Oceanside Sanctuary celebrates 150 years of ministry

OCEANSIDE — A local church congregation is celebrating 150 years of ministry in the city.

On Nov. 21, 1875, a group of 13 people gathered to start a small, family church in a one-room schoolhouse near Mission San Luis Rey in what is now Oceanside. 

At the time, the church was named The Christian Church at San Luis Rey, as it was one of the first congregations of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a Protestant denomination rooted in the American Restoration Movement in the early 1800s, which sought to unify all Christians under one church.

Over the years, the church grew and evolved, moving into four buildings with different names. Despite these changes, the congregation essentially remained the same.

Today, the church is known as the Oceanside Sanctuary, and finds its home at 204 S. Freeman Street, where it’s been since 1928. It is one of the region’s older Protestant churches. 

As a congregational church, it is not governed by its denomination but rather by its members. This system sets it apart from other churches, some of which are governed by a hierarchy of bishops or elders and others that do not answer to any authority. Through this system, congregational church members have a voice in how the church is led and governed.

Another way the church distinguishes itself is by having women in leadership, something that is still unusual among modern-day churches.

“It’s very important to us that women are free to lead,” said Rev. Jason Coker, who co-pastors the church with his wife, Rev. Jenell Coker. 

In 1932, Grace MacDonald became the church’s first woman pastor.

The church also affirms and accepts LGBTQ members. 

“We believe that the LGBTQ community has been really hurt by churches, and it’s important to liberate them, and for them to be 100% accepted,” Jason Coker said.

Throughout its history, the church has also been active in its community around social issues. 

The church has fed the hungry, organized relief for military wives during the Vietnam war, helped start a social services agency in the 1990s, and has played an active role in social justice movements throughout its history.

During her time as pastor, MacDonald opened a weekly soup kitchen to feed hungry neighbors during the Great Depression.

In the late 1960s, Pastor Charles Elswick preached anti-war sermons and marched with activist Angela Davis and 5,000 others through Oceanside on May 16, 1970, to protest the Vietnam war.

In 2002, church member Betty Young established a computer lab and after-school homework club to serve local students in need of tutoring. 

From 2008 to 2020, the church provided weekly dinners and personal supplies for those in need. In 2016, the church began a partnership with Feeding San Diego that still serves more than 400 food insecure neighbors each month.

In 2021, the church partnered with other local congregations to successfully advocate for an enforceable de-escalation policy at the Oceanside Police Department.

Today, its members continue to advocate for policy changes at the local, county and state levels to provide affordable housing, food security and other needs.

Over the years, the congregation has experienced membership ups and downs – for example, going from  300 members in 1960 to fewer than 70 active members by 1970.

“When we came in 2015, we were amazed by the work this little church was doing,” Jason Coker said. “They just needed a fresh vision for the future. That’s how the Oceanside Sanctuary was born.”

Today, the church has a 400-member congregation.

“So many people are longing for Christian spaces that take seriously the teachings of Jesus to love our neighbor, to welcome strangers, to show up for the least of these,” Jenell Coker said. 

The church has come a long way from its first gathering nearly 150 years ago, but it hasn’t forgotten its history.

“Our history is incredibly important to us,” Jason Coker said. “We are only here because of generations of service, advocacy, and organizing that was done long before any of us arrived. That gives us courage to stand firm in the face of rising threats to our most vulnerable neighbors. We plan to carry that courage forward for generations to come.”

To celebrate its 150th birthday, the church has a Community Carnival planned for Nov. 22 from noon to 3 p.m. with family-friendly games, a chili cook-off contest, a food drive to benefit its Sanctuary Pantry, an Amazing Race through historic Oceanside locations, and live music.

The church invites the public to meet for its sesquicentennial worship service on Nov. 23 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., which will commemorate its decades of ministry with music, special guests and reflections on its legacy.