Long Beach Congregational Church

Since this was the last Sunday of my sabbatical, Bryan and I tore ourselves away from the surf at Laguna Beach and headed for Long Beach for church. I wanted to visit the Long Beach Congregational Church where Jerry Stinson is the pastor. When I was pastor of the Manchester Church of the Brethren, Jerry Stinson was a pastor in Carlsbad. We ended up in a small group together at an Albin Institute training in Connecticut at the time that Rev. Stinson was moving to Long Beach Congregational Church. About halfway through the week-long event I said to him, "I've heard of you. I have a notebook full of your sermons in my office." A couple from the Manchester church had worshiped in the congregation he served in Carlsbad. They were so moved by his preaching that they had asked for copies of his sermons, three-hole punched them, put them in a notebook, and gave them to me with a card that said this was the kind of preaching they appreciated. Ever since I came to pastor in La Verne, I have wanted to attend the church where Jerry Stinson preaches.

For awhile it seemed like Bryan and I wouldn't make it. As we neared Long Beach we discovered, to our dismay, that the Long Beach marathon was happening today. We were rerouted twice until we got on the 405 to the 710 and tried to get into the downtown area from the west. We finally arrived to the church a half hour late. I had visited the church's website numerous times and it is an excellent and informative website. I wished that there had been mention of the marathon on their website, with information on how to get to church on October 17.

Long Beach Congregational Church was celebrating Children's Sabbath, started by the Children's Defense Fund. Rev. Jerry Stinson's sermon was passed on the Exodus story of passover. He is completely authentic in his preaching, sharing his progressive reading of the Bible. The church is definitely inclusive. There was a interpreter for the deaf but it appeared that no one there today was deaf. The ushers included people of different races and an older man in a wheelchair. People were extremely friendly to us and no one welcomed us by telling us it was their job to welcome visitors!