Combatting Gangs Is Common Ground for Clergy : Social work: Despite theological differences, Anaheim religious council members work together to take on ‘practical things.’

The priests, pastors and other clergy of the Anaheim Religious Community Council are throwing aside some longstanding theological differences to take on two earthly problems--gangs and drugs.

Church leaders have been meeting quarterly for the past year to exchange ideas. The result:

* Some churches are being converted into youth centers once a week where kids can play volleyball and learn crafts instead of roaming the streets.

* Parishioners from various denominations attend classes together to learn how to care for their children.

* Ministers are using their pulpits to encourage parishioners to take back their neighborhoods.

“Like a wise man said: ‘Our churches are so heavenly minded we are of no earthly good,’ ” said Jimmy Gaston/, minister of the State College Church of Christ. “Our churches need to get better at practical things.”

“We want to make a difference,” said Father John Lenihan, pastor of St. Boniface Catholic Church. “We have to make a difference.”

The joint effort by 28 Christian churches representing the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Mormon faiths is a dramatic change from the rivalries that have often thwarted cooperative efforts. The ministers say it has not come a moment too soon, as witnessed by police statistics.

This year, Anaheim has been the site of 12 gang-related killings, and three others that investigators say were drug-related. Authorities say the city has more than 35 gangs and 700 gang members.

The churches “have not spoken with a uniform voice,” said Lawrence Downing, pastor of the Anaheim Seventh-day Adventist Church. “We act independently, like no other church exists. I had one parishioner who just came back to visit after being gone to Atlanta for three years and he said (Anaheim) is going down. He could notice the graffiti and the run-down buildings. But what have we as churches done about this? We need to act.”

The church effort had its seeds in the Gang/Drug Task Force, a group of community and government leaders that met last year to discuss the city’s problems. The group’s final report said Anaheim churches needed to do a better job of reaching youngsters in their immediate community and providing recreational, as well as spiritual, activities.

“Churches are located everywhere in the city and if they work together, they could touch so many people,” said Steve Swaim, director of the city’s anti-gang and drug programs.

Already, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church has a new Wednesday afternoon recreation program for elementary school students in its downtown neighborhood. About 30 children eat sandwiches, dance, perform plays, do crafts and play games such as volleyball and “Simon Says.” Most of their families do not belong to the church.

Down the street, the Anaheim First Christian Church has a similar program on Tuesdays.

“If every church in Anaheim did this one day a week, every child would have a place to go every day of the week,” said Father Adam McCoy, rector of St. Michael’s. “These kids all come from families who want them to do good.”

Kip Baughman, the manager of a greeting card store who organized the Episcopal program, said the children like having a place to come after school, particularly those whose parents work.

“We want to give the kids someplace else to belong besides a gang and give them something constructive to do with their time,” Baughman said. “We want to give them a good, safe place to come.”

The children seem to appreciate it. On a recent Wednesday, the youngsters were enthusiastic and polite as they gathered in the Episcopal church’s meeting hall to watch cartoons, make puppets and work with jigsaw puzzles. Some of the older children played volleyball outside. The youngsters seemed to make a point of saying “thank you” to the eight volunteers for the slightest favor.

“It feels fun to be here and all of the people are helping us to try to do good and have fun,” said Ignacio Mendoza, 11, a sixth-grader at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School.

Olga Rodriguez, a 10-year-old fifth grader at the same school, said: “They are showing us a lot of things we don’t get to do in school, like acting and dancing.”

However, for the Religious Community Council to succeed, the ministers say, some deeply ingrained reservations must be overcome.

“We are trying to overcome the mind-set that one’s loyalty to a particular theology precludes working with other groups,” Gaston said. “If the Catholic parish has a program that will benefit members of my church, I should tell them about it.”