The First Presbyterian Church of Anaheim was established in 1870. The 125 years since have not been without trials, but the congregation carries on. : Old Faithful

Without uncertainty there can be no faith, and one of the county’s oldest Protestant congregations has had its moments of doubt.

A major flood in 1938 brought thigh-deep waters into their church. Years later, the church’s donation to a 1960s radical leader nearly tore it apart. And recently, pro-life advocates demonstrating against the church’s pastor confronted churchgoers each week.

Though some prophesied doom, the First Presbyterian Church of Anaheim also successfully battled through a deteriorating downtown area and a nationwide trend of secularism in its long history.

Today, as the 400-member congregation prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary, members say the institution has emerged stronger than ever from its internal and external struggles.

“Our church has gone the route of our nation’s history. It had its period of expansion and vitality and had its time of trial and questioning,” said the Rev. Stephen Mather, 45, the church’s pastor for nearly eight years. “You could say we are lean and mean now.”

The congregation will commemorate its 125th anniversary with special services at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Former pastor Don Gard will deliver the lead sermon, followed by musical performances by the choir and returning members.

“It’s going to be a wonderful day,” said Susan Talevich, 70, the church’s organist since December, 1945.

Preceding the founding of Orange County by 19 years, the First Presbyterian Church of Anaheim was established in 1870 with just nine members. They gathered to pray for the first time above a saloon and pool hall.

That summer, the little congregation built its first church at Los Angeles and Cypress streets at a cost of $4,500. As membership grew, the church underwent several remodelings and a couple of moves, but it always remained in downtown Anaheim.

Finally, in 1951, they found a permanent home in a Gothic structure at 310 W. Broadway. Some members fondly refer to the looming edifice as “The Big Gray One.”

“The building sticks out like a sore thumb,” laughed Mather. “But they wanted to make a statement about the awesomeness of God.”

In its 125 years, the church has had a total of 6,350 members. Today’s congregation, Mather said, feels a special obligation to continue the church traditions so many of who have gone before.

“We have received the baton from the people who labored and worked here a long time ago,” Mather said. “Now, it’s our turn to relay that baton to the next generation, so that the church will be here 100 years from now.”

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In 1973, however, the prospect of a 125th anniversary seemed dim. Ironically, it was an atheist who gave the church perhaps its most severe test of faith in itself.

A decision by National Presbyterian leaders to donate money to the defense fund of professed Marxist Angela Davis caused a bitter split in the local Anaheim church. A college instructor, Davis eventually was found not guilty of murder and kidnaping in connection with the deaths of four people in a Marin County courthouse.

Accusing church elders of supporting an evil cause, the church’s pastor resigned and founded another church in Orange, taking about 600 of the 1,600 members with him.

“That was really the low point of the church,” said First Presbyterian’s choir director Kathy Wagner, a member since 1962. “There’s still a lot of animosity about it, especially among the older members.”

The rift even separated families, say church members. Some older members left, while their young adult children stayed.

“Church conflicts are the worst things to go through,” Mather said. “People think when you are in a church, people will always be nice. That’s not always the case.”

He praised the congregation for rebuilding after the split and for their unflinching support during anti-abortion protests at the church last year. Each Sunday for about six months, churchgoers would file past as many as 50 picketers from Operation Rescue, who were demanding Mather’s ouster for his volunteer work with Planned Parenthood.

“They had the maturity not to let outside agitators disrupt them coming into worship,” Mather said. “They also allowed me to follow my conscience as a Christian and an American.”

Mather joins many other church leaders and members who through the years have come under attack for moral beliefs grounded by their faith.

Church elder Walter James Ross was singled out by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s for his and his church’s outspoken opposition to the organization at a time when it had elected four members to Anaheim’s local governing council.

One night, Ross discovered a cross burning on his front lawn, recalls his son, Bill, 74.

“I know it must have scared my father,” said Ross, a retired Anaheim school superintendent who has been a member of First Presbyterian all his life. “Our church was one of many that stood together against the Klan then.”

During World War II, the church’s pastor, Stanley Frederick George, drew the ire of many local residents for opposing the internment of Japanese Americans. Unable to halt the deportations, George brought coffee and doughnuts to try to comfort Japanese Americans forced to abandon their Anaheim homes.

“That caused quite a stir,” Ross said. “There was a certain element in town that wanted run George off for that, but our church stood by him.”

However, the church’s importance to its members has less to do with high-profile controversies than with the ordinary events that make up a churchgoer’s life. The church has performed countless baptisms, weddings and funerals for its congregation, many of whom are second and third generation members.

“I was married here and so was my daughter,” said Sharon Cookus Martin, 48, of Anaheim. “Anything that is really important that has happened in my life, has happened here.”

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In recent years, the church has stepped up efforts to reach out to the city. For example, last year, 130 church members logged 6,000 volunteer hours in such projects as refurbishing senior homes and feeding the homeless.

“The church has really been a beacon for the community,” said member Dixie Edwards, 77, who also published her own book about the history of Anaheim. “It’s been an important contributor to the city.”

Church members say their upcoming celebration won’t be marred by a recent unsettling discovery: that First Presbyterian might be the county’s second oldest Protestant church. Apparently, congregants of the Spurgeon United Methodist Church marked their 125th anniversary in December.

“That kind of blew our minds when we heard that, because we had been so sure for so long that we were first,” said Corinne Blair, a member of the anniversary task force.

Blair said that if church elders not dragged their feet about settling in Anaheim in the late 19th Century, the church could have begun officially in 1868. But, Blair said, First Presbyterian members aren’t going to challenge their Protestant neighbors over bragging rights.

“It’s not Christian to argue about it,” she said with a smile.