were speaking in tonges, but it sounded good anyway - they were wholeheartedly in love with the Lord.

The visiting pastor (Jorge) gave a passionate sermon based on the Parables of the Talents. They had to finish a tad early (about 4:15) because another church needed the facility later, but they first hosted a fundraiser dinner, which I joined and got to meet some of the congregants, who usually described their past life of excessive sin before being saved. I briefly spoke with the pastor, Jesus Mendoza. He informed me they are a member of the Apostlic Church, an international Pentecostal denomination based in Los Angeles. He spent more time proudly telling me about his son, Jesus, who is leading a team of humanitarian effort to Japan, where most Americans are now tyring to get out.

Petaluma Valley Baptist Church

This Sunday (March 13th), I visited Petaluma Valley Baptist Church at 580 Sonoma Mountain Parkway. This church, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), garners a weekly attendance of around 300. The SBC represents the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, with around 16 million members, and the second largest religious body in the U.S. after the Roman Catholic Church. Baptists trace their roots back to John Smyth in England, who was connected with the Pilgrims in the early 1600s. They were influenced by the Anabaptists in the Reformation, though they are different.

The Senior Pastor, Rev. Tom Marcum, is a graduate of the Southwestern Theological Baptist Seminary. He has been the Senior Pastor at Valley Baptist since 1999. He is an Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary. He is married to Stirling, and they have a daughter, Jordan. Under his leadership, Valley Baptist has grown and thrived.

I went to their Sunday School, where they were studying the Book of Judith, one of the books of the Apocrypha. Though Protestants do not consider the Apocrypha as part of the biblical cannon, they still encourage its reading and study. However, I have never been to any Protestant Sunday School or other bible study where one of the books of the Apocrypha was being read and studied. It was refreshing especially since the Book of Judith has inspired so much literature, music, paintings, and sculptures in Western culture. Gary Arbino, a professor of Archeology and Old Testament at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary, led the class.

First Presbyterian Church - Pastor

I attended First Presbyterian Church this Sunday March 6th. In this post, I am going to focus on their pastor, Rev. Dr. Dave Weidlich. Dave grew up in a family of 8 children in North Carolina. He also grew up in Michigan and Nebraska. Dave told us in his sermon that he used to visit his grandmother "nanny" in Pacific Palisades, and wished (prayed) he could live in California. Now he does.

Pastor Dave attended (and graduated from) the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (my hometown). He also graduated from the University of Nebraska {BA in Philosophy} (so he is a Cornhusker), Denver Seminary {M. Div.} (evangelical with Baptists roots). and Fuller Theological Seminary {D. Div.} ("arguably the most influential by number of pastors and educators trained . . .")

I find a depth to Dave's sermons more than in others I hear. He puts a lot of study into them, and they reflect his background, balanced with a sense of humor and some good common sense.

Dave is the father of two children now in their teens, Daniel and Kimmy. He recently co-directed Tents of Hope Petaluma to raise awareness of the displaced in Darfur. He maintains a blog at: http://www.dweidlich.com/

The Cooks' Mass

I didn't attend a church in Petaluma this Sunday (Feb. 27) because almost my whole Sunday was taken up with activities around a Cursillo weekend in Santa Rosa. Though I didn't attend this weekend, I volunteered on Sunday for several activities with the weekend event. Some other time, I will describe a Cursillo weekend, though you can find a brief description at: http://www.roostercrows.com/. It is a wonderful renewal experience. (If anyone is interested in going on a Cursillo weekend, let me know. I would be happy to sponsor you.)

For those who volunteer on Sunday, they have what they call a Cook's Mass, a service with a Catholic priest and an Episcopal priest. Father Patrick Leslie, the Resident Priest at the Sonoma Developmental Center in Glen Ellen, who serves at Star of the Valley Church next to Oakmont Village (between Santa Rosa and Kenwood), and the Rev. Mark Allen, Rector at The Episcopal Church of St. Martin in Davis, California, jointly performed the service. I played guitar with others, and immensly enjoyed the service, which had an ecumenical flavor. (De Colores is a favorite expression within Cursillo which basically means the colors, but within Cursillo more conveys the sense of the many colors.) [Though I wasn't in Petaluma, many from Petaluma attended.]