Members of the Loma Linda Spanish congregation broke ground for their new church on Dec. 15, a Sabbath of celebration and thanksgiving for the prospect of a church home of their own.
The building, however, will not be new, nor did it begin its life as a church. From 1968 until it was disassembled in early 2006, it was known as Gentry Gym, a Loma Linda University landmark. Its roof, a geodesic dome, distinguished it from its more traditionally built neighbors.
The dome will be reassembled on a 9-acre plot of land just outside the Loma Linda city limits, at the intersection of New Jersey Street and Orange Avenue in Redlands.
At the groundbreaking, David Estanque, chair of the church's building committee, said members look forward to moving into the building late this year. He likened the congregation to the children of Israel on the verge of entering Canaan.
"It's been a long pilgrimage," he said, "but each and every stop had a purpose according to God's plan."
The journey began in 1986, when a small group of families began worshipping together. Through the years they met in the Loma Linda Victoria church, the City of Loma Linda's Community Room, several locations on the Loma Linda University campus, including the former fitness center, and a strip mall. The congregation, now numbering about 450, outgrew its meeting places one by one. They purchased land on which to build in 1992, but sold it and bought this larger property in 2002.
When Loma Linda University developed plans for its new Centennial Complex and decided to tear down the gym, the Spanish congregation asked for it, offering in return to help take it down, according to Richard Hart, university chancellor and CEO.
The university agreed.
"They saved us money by disassembling it; we gave them a building in exchange," Hart said.
Hart and university president Lyn Behrens were among the guests who spoke at the groundbreaking. Behrens said she was happy that "this facility that served Loma Linda so long and so well will be recycled as a place of worship and community outreach," referring to the church's long-term plan for the rebuilt Gentry Gym.
The plan, according to Pastor Gilbert Vega, is to worship in the gym until enough money is raised to build a 1,200-seat sanctuary next door to it. Then it will become an outreach and recreation center.
A long journey ended and a place to call home — a sense of being, as Vega said, "well-established, well-placed in this area — will enable members to develop stronger ties with the community they serve. This includes the young people attending nearby Loma Linda University.
"We're only about two miles from the university campus, so we foresee a lot of young people coming to worship with us," Vega said, anticipating a continued cordial relationship between the church and the university.
