Ministry’s Biker Image Causes Uproar

The biker image of the sprawling Set Free Christian Fellowship ministry is marring the city’s redevelopment efforts, Councilman Irv Pickler said Friday, and he urged that the ministry move out of its downtown locations.

The comments come as Set Free benefactor and businessman William Taormina has been meeting with city officials concerned about the church’s rapid growth.

Pickler and other city officials said they also have been receiving telephone calls and letters at their City Hall offices from residents living near Set Free headquarters who are becoming more uncomfortable with the presence of Pastor Phil Aguilar’s unconventional following.

“The image of bikers in black jackets is not an image that people will warm to and is not something that’s going to attract homeowners and business to downtown,” said Pickler, referring to the traditional attire of some Set Free congregants. “It’s not a positive thing for the area. . . . It doesn’t fit in with what we want downtown.”

But Lois Trader, a spokeswoman for the church which now boasts of more than 2,000 members, said she was surprised by the councilman’s charge. She was also unaware of any criticisms of the ministry’s ever-expanding presence along North Anaheim Boulevard.

“Irv Pickler is a great guy, but I hope he gets saved. He doesn’t know God,” Trader said Friday at church headquarters, where officials were planning a weekend gathering of Set Free congregations from throughout the country. “We’re not moving anywhere.”

Founded in 1982 by Aguilar, an ex-convict who sometimes cruises downtown streets on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the church devotes a large portion of its ministry to the homeless and those with drug or alcohol addictions.

In past years, former followers have alleged that the church has exercised rigid control over the lives of its members, sometimes limiting contact with relatives. Church leaders have denied such claims.

Sparking the most recent concerns, however, have been preliminary plans by the church to continue its expansion on the city’s near north side where the ministry now operates out of about half a dozen leased homes and a hangar-like worship center.

Aguilar has told the city he wants to develop a community center just north of the church on land owned by Taormina.

“Bill (Taormina) is a real rad person,” Trader said. “He hears all the flak but he has stayed a really good friend to us.”

Chairman of Anaheim Disposal Co., which provides trash collection services to a string of North County cities, Taormina also owns three of the Set Free homes and the main worship center.

He acknowledged that some local business leaders have reservations about the continuing church expansion, and within the past two weeks he discussed those concerns with council members and other city leaders.

Primarily, he said residents and local businesses have been worried about parking and crowding conditions sometimes experienced on Thursdays and Sundays, the church’s two main worship days.

He also admits there have been “perception” problems related to some in the congregation who prefer the outlaw look of black leather and motorcycle transportation.

“People in general need to understand them,” Taormina said. “I am glad they are my tenants. . . . They have done such an effective job in their ministry that they need to be in larger quarters.”

Although supportive of the ministry, Councilman William D. Ehrle said he too has received complaints about the church from residents and local business owners who are worried the church is consuming the neighborhood.

“I would encourage them to find facilities that would provide them room for growth,” Ehrle said. “There aren’t enough parking facilities there now, but I don’t necessarily want them to move out of Anaheim.”