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Introducing Ourselves

We are a United Church of Christ (UCC) Congregation of over 40 years, experiencing dwindling numbers in the 1990's, but recently revitalized and reinvigorated by our joining and merger with a younger congregation from Orange County. Most of our Orange County members trace their roots back to the Pacific Samoan Islands, although the great majority are 2nd,  3rd and 4th generation here in California.

Consequently, our order of service each Sunday is in English, with the exception of a few passages and portions addressed to some of our Elders in their native language, plus one of the hymns using the beautiful Samoan language and harmonies.

We seek and invite all persons who may be interested in our family oriented worship service, to contact us and/or join us any Sunday at our 10 AM worship service.

For those of you with further interest in how we came to be founded and grow and prosper, we offer below the following 12-paragraph brief history of our years in Hacienda Heights. You may also be interested to read about some of the distinctive history behind our building architecture, on the About Our Buildings page.

A Brief History of our First 40 Years

The process of forming our Church began in late 1962, when the UCC Board of Homeland Ministries gave the challenge to our Founding Minister, the late Rev. Vernon 'Pat' Flynn. A series of fellowship gatherings and worship services were held throughout 1963 in private homes. Finally, on Mother's Day of 1963, seven families attended the first formal worship service at an LA County Gymnasium on Hacienda Blvd. This date of May 10, 1963, is the date we mark as the anniversary of our founding.

The first choir formed in January of 1964, and by February of 1964, the papers of incorporation for the Congregational Church of Hacienda Heights were prepared, and a committee began considering a total of 22 possible sites upon which to establish the new church.

The Church formally received its members and began official operation on March 1, 1964, with two of the founding members still worshipping with us today. In recent years, the annual Church Picnic has been held in the backyard of nearby congregation members, but that first year it was held at the more distant Hillcrest Park in Fullerton, on August 30, 1964.

Worship in Hacienda Heights began when the church moved to the historic 1920's-era Women's Club building (high in the hills overlooking our present site) in October of 1964. The present church lot was purchased in 1964, and the groundbreaking for the present Education building (designed by famed architect Richard Neutra) was June 19, 1966. Upon its completion in the autumn, this building served as the place of worship for some 14 years, until a portion of the lot was sold to finance construction of the present mission-style sanctuary, with a Groundbreaking ceremony on February 10, 1980, and Dedication of the completed Sanctuary on February 1, 1981.

Another significant milestone in the Church's history was the founding of the Congregational Church Nursery School on September 14, 1967. For nearly 35 years, this school served thousands of area pre-school children and their families before closing on June 7, 2002, due to declines in enrollment. Many in the surrounding community have since expressed sorrow at the loss of this longtime community resource.

It has always been a church community of modest size, which has fostered a strong sense of fellowship and service. In addition to the nursery school, another example from our earlier years is the journey of our Youth Fellowship to Molokai, Hawaii during the first week of July 1979, to paint and repair the fellowship hall at the leper colony of Kalaupapa.

Church records show a cumulative grand total of 688 members from the beginning of the Church through August 20, 2000. A total of 165 weddings have been performed as of August 17, 2002. Of course, many of these were from non-members from many surrounding communities, who have chosen to rent our facilities for their weddings. You will find further details on this on our wedding information page.

Under the Rev. Bob Davis during the mid 1990's, and supported by the late Rev. George Wu, who came from Taiwan, the church actively pursued a multicultural combination with a Taiwanese Presbyterian congregation in hopes of drawing new members and vitality from the rapidly expanding Asian population in the Hacienda Heights area. During 1994, both ministers, as well as four congregation members, traveled to Gaohsuing, Taiwan to strengthen the ties, and returned with stories of extraordinary Chinese hospitality. Two additional church members also traveled to Taiwan during 1996. Despite several years of close association between the two congregations and the work of Associate Pastor George Wu, this effort ultimately faltered due to some differences in theology, preferences in order of services, etc.

Upon Rev. Davis' retirement in 1996, Rev. George Wu served as our Interim Pastor for much of the following year, until the Rev. Larry Grim assumed the Pastorship in January 1997, bringing intellectually inspired sermons to the tiny congregation, as well as new fellowship activities of his own creation, such as 'Reel Theology', in which members gathered for an evening meal followed by a movie and discussion thereof. The year 1999 saw the closing of the church's Second Chance Thrift Shop, on Clark Avenue, where one of our elder members had faithfully kept shop several days a week since November 1989, raising much-needed funds for the Church.

Through his frequent contact with leaders in the UCC Conference office, Rev. Grim became aware of a young Orange-County CCCAS [Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa] congregation which was seeking to grow into larger quarters and also joint affiliation with the UCC. Seeing an opportunity for both congregations to complement each other's needs, he assumed the role of Co-Pastor alongside the Rev. Sepulona Tanuvasa and led the Hacienda Heights church into a second multicultural expansion.

This one was proved entirely successful. After a tentative period of about one year, the two congregations officially merged on September 17, 2000, and our affliiation is now solely with the United Church of Christ (UCC). After successfully sheperding the joining of the two congregations, Rev. Grim moved on to a succeeding Pastorate at Moreno Valley UCC in April of 2002. It is his hope that he will one day again have occasion to use his acquired skills to successfully blend other pairs of congregations and save them from dissolution just as he did here. Rev. Sepulona Tanuvasa continued to lead the Congregation until June 30, 2005, when he accepted a call from another congregation in Los Angeles.

Fortunately, our multicultural ministry here in Hacienda Heights continues uninterrupted, with the arrival on July 1, 2005, of our new minister, the Rev. Leaoga Tanuvasa. With a strong personal and also family background in the ministry, as well as extensive experience in youth and community social work, the congregation should have a bright future under his leadership.