Devotion at the Ocean

Hearing the ever-louder chug and squeal of a train on nearby tracks, members of Christ’s Beach Church in San Clemente pause in their weekly devotions to turn away from the ocean. They smile and wave as the train roars by.

“We call that ‘Beach Outreach,’ ” said Pastor Margaret Duttera, wearing a red shirt and sunglasses as she stands behind a wooden cross and makeshift pulpit stuck in the sand.

Sponsored by Christ Lutheran Church in San Clemente, the weekly outdoor services grew out of an Easter sunrise service held seven years ago on the beach. Duttera decided to hold the weekly services on the beach all summer in 1995. A year later, she began year-round services.

Duttera’s philosophy is that the beautiful setting for the beach services is evidence of a loving God, a God whose sanctuary is more than a rectangular room with stained glass and creaky wooden pews.

A graduate of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Duttera has been a pastor at Christ Lutheran for 10 years and has seen the church grow to more than 300 members.

“You can literally feel the power of God as the waves break on the shore,” Duttera said. “You can feel it in the gentle breeze, the warmth of the sun.”

Hundreds of parishioners gather on white plastic chairs to listen to her sermon, which is punctuated by the crash of waves and squawk of sea gulls.

The congregation faces Duttera and therefore has a panoramic view of the Pacific, including dolphins leaping out of the water and surfers paddling out to catch their first wave of the day.

With a decent sound system and plenty of volunteers to lead songs, pass out collection plates and help with communion, the services go smoothly. For Duttera, the only disadvantage is that her back is to the ocean.

Now that El Nino is over, Duttera’s congregation has plenty of open sand to sit on. During last spring’s storms, Duttera said, it was a challenge to stage services amid gusts of wind whipping the shore and surf washing up near the train tracks.

The tide was so high at one service that participants were boxed in, the water literally lapping the feet of congregants in the front rows. “Before the service was over, we had to make a run for it,” Duttera said.

With quieter weather this year, the beach service’s popularity is at an all-time high. Nearly 150 people attended on one recent Sunday.

Some mothers stood in back, leaning against the bigger rocks and gently bouncing babies whose crying was lost amid the symphony of wailing gulls, fluttering palms and pounding surf.

Especially popular with families is Duttera’s special children’s service with puppets. Parents can take in the sermon while keeping an eye on their children playing nearby.

“Kids remember going to the beach instead of to a really disciplined, regimented place,” said congregant Nancy McKee.

Drawing designs in the sand with his rolled-up program, Matt Wild, 14, of San Clemente said that it’s easier for his parents to get him out of bed on Sundays for this service.

“I like the beach,” said Wild, wearing a backward baseball cap and jeans. Although, he acknowledges, “My parents would make me go anyway.”

Congregant James Drew, 34, was there with his wife and two children.

“I wouldn’t go to church anywhere else,” said Drew. “What I want to relay to the kids is that God is everywhere. When we see the waves and hear the wind, God is there.”

A San Clemente resident, Drew said he grew weary of his strict Catholic background and wanted to find a congregation that veered away from the “stained-glass approach.”

Drew--wearing boots, sweat pants and a frayed T-shirt--likes the casual nature of the services, but it’s the glory of the setting that brings him closer to God.

According to McKee, one of the best aspects of the worship is that it’s open to anyone who wanders by and wants to participate or just listen.

“You can slip in and slip out,” said McKee, a social worker, who said she’s seen homeless people attending Duttera’s services. “Anonymity has its beauty.”

On the outskirts of the gathering, sitting on a flat rock, Dorothy Villa of San Clemente sat in a blue sweatsuit listening to Duttera and watching the waves.

Her first time at Christ’s Beach Church, Villa said she heard about Duttera’s beach-side sermons from a co-worker and was drawn to the service’s novelty.

“It’s so peaceful here,” Villa said. “Well, except for the train.”