Gay Activists Disrupt Christian Service : Protest: Three members of a radical group are arrested after incident at Calvary Chapel in Santa Ana.

More than 75 militant gays, angered by fundamentalist Christian views on homosexuality, AIDS and gay-rights issues, descended on a major Orange County church during services Sunday in a raucous protest that ended in three arrests.

Three gay activists who disrupted an 11:15 a.m. service at Calvary Chapel in south Santa Ana by yelling “Stop crucifying queers!” were pushed out of the sanctuary by ushers and arrested at request of church officials on suspicion of trespassing.

The incident was the most tense in a demonstration that lasted from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and was witnessed by thousands of worshipers. Outside the church, 26 police officers from Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley formed a line separating protesters from churchgoers.

“They fought us, and we had to take them out forcibly,” one usher said. Another usher said a protester bit him in the hand. A few activists marching on the perimeter of church property were pelted by eggs thrown from the back yard of a home across Fairview Street.

The protest was organized by the radical group Queer Nation, sometimes described as the “shock troops” of the gay-rights movement. Most waged their protest in a theatrical picket line that featured men wearing dresses, fishnet stockings and nuns’ habits.

“God chose me to be queer,” proclaimed one man’s sign. Others bore slogans describing sex acts. Two men kissed as churchgoers looked on. The activists acknowledged their tactics were intended to offend people they regard as their oppressors.

Some churchgoers gawked at the protest while others hustled their children into cars. Russell McCall, holding his Bible, began singing: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord . . . .” Later, McCall said that, “in a younger time, without the Lord,” he might have attacked the protesters physically.

The protest--the first of its kind in Orange County--reflects increasing gay militancy stirred by the AIDS epidemic.

Groups such as ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and Queer Nation have targeted Christian churches for what they say are oppressive anti-gay teachings. Public television station KCET’s decision last week to broadcast “Stop the Church”--a much-criticized documentary depicting an ACT UP protest at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York--prompted Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles to call for a boycott of the station.

Calvary Church was targeted because some of its members regularly travel to West Hollywood and other gay enclaves to preach against homosexuality, Queer Nation members said.

“They started a war on us,” said Queer Nation member Wayne Karr, wearing a shirt that identified him as “Infected Faggot.”

Karr said a few months ago he was confronted by a Calvary Church member outside a gay-oriented bookstore in West Hollywood. “This woman told me ‘Jesus gave you AIDS,’ ” Karr said.

“They come to us. We’ll go to them. . . . We’ve had 2,000 years of persecution, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”

A few of the gay militants had scouted recent services and obtained church literature. Using the Calvary logo, Queer Nation printed its own literature to resemble the Sunday program.

Calvary Church officials, denying that they had organized efforts to proselytize in any communities, said “a small group” of churchgoers had taken it upon themselves to spread the word.

“We’re not on any kind of crusade against them,” Pastor David Rolph said.

Scott Rogers, 41, a Long Beach resident who works as a purchasing agent for an Irvine firm, said he and other church members had gone to West Hollywood.

“We were not trying to proselytize, just show the love of Christ,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he had met “many guys wanting to get out of the gay lifestyle . . . many guys and girls who are happy to know more about Jesus.”

As reporters interviewed Rogers, Karr shouted: “You’re a liar! Don’t listen to him! He comes to West Hollywood every week and spreads his dirty, filthy lies!”

Some churchgoers said they were sympathetic to the protesters’ point of view. During the morning’s second service, Pastor Chuck Smith Jr. led a prayer asking for more sensitivity to people who suffer from AIDS. “Everybody here is touched by it,” said one usher, who added that his brother-in-law has AIDS.

The few churchgoers who confronted protesters verbally encountered a vitriolic response.

“Repent! You’re going to go to hell,” one young woman shouted from a car window as she exited the church.

“You will too, honey,” a protester shouted back. “We’ll see you there.”

Paramedics provided oxygen to one ailing protester; he had been suffering seizures, friends said, since he had been beaten by “gay bashers.”

Arrested were Christopher Trupp, 21, a student at UC Riverside; Joseph Altepeter, 27, of Los Angeles, and a man who identified himself as “Mr. Mom.” They were arrested after three other gay activists were quietly ushered out after displaying T-shirts carrying their political messages during the service.

Pastor Smith was in the middle of a sermon on optimism when the disruption occurred. After the protesters were removed from the room, Smith declared, “I didn’t see anything.”

The congregation applauded, and he continued his sermon.

In addition to gay militants, the protesters included a small number of activists who focused attention on fundamentalist opposition to abortion. Protesters displayed an ersatz American flag depicting a coat hanger against a blue field instead of 50 stars.

Laguna Beach resident Susan Barber, 39, said it was her first demonstration since she marched against the Vietnam War 20 years ago. So-called “moral majority” values, Barber said, were oppressing gays and women.

“As women, we’ve been seeing our rights disintegrate,” Barber said. “I decided it was time to get started again.”