Easter, California Style: Drive-Thru Stations of Cross

Talk about your spectator slowing: Cars slowed to a crawl in Orange on Saturday night, their drivers riveted by . . . visions of Jesus.

OK, so maybe it wasn’t the 405. It was a parking lot, where Church of the Living God set up its second annual “stages of the cross” Easter event.

At each of 10 stations, actors and even live animals reenacted Jesus’ life, from angels announcing his birth to his arrest by Roman soldiers to his crucifixion and finally his ascension.

In one scene, three young men--including one playing Jesus--hung from wooden crosses, their heads bowed and hands bleeding with fake blood.

Sheep grazed on hay, looking cold and distracted by the traffic. “Morning Has Broken” blared over the hum of engines.

Church officials said they have found the drive-thru event an effective way to reach as many people as they can with an Easter message--even if they are just driving through. Last year, 1,300 people made the three-minute trek, and the church hopes for more this weekend.

“I think it’s very California,” church spokeswoman Tanya Flores said. “California is very fast-paced and up-tempo. This is like that. It fits the California way.”

Christian Chavez, a security officer directing traffic, agreed: “The only other place you can see something like this is at Universal Studios.”

It is fitting that such a spectacle should unfold in the city of Orange. After all, it was here that Rev. Robert H. Schuller founded a church in a drive-in movie theater 44 years ago.

He went on to make history by building a church for both walk-in and drive-in worshipers on the Garden Grove site where his towering Crystal Cathedral now serves congregants who sit in their cars and listen to the sermon on radio, gazing toward the pulpit through enormous open doors.

Visitors to the office-complex parking lot in Orange on Saturday were impressed.

“It was better than I thought it would be,” said Debby Nance, who said she had teased a friend of hers who played a role. “In fact, it was phenomenal.”

Members of the small church--with a congregation of only 50--have been working on weekends since January to prepare the free spectacle, which concludes tonight at 10 at 826 W. Katella Ave. They raised the $10,000 in production costs from donations.

“I like that you see this in your car,” said Craig Hunt, 30, of Anaheim. “You’re in your own atmosphere. That makes you feel more comfortable.”

Angel Diana Flores, 26, said some spectators do try to break the actors’ concentration, waving or whistling as they pass. “We just don’t look at them,” she said.

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Armenta, who plays a peasant in the show, said the in-and-out convenience lures the reluctant.

“It can minster to a lot of people who aren’t even Christians. They can just cruise on through and say, ‘Wow!’ ” he said.

Organizers conceived of the idea last year after seeing the success of some other Southern California churches’ Christmas drive-thru pageants.

“People thought we were crazy,” Flores said. “It’s never been done before with people hanging crosses.”

Casting is critical because the nights are cool and the hours are long. Jesus must be young, Flores said, and in good shape physically and spiritually.

“They get to experience a little bit about what Jesus went through,” Flores said, “For the guys that did it last year, it changed their lives.”

At the road’s end, Mary Magdalene discovers the empty tomb and the angel Gabriel points to an ascending Jesus who stands on a bridge over departing cars.

But the last word comes from a woman with a palm frond who admonishes departing visitors: “Don’t forget to turn your headlights on.”