In The Spirit

-- Story by Michele Marr

* Church name: Mesa Verde United Methodist Church

* Address: 1701 Baker St., Costa Mesa

* Telephone: (714) 979-8234

* Web site: o7 www.mesaverdeume.orgf7

* Denomination: United Methodist

* Year church established: 1960

* Service times: Sunday at 8:30 and 10 a.m., adult Bible study meets

at 8:30 a.m.; Sunday School for kindergarten through high school youth

meets at 10 a.m. The fourth Sunday of the month is Children's Sunday,

except in the summer when it is every Sunday. On Children Sunday, the

children's choir sings and all children attend church with their parents

for the first part or the worship service when there is a sermon prepared

for them.

* Christmas Eve service: 10:30 p.m.

* Senior pastor: Rev. Dick George

* Pastoral staff: Vicky Key, administrative assistant; Eliza

Rubenstein, director of music ministry; and Suzanne Morgan, coordinator

of religious education.

* Size of congregation: 408.

* Makeup of congregation: Close to 70% of the members are from the

Mesa Verde community, but increasingly, people are coming from Santa Ana,

Irvine, Newport Beach and even South County communities.

* Child care: Available at both Sunday services

* Type of worship: Music and preaching of the Word are central to the

worship in a way that involves both the head and the heart. Members are

challenged to go home and think about what we are expected to do, from a

Gospel perspective, in our lives and in our communities.

* Type of sermon: Biblically based, applied to the contemporary scene.

Themes generally come from the Scripture texts designated in the Common

Lectionary. George also draws from science, social science and the arts,

keeping in mind the United Methodist Church's four "compass points on the

journey of faith" -- Scripture, tradition, reason and experience.

Christmas Eve sermon theme: "Christmas Can Change Us."

* Welcome wagon: Visitors are invited to introduce themselves, but may

remain anonymous if they choose. They are invited to join members for

complimentary coffee and a doughnut following the service. If they leave

their name and address, they receive a note of thanks for their visit

from a member of the congregation. The pastor also sends a note with

information about the church.

* Outreach programs: The church has a strong and increasing focus on

outreach. The congregation is assisting a sister church, Trinity United

Methodist Church in Whittier, with building repairs. The Mesa Verde