By Mary O’KEEFE

For many the ideal of an American small town is the church with the cross on a steeple peaking through the trees. For the Light on the Corner Church at 1911 Waltonia Dr. in Montrose, that ideal has finally become a reality.

“Well, the original plans for the church included plans for the steeple but [past congregations] never [built] it,” said Pastor Jon Karn.

The talk of adding a steeple and cross has been ongoing since the church opened its doors for service about 80 years ago. Since Karn has been pastor at the church he has voiced his wish for a steeple and cross from time to time. Karn and many in the church felt a steeple and cross would identify them more as a church, and be more inviting for those looking to attend services. For years Light on the Corner Church has been a polling place and because of that, along with being close to business offices that are similar in design, some in the community assume the building is another dentist’s office rather than a church.

One of Karn’s parishioners, Jaye Crane, echoed Karn’s complaint of not having a cross.

“Jaye said, ‘This church needs a cross and a steeple,’” Karn said. “He gently nagged me for months.”

Crane is a veteran who has not been able to attend church services for the past few years due to health issues. He recently contracted and survived COVID-19. Karn and members of his congregation prayed on what to do. Karn talked it over with the church’s board and it became clear that this was what the people at his church wanted.

“We forged ahead and it took us several years to raise the money,” he said.

Karn, the board and congregation members wanted to make certain the money to cover the cross and steeple was covered by donations – no borrowing but self-financing – and they did it. For four years the church family at LOCC held fundraisers and, although it took a while to get the cross, its arrival and installation all seemed to be at just the right time as the perfect contractor was found in Eli Bimshtein, who grew up just outside of Nazareth in Israel.

The steeple and cross are now proudly displayed on the church. Karn said the best way to describe it was, “It feels like home.”

“But beyond that it lets everyone know this is a church,” he added. “I thank God and that all the people who donated money.”

For Karn, as for most other religious institutions, COVID-19 has changed the way the church reaches out to its parishioners.

Light on the Corner Church has been holding remote services.

“We have been doing [the services] on YouTube,” he said.

Karn’s daughter Kiana works as the publicist for the church and has helped with the remote service setup as well as letting everyone know about the steeple. The services have been very popular with anywhere from 100 to 500 views on any given Sunday.

“That’s more people watching [at times] than can fit in the church,” Karn said.

Karn added he keeps the sermon short and Kiana also speaks during the service. They keep it to about 30 to 40 minutes and tackle some difficult issues during that time but always end with prayers for peace and deliverance for Montrose.

The church board and Karn would love to have a big party to celebrate the completion of the steeple and cross, but the pandemic has put all of that on hold, though they look forward to doing so as soon as things are open again. For now they just invite the community to look up, through the trees and see the steeple and the church that calls one home.

Services are held on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. or are available on YouTube for the current season. For more information, visit lightonthecorner.org or call (818) 249-4806.

  Charly Shelton, Mary Okeefe