A Century on Del Obispo Street
Community Presbyterian Church sits on Del Obispo Street in San Juan Capistrano, a few blocks from the town's storied Mission. Its story began in 1916, when three women organized a Protestant Sunday School for the children of the Capistrano Valley. By 1919 the effort had become a congregation, taking the name Community Presbyterian Church. The early worship was modest: a hall used as a social venue on Saturday evenings was cleaned and prepared for Sunday morning services. The first purpose-built sanctuary was constructed in 1922 across from the San Juan Capistrano Mission. The congregation moved to its present Del Obispo location in 1968, where it has now welcomed neighbors, newcomers, and visitors for more than half a century.
The church recently marked its first hundred years, an occasion its members describe with quiet pride. The church's self-understanding is rooted in relationships, Christian education, and creative worship, and its stated vision is to nurture, teach, and serve. The congregation is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Pastor Leanne Strommen leads a roster that includes a Children's Ministry Director, a Choir Director, a Worship Band Leader, and a Preschool Director.
Sunday Mornings in the Sanctuary
Worship takes place in the Sanctuary every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., and is also livestreamed on YouTube for those who join from elsewhere. The service is described by the church as a truly blended experience, weaving praise music with traditional music throughout the liturgy. The pastoral voice on most Sundays belongs to Leanne Strommen, whose sermons aim to send people out as well as gather them in. From time to time guest preachers, including ordained PC(USA) ministers serving in hospice and grief support work, are welcomed into the pulpit.
The order of worship is built around the rhythms common to Reformed tradition while leaving room for contemporary expression. Visitors can expect a service that includes congregational singing, Scripture reading, prayer, sermon, and a pastoral benediction, all offered without elaborate ritual. The church invites people to come in whatever way best fits their preferences and lifestyle, whether that means sitting in the pews or joining from a living room via the livestream.
Families with young children will find the practical details laid out plainly. Childcare is available for children three years old and younger. For children ages four and up, a multi-age Sunday School program combines music, instruments, and art with each lesson, and a Children's Ministry Director designs crafts and storytelling that connect Scripture to the world children experience today. The building is wheelchair accessible, and a golf-cart shuttle runs from the parking lots to the Sanctuary door on Sunday mornings for anyone who finds the walk difficult.
Children's Ministry and the On-Site Preschool
The church's identity as a teaching community goes back to its roots as a Sunday School in 1916, and the impulse is still felt in the life of the church today. Children's Ministry at Community Presbyterian Church is led by Debbie Reeder, a self-described very creative director whose programs, crafts, and stories aim to be biblical in origin but relevant to the world children now inhabit. The Sunday School room is multi-age, so siblings and friends learn together, and music and art are built into every lesson.
Just down the hall, the Community Presbyterian Church Preschool has been serving local families for decades. Terri Treemarcki-Beck has directed the program since 2009, though she has been connected to it since 1989, when she and her husband enrolled their oldest child here. She later served as Preschool Elder while her youngest attended. The preschool offers early childhood programming for the wider community, and the relationship between the preschool and the church is one of long-standing continuity. Families whose children attended the preschool often find their way into the life of the congregation over time.
Prayer as a Way of Life
Prayer is not an add-on at Community Presbyterian Church. It is a whole ministry, anchored by a Prayer Ministry, a Heritage Prayer Garden, and a Prayer Labyrinth, all available to visitors throughout the week. The church defines prayer simply: giving attention to God in a two-way relationship in which God is always alongside and ready to listen. Prayer requests submitted online are placed on the church's prayer chain, and the congregation has been intentional about practicing prayer in many forms, from silent contemplation to intercessory prayer, from gratitude to lament.
The Prayer Labyrinth is an outdoor walking path, not a puzzle to be solved. It is a single path to the center and back, offering a meandering but purposeful journey that can be used for prayer, discernment, presence, or metaphor. The church offers detailed written suggestions for walking the labyrinth, including a pattern that moves through prayers for family, friends, those with whom one has quarreled, those without enough to eat or a place to live, and finally an extended time of listening at the center before walking back out again. Visitors are welcome to come at any time to walk and pray at their own pace.
Alongside the labyrinth, the church maintains a Prayer Garden, described on its materials as a Heritage Garden. It was opened after the pandemic as a quiet outdoor space for prayer during seasons when many were facing illness, loss, or change. A prayer blog, written mostly by Pastor Leanne, runs throughout the year and includes reflections on Advent, Lent, Holy Week, Pentecost, the country, and the practice of sabbath. Subscribers can receive the devotionals by email.
Walking with Neighbors: Deacons, Food, and Grief Support
Caring for the wider community is woven into the congregation's DNA. The Deacons Ministry is the primary expression of that calling. In the words the Deacons use to describe their work, they are asked by Jesus to take care of his sheep, and they carry out a ministry of caring, love, compassion, and prayer. Through personal contact and monthly offerings, the Deacons assist with pastoral care, including home communion to the sick and shut-in, send cards and letters through the prayer chain, host receptions after memorial services, and provide transportation to doctor visits and church. They also distribute Thanksgiving Turkey Bags, gather school supplies for children at two local schools, and partner with Family Assistance Ministries on Christmas gifts for children in need. One-day bus passes and meal vouchers are available to those in need.
One of the most visible weekly outreaches is the Wednesday evening food pantry. In partnership with Family Assistance Ministries, the church hosts a food distribution in its parking lot from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, serving approximately thirty to forty families each week with fresh and shelf-stable food. Volunteers from the congregation help with the load-in, distribution, and clean-up. The Deacons also provide ongoing financial support to Family Assistance Ministries, Age Well Senior Services, Abiding Love for Africa, and Habitat for Humanity.
For those who have lost a loved one, the church hosts GriefShare, a thirteen-week program that combines video teaching with small-group conversation. Sessions meet on Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the church building, and registration goes through the church office. GriefShare is offered seasonally, and the church invites anyone in the community who is grieving to attend, whether or not they are members of the congregation.
Adult Ministry, Bible Study, and Fellowship
Adult Ministry at Community Presbyterian Church is built around the conviction that wherever a person finds themselves on their faith journey, there is a Bible study or fellowship gathering that can help them take a next step. The Adult Ministry page lists ongoing studies and small groups, and the church's calendar moves through Advent, Lent, Eastertide, and the long stretch of Ordinary Time with corresponding sermon series. Recent sermon series have explored themes like the wisdom of Proverbs, the fruit of the Spirit, and the practices of presence and sabbath. A summer series on the Wisdom of the Ages drew from Proverbs chapter one, and the church has also worked through a Lenten theme titled Everything In Between: Meeting God in the midst of extremes.
Small groups and fellowship gatherings are open to anyone who would like to attend. While the church does not publish a single, tidy list of named small groups on its public pages, the rhythm of Bible study, prayer, and shared meals is woven throughout the year. Visitors who want to plug in are encouraged to use the Plan Your Visit and Serving Opportunities forms, both of which route to the church office and put new arrivals in touch with ministry leaders.
Music, Friends of Music, and Special Programs
Music holds a central place in the life of the congregation. The Sunday service is supported by both a choir and a worship band, with Will Reeder directing the choir and Megan Theodorou leading the band. Music is offered in a blended style that draws on traditional hymns as well as contemporary songs of praise.
Friends of Music is a separate ministry of the church that presents a series of varied musical concerts throughout the year. Its stated purpose is to provide entertainment and joy to community members and their families, and to share the building with neighbors through performances ranging from classical to seasonal offerings. Past programs have included a presentation of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the much-loved one-act Christmas opera. Concerts are open to the public and serve as a way for the congregation to share its facilities and its hospitality with the wider San Juan Capistrano community.
What the Church Believes
Community Presbyterian Church states its convictions in the language of the PC(USA). Its beliefs page draws on the Brief Statement of Faith, beginning with God the Father, the tenderness of Jesus Christ, and the peace of the Holy Spirit, and going on to confess that the same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules the church's faith and life through Scripture. The Spirit is described as the giver and renewer of life, the one who justifies by grace through faith, who sets believers free to love God and neighbor, and who binds them together in the one body of Christ. In a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives courage to pray without ceasing, to witness to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries, to hear the voices of long-silenced peoples, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
The church holds to the historic marks of Christian initiation: baptism is the sign of God's claim on a life, and the Lord's Supper is celebrated as a foretaste of salvation. The Brief Statement ends with the church's eschatological hope, the prayer Come, Lord Jesus, and the doxology Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. The church's motto is summarized in its own tagline: Welcomes all people into God's way of life and community. In a series of devotional posts, Pastor Leanne has explored what it means to live inside that motto, including reflections on the sacred pause, the art of sabbath, holy noticing, lament as a patriotic prayer, and resurrection as something that keeps happening in ordinary relationships and ordinary days.
Practical Details for Visitors
The church is located at 32202 Del Obispo Street in San Juan Capistrano, and the building is open throughout the week for those who want to walk the Prayer Labyrinth or sit in the Prayer Garden. Sunday School for children ages four and up runs alongside the 10:00 a.m. service, and childcare is provided for the youngest children. Parking is available on site, and a golf-cart shuttle assists anyone who would rather not walk from the lot to the Sanctuary doors. Visitors are welcome to come as they are. The service is livestreamed on YouTube for those who would like to participate from home, and a sermon library of past services is maintained on the church's YouTube channel. Those who want to support the church's ministry can do so through the church's online giving page.