Church seeks to heal El Toro wounds

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Christian Science leader Jon Harder on Saturday will

attempt to help heal the county’s wounds created by the increasingly

emotional arguments over the proposed airport at El Toro.

A group of South County church leaders recently voiced their opposition

to the airport, saying it would impinge on the neighboring communities’

quality of life. But Harder believes the church shouldn’t take sides on

the matter.

“It doesn’t mean a compromise,” he said. “A worthwhile solution to this

isn’t just a matter of choosing up sides, but regaining respect for one

another, for our surroundings, for our quality of life.”

The Second Church of Christian Science in Corona del Mar invited Harder

to speak because members of the congregation felt they needed to address

the emotional chasm created by the countywide divide.

Harder will give a lecture titled “Issues Divide, Healing Unites,” at 10

a.m. Saturday at Edwards Big Newport Theater.

His speech, Harder said, will focus less on finding a solution to the

debate and more on reuniting a divided community.

His primary example is, naturally, Jesus Christ, whom he called the

“first spiritual environmentalist.”

“The key word here is environment,” Harder said Thursday. “It applies to

everything -- our social surrounding, our life together, atmosphere, our

thinking, the media and our relationships with each other.”

The airport debate has split the county, North versus South, for years.

Residents in the northern part of Orange County, for the most part,

support turning El Toro into an international airport. Many El Toro

advocates, especially in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, hope a second

county airport will take pressure off John Wayne Airport and eliminate

the need to expand it.

In South County, where an overwhelming majority is opposed to the

project, residents are concerned about how the airport would affect their

quality of life.

The heart of Harder’s message is that people on both sides of the issue

are part of the same community and therefore share common ground. From

there, residents can find a solution for the entire county.

“In our relationship with God we find basic unity, which in turn brings

healing and unity to the place we live and the people we live with,” he

said.

Harder, a New England resident, did undergraduate work at Harvard

University and received a master’s degree at Boston University’s school

of divinity.

In examining El Toro issues as an outsider, Harder drew from his

extensive international background as a Christian Science practitioner.

His work involves helping people find spiritual answers to the problems

they face.

“Prayer works and opens doors,” Harder said. “It removes anger and gets

us to a state of thought where we can find our way -- the unflattering

and removal of congestion in our thinking.”

FYI

* WHAT: “Issues Divide, Healing Unites,” a discussion on healing the

emotional wounds created by the arguments dividing the county on El Toro.

* WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday * WHERE: Edwards Big Newport Theater, 300 Newport Center Drive, at the

corner of San Miguel and Newport Center Drive in Fashion Island.