In the Spirit

-- Michele Marr

* Church name: Mesa Verde United Methodist Church

* Address: 1701 Baker St., Costa Mesa

* Telephone: (714) 979-8234

* Web site: o7 www.mesaverdeumc.org

f7 * Denomination: United Methodist

* Year church established: 1960

* Church design: The interior is designed to be soothing, comfortable

and hospitable setting.

* Service times: Sunday at 8:30 and 10 a.m.; adult Bible study meets

at 8:30 a.m.; Sunday School for kindergarten through high school youth

meets at 10 a.m. The fourth Sunday of the month is Children’s Sunday.

* Senior pastor: The Rev. Dick George

* Pastoral staff: Vicky Key, administrative assistant; Eliza

Rubenstein, director of music ministry; Suzanne Morgan, coordinator of

religious education; Youngmi Kim, organist

* Size of congregation: 414

* Makeup of congregation: Close to 70% of the members are from the

Mesa Verde community, but increasingly, people are coming from Santa Ana,

Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and even South County

communities.

* Child care: Provided during both Sunday services.

* Type of worship: Music and preaching of the word are central to the

worship. They involve both the head and the heart. Members are challenged

to consider what -- from a Gospel perspective -- we are expected to do in

our lives and in our communities.

* Type of sermon: Bible based, applied to contemporary times. Themes

generally come from the Scripture texts in the Common Lectionary. George

also draws from science, the arts and social science.

* Vision statement: “Every visitor a friend. Every member in

ministry.”

* Welcome wagon: Visitors are invited to introduce themselves, but

remain anonymous if they choose. They are invited to join members for

coffee and a free doughnut following the service.

* Outreach programs: The church maintains a strong focus on outreach.

The youth have a work team that travels to Baja, Mexico, to help churches

there. The church sponsors three major blood drives for the Red Cross

each year. Members also assist Share Our Selves and FISH-Harbor Area, and

serve at the Hospitality Kitchen once a month. The congregation has just

enrolled in the county Adopt-a-Social Worker Program. The congregation

recently participated in the Habitat for Humanity women’s build in Costa

Mesa. Each fall, the church holds an Alternative Christmas Celebration

featuring Habitat for Humanity, The Heifer Project (a hunger project that

establishes food resources by supplying livestock to communities), Third

World Hand Arts (a cooperative project that provides Third World artisans

markets for their wares), Strength for the Journey (a program of the

United Methodist Church that offers support services and a summer camp to

people afflicted with AIDS or HIV) and Mary Magdalene House (an outreach

facility for abused women and children).

* Interesting note: The church has an extraordinary and exciting music

program that includes two children’s choirs and a chimes choir. The

Chancel, Rejoice and hand bell adult choirs are enlisting congregation

members to join them in “Broadway Bound,” a production that will feature

music from various Broadway musicals.