Church Club Stirs Rift

The Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist has always prided itself on being a model of inclusiveness and compassion. It welcomed homeless and AIDS-stricken members, hired openly gay priests and adopted the motto “Diverse People, Inquiring Minds, Open Hearts.”

But after some of the congregation’s leaders warmed to New Age spirituality, a rift opened in the 145-year-old church that has yet to heal. The problems center on a church-affiliated dance group, the St. John’s Divine Rhythm Society, and allegations that it condoned illegal drug use at all-night parties.

The Episcopal bishop for Northern California has intervened as a result; the Rev. Kevin Pearson has been ousted as pastor, and four members of the church’s governing board resigned last month.

“It’s not the drugs that are poisoning our spiritual community,” one parishioner wrote to Bishop William Swing. “It is the lies and the secrets.”

The dance group was formed in the early 1990s and began holding all-night parties with DJs and light shows. The gatherings drew about 350 people, more than three times the number that belonged to the parish.

Although the association seemed to work early on, it took a troubled turn after Pearson’s arrival in August 2001. Some church members were offended by what they saw as his embrace of the rhythm society at the expense of the rest of his flock.

They also objected to some of the changes he introduced to the liturgy, such as directing the choir to chant the Hindu mantra “Om” instead of the Nicene Creed. The tensions peaked last summer when a man attending the rhythm society’s June function was found unconscious in a church bathroom, the victim of an apparent overdose of GHB, a so-called date-rape drug. He survived, but parishioners began calling for a split between the church and the society.

Swing was called in to mediate a reconciliation, but the process failed. In late January, Pearson agreed to resign along with the governing board members whose terms weren’t set to expire the following week. The rhythm society decided to end its affiliation with the church. What will happen to the dance group is unclear.