IN THE SPIRIT

ADDRESS: 18631 Chapel Lane TELEPHONE: 714-962-7512

WEBSITE: o7 https://members.aol.com/stwilfrids

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DENOMINATION: Episcopal Church of the United States of America

YEAR CHURCH ESTABLISHED: 1961

SERVICE TIMES: Sunday morning Holy Communion is at 7:30 a.m.; 8:45

a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday Christian Education Hour, for all ages, is at 10

a.m. Children’s Chapel is held each Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. for

children ages 3 to 10. Adults conduct the service while children serve as

acolytes and the Chapel Choir sings. Children join their parents in

church for Holy Communion. A Healing Service is held on the second Sunday

of each month at 5 p.m. There are two Holy Communion services on

Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

SENIOR PASTOR: The Rev. Harold Clinehens, Jr.

PASTORAL STAFF: The Rev. Wendy Watson, pastoral associate; The Rev.

Karen Wojahn, director of children’s ministry; Pastor Bryan Weaver,

director of youth and family ministry; Charles Magg, music director; Kirk

MacArthur, interim organist and keyboardist.

SIZE OF CONGREGATION: Average Sunday attendance is around 400.

MAKEUP OF CONGREGATION: The congregation is mostly white with a few

Asians and Latinos. Members tend to be well educated.

CHILDCARE: Trained volunteers provide childcare for children under 3

who are too young for church education. There is also a cry room for

parents to sit with their infants and toddlers. All children are welcomed

to the altar during communion to receive a blessing, or if baptized, to

receive Holy Communion.

TYPE OF WORSHIP: Worship at 7:30 a.m. is a quiet service with harp

music. Worship at 8:45 a.m. includes traditional old hymns and organ

music; The 11 a.m. service is a contemporary, blended service with

traditional and contemporary music that includes Christian music from all

over the world. All Sunday services are Holy Communion services. They

include at least two Bible readings.

TYPE OF SERMON: Sermons are biblically based with a practical life

application. Most are part of a series. Clinehens makes an extra effort

to make sermons interesting. For example, for a sermon about John the

Baptist, Clinehens dressed as John the Baptist.

RECENT SERMON SERIES: A recent series of teaching by Clinehens looked

at the mystery of death, preparing for the inevitable and the hope of

heaven. A sermon on “Taking Care of Tomorrow” followed a sermon on

“Living Without Fear in the Face of Death.”

WELCOME WAGON: Visitors are invited to fill out a newcomer card. There

is a greeters’ table with information about the church and specially

colored name tags are available for visitors to help members identify

them as newcomers so they can greet them. Clinehens extends a welcome to

visitors in church saying, “We are glad you are with us and we hope you

are blessed by being here. If you would like to know more about us,

please fill out a visitor card.” Anyone who does fill out a card

indicating they would like to know more about St. Wilfrid’s receives a

call within the next two days.

OUTREACH PROGRAMS: The church participates in SHIP, a program that

helps people who are in transitional situations. The church hosts these

people for two weeks at a time, providing them with meals and a place to

stay in the evening. During the daytime hours, they are out looking for

work and housing.

The church, having discovered that it has seven families with autistic

children, is currently working with a trained psychotherapist to develop

a special-needs Sunday school program for them.

The congregation works with the Episcopal Service Alliance in

Huntington Beach to provide social assistance throughout the community.

Members have developed a Celebration of Wisdom Ministry to identify

and address the needs and issues of members who are over 60 years old.

Life groups, small groups led by laity with seven months of pastoral

training by Clinehens and under his oversight, meet to share personal

concerns, to study scriptures and to pray. They are intended to provide

primary pastoral care.

Classes called “The Three Ms of St. Wilfrid’s” are offered to adults.

The first class is the Membership Class, which discusses the commitment

of Christians to Christ and to Christ’s Body, the church. The second

class is Discovering Spiritual Maturity, which deals with the habits of a

Christian life, including study, pray and giving. The third class is a

“Ministry Class.” This class helps members discover themselves as

ministers, created by God with a purpose with unique gifts to offer.

ALPHA, a ten-week practical introduction to the Christian faith is

offered twice each year. It is designed primarily for nonbelievers and

non-churchgoers as well as those who recently became Christians.

St. Wilfrid’s has a gay and lesbian ministry. Its mission is to

provide spiritual support, presence and fellowship to Gays, lesbians and

their friends and families along with any others interested. The ministry

encourages dialogue, inclusion, participation and fuller service to St.

Wilfrid’s parish and the church at large. The ministry meets the first

Sunday of each month at noon.

A Grief and Growing Through Loss ministry is provided at the church.

CHURCH DESIGN: The sanctuary has a traditional design created with

contemporary and natural architectural materials such as wood and stone

as well as clear and stained glass. The design achieves both an aesthetic

and functional atmosphere with an air of transcendence.

VISION STATEMENT: To restore all people to unity with God and each

other in Christ.

PURPOSE STATEMENT: Sharing Christ’s life-changing love by believing

that Jesus is Lord, belonging to His family, building up each other and

becoming joyful disciples in worship and service.

STATEMENT OF IDENTITY: All persons are welcome in this Christian

community. This faith community intends to be a place of acceptance and

nurture. We proclaim the brotherhood/sisterhood of all God’s children

found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

INTERESTING NOTE: Clinehens and the congregation hope to establish a

tradition of spiritual feeding that imparts the Anglican tradition and is

also forward looking.