Church rejoices 60th anniversary

Newport Harbor Lutheran members hold Oktoberfest.Margret Hodges has been a member of Newport Harbor Lutheran Church for five of the church’s six decades.

“When I came to Newport Beach in 1955, the first Sunday, on Oct. 9, I wanted to go to the church on Cliff Drive, and I felt so welcome,” Hodges recalled.

Members of Newport Harbor Lutheran are scheduled to celebrate the church’s 60th anniversary at services today. When the church was new, members worshipped at a sanctuary on Cliff Drive that has since become home to the Newport Theatre Arts Center, Hodges said. The church’s Dover Drive sanctuary was dedicated in 1970.

Hodges and a handful of other church members wore German outfits to the church for an Oktoberfest celebration Saturday. Outside the sanctuary’s front door, Hodges wore a green Bavarian dress with a red hat, while a three-member band played German tunes on a tuba, accordion and trumpet. Hodges was not the only woman dressed in an Old World style; some of the men, including church pastor Jim McCammon wore lederhosen to the occasion.

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther, then still a Catholic monk, began the series of events that became known as the Protestant Reformation, when he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a German church. For Lutherans, the commemoration of Oktoberfest is tied to Luther’s German roots, McCammon explained.

“Oktoberfest is a German celebration of heritage, and Martin Luther was a very, very good German Christian ... and he loved to drink beer,” McCammon said.

“He did some of his best thinking drinking beer,” McCammon added.

Church member Heather Goss, who lives in Newport Beach, put together the menu for the church’s celebration. Congregants could sample such German fare as bratwurst, potato salad, apple strudel and “good Beck’s beer,” Goss said.

Hodges, a Costa Mesa resident who said she came to the United States from what was then East Germany, remembered that she decided to join Newport Harbor Lutheran Church on her first visit. Over the last 50 years, she has had a close bond with the institution.

“I have been through heavy times and sad times, and the church has always meant comfort, and the choir has always meant joy,” she said.

20051030ip5gsmknDAN CARAPELLOTTI / DAILY PILOT(LA)Pastor Jim McCammon plays the clarinet for Newport Harbor Lutheran’s 60th anniversary.