Cover story: Counting their blessings -- Christ Church celebrates the past 50 years and looks to meeting today's challenges Cover story: Counting their blessings -- Christ Church celebrates the past 50 years and looks to meeting today's challenges (November 17, 2004)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Staff Writer

This Sunday, November 21, parishioners of Christ Church, Episcopal in Portola Valley will celebrate the church's 50th anniversary. They will gather in the sanctuary, where pews have been removed so they can dine together before the altar.

It will be a festive occasion. "We've always been known for giving the best parties in the valley," says pastoral associate Mary Fleishman. "We're going to make this an elegant and inexpensive dinner, something even retired folks can afford," adds dinner chairman Ruth Ann Wrucke.

It will be a time for remembering, especially for Bob and Charlotte Anderson, one of the founding families of the church. Mr. Anderson is chairman of the anniversary celebration.

They were one of the young couples who met in 1954 at a summer cottage on Bill and Kay Eitel's property on Family Farm Road to discuss establishing a Protestant church in the valley.

Didn't the idea of starting a church sound overwhelming? "We were all in our 30s and gung-ho," says Mr. Anderson. "That first meeting was largely a get-together of neighbors who were interested in starting a Sunday school."

There were about 10 adults, 14 children and the Eitels' family dog in attendance.

The valley in those days was changing from an area of large estates, farm homes and summer cottages into subdivisions catering to young couples and their families. Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church was the only nearby church.

After about four months of meeting in the Eitels' cottage, the little congregation moved to what is now the Portola Valley Library at Town Center. The Episcopal Diocese of San Francisco granted "True Mission" status to the fledgling church, which means the diocese was prepared to give financial assistance.

The first name, Portola Community Church (Protestant Episcopal), was changed to Christ Church (Episcopal). The diocese sent down a seminarian from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific to be "minister-in-charge." The Rev. Harold Brumbaum subsequently became the church vicar and then rector for 15 years.
Building a new church

In 1956, with an expanding congregation, it was time to take the plunge. Three acres of land in a plum orchard was purchased from S.J. Morshead.

Mr. Anderson says the land sold for about $3,000 or $4,000 an acre. John Jessup Company of Redwood City was given a contract to build the church for about $75,000. The actual cost ended up at $112,000.

In 1958, the church was granted parish status, meaning it became self-supporting. "Attendance was outstanding. Today's baby boomers were still little kids and Sunday schools were popular," Mr. Anderson says.

Through the years, the church continued to grow. In 1963, an office wing and parish hall extension were built. The bell tower that so identifies the church went up in 1965.

That original bell tower was replaced by a steel one in 1989. By October 17 of that year, three legs of the tower had already been welded when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck at 5:04 p.m. With one leg still to be welded, the tower, complete with bells, easily survived the test.

Today those bells still ring out across the valley at 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. "You can even hear them up on Skyline," says Ms. Fleishman. Although many people love the sound, in 1974 a neighbor threatened to sue the church because of the noisy bells, according to an article in the Almanac.
Years of change

The Rev. John Burns, now John Oda-Burns, became rector of Christ Church after the Rev. Brumbaum left to head Christ Church, Los Altos, in 1970. Father Burns served as rector at Christ Church for 25 years during times of great change in the Episcopal Church.

A parish publication, "A History of Christ Church," describes his tenure: "He led us through the social change in the country and increased our awareness through education on issues such as medical ethics, homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. He always encouraged the study of comparative religions. He encouraged the formation of Stanford Hospital Chaplaincy. The ministry at The Sequoias was reinforced."

Father Oda-Burns now lives in Ladera and frequently serves as preacher or celebrant at Christ Church services.

The Rev. Scott Hayashi became Christ Church's third rector in 1998. He is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and was ordained a deacon in the Methodist Church. He later went to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific for one year of Episcopal studies in 1983-84, and was ordained a deacon. He became a priest six months later.
Time for renewal

After 30 years in the valley, Christ Church began a renewal program. Vision '87, led by Bob and Judy Falconer, raised $1 million in pledges.

The campaign allowed the church to add a new and lighted parking lot, a garden patio, a new roof for the office wing, new windows for the parish hall, a new bell tower and carillon control system, landscaping and a new Visser-Rowland pipe organ.

A unique addition to the church is its churchyard, which has a patio columbarium of cobblestone covered niches for urns containing the ashes of cremated bodies. This follows the custom of the ancient churchyards in Europe, except there are no actual graves. The churchyard was started in 1979. An addition in 1997 doubled its size to 300 niches. Close to half of them are sold, says Mr. Anderson.

Christ Church retains a classic beauty, unlike many houses of worship built in 1960s. Arthur Stern's prize-winning stained-glass doors and windows contrast with the rich variety of woods -- redwood, alder and Douglas fir -- used in the interior. The church building now has side aisles, an open altar area and a larger sacristy.
Still a country church

Father Hayashi says Christ Church is a church "you can get your arms around. For many people it's important that a church could be theirs."

What attracts new members? He says it's the friendly and welcoming feeling and beautiful setting. In some ways, Christ Church is still a little country church. It has 250 to 300 members on its roster, with 150 to 170 attending the three Sunday services.

Father Hayashi says in the early days the congregation was primarily from Portola Valley and everybody knew each other. Today the parish draws from the whole Peninsula.

Mary Fleishman, a longtime member of the parish, became a pastoral associate in 1995. Her role is attracting and keeping young families in the parish.

First, she organized a baby play group in the parish hall, Mommy and Me. Then followed Mothers Mornings Out, a baby-sitting co-op. Faithfull Families meets one Sunday night a month with a potluck supper and family craft activities.

Family Matins is a 9:10 a.m. service in the parish hall for families with small children. Father Hayashi plays the guitar; kids crayon their prayer messages and receive a gentle introduction into the liturgy and traditions of the Episcopal church.

The church has also taken over the preschool that was previously run by Trinity School, located at St. Bede's parish in Menlo Park.

"We invite all those preschool families into our church," says Ms. Fleishman.

Outreach programs are an important part of the church. Some of the programs it supports are: Habitat for Humanity, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, and Daybreak, a program and shelter for homeless youth in Redwood City.

The church is providing Daybreak's Thanksgiving dinner. Last year 15 families prepared turkey and all the trimmings for the kids.

Once every five weeks, on a Saturday, Ruth Ann Wrucke and other volunteers head down to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto, where they rustle up a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, juice, and coffee for the homeless, heat up casseroles and prepare salads for a hot lunch, then send folks on their way with a carry-out dinner.

Bob Anderson and Charlotte Anderson have lived in Portola Valley since 1949 and are one of those first families who have shaped the community. Mr. Anderson is a former mayor. In retirement, they chose to remain in Portola Valley as residents of The Sequoias.

In the past 50 years, the Andersons' commitment to their church has grown from that of a young family looking to find a Sunday school for their children to Bob's serving as an ordained deacon for 45 years. Christ Church remains an integral part of their lives.
INFORMATION

Christ Church, Episcopal is located at 815 Portola Road in Portola Valley. For more information, call the church at 851-0224.
Dinner in the sanctuary

"This won't be a catered affair," says Ruth Ann Wrucke, chairman of the Christ Church 50th anniversary dinner to be held Sunday, November 21, at the Portola Valley church,

"We need to get back in the kitchen. You make your best friends when you roll up your sleeves."

Ms. Wrucke is making a chicken, mushroom and sherry main dish for the dinner, where 140 guests are expected. Pastoral associate Mary Fleishman is preparing carrots with sweet potatoes, and Norma Cance is lending her mother-in-law's recipe for cheese and pineapple casserole.

"It's an old Southern recipe," says Ms. Wrucke.

Lemon and chocolate cakes will be served for dessert.

The evening will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m., when Peter Llewellen will present a slide show about the church and congregation highlighting the past 50 years. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

All three of the church's rectors will attend the dinner: the former rectors -- the Rev. Harold Brumbaum, who now lives in Nicasio, and the Rev. John Oda-Burns -- and the current rector, the Rev. Scott Hayashi.

Cost of the dinner is $15 per person, and reservations are required. For more information, call the church at 851-0224.

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