One last service at the Crystal Cathedral

Rev. Robert A. Schuller, who served as senior pastor of the cathedral until 2008, delivered the benediction that ended the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation Sunday. It was the same benediction his father, and church founder Robert H. Schuller, used in the past.
Rev. Robert A. Schuller, who served as senior pastor of the cathedral, turns away from Christ's Cathedral after saying a few words at a closing ceremony after the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation Sunday.
The Rev. Bobby Schuller, grandson of founder Robert H. Schuller, waves goodbye to his congregation after the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
Shary McDonald put her head on a fellow congregant's shoulder during the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
The last original charter member, Doris Carlton, 87, of Anaheim Hills was on hand for the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
A large congregation attended the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries. Some members and employees recalled special memories. Said Mike Amanek, director of security for the Crystal Cathedral "Hour of Power": "My favorite story of Dr. (Robert H.) Schuller is when I saw a woman in desperate need of prayer and counsel, and Dr. Schuller in the middle of his busy Sunday, stopped what he was doing and he pastored this lady. I knew then that this man behind the scenes had the biggest heart."
Father Christopher Smith, rector at Christ Cathedral, left, meets with Rev. Bobby Schuller, grandson of the founder Robert H. Schuller, his father, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, after the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
Rev. Bobby Schuller, grandson of the founder Robert H. Schuller, looks at the Rev. Christopher Smith, rector at Christ Cathedral, upon completing a joint blessing at a small ceremony after the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
A bit of emotion is expressed when Rev. Bobby Schuller, right, asked his father, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, to give the benediction to end the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.
Longtime congregants warmly greet Rev. Robert A. Schuller, who served as senior pastor of the cathedral until 2008, after the last service at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for the Protestant congregation.

By Roxana Kopetman | rkopetman@scng.com | Orange County Register

July 1, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

GARDEN GROVE – Pastor Bobby Schuller said he’s tired of hearing about the “last this and last that” at the Crystal Cathedral.

“I think there have been so many ‘lasts,'” Schuller said. “How ’bout some firsts?”

But there was no way to get around it on Sunday. It was the last service for the once-prominent Crystal Cathedral Ministries at its storied glass church.

More than 2,000 people came to commemorate the event with the choir, orchestra and music that have helped make it a popular ministry worldwide. A day earlier, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange celebrated its first mass on the campus, which the Catholic Church purchased last year during bankruptcy-court proceedings.

“Don’t worry. Smile. Be glad. Take courage., Be excited because we are on the move,” the grandson of founder Robert H. Schuller told his flock.

“God is doing something here.”

Schuller acknowledged that it was a sad day for many longtime congregants who had seen the growth of the ministry from the Garden Grove Community Church to the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a megachurch followed worldwide through its “Hour of Power” television program.

Everyone has special memories of the beautiful church, whether of the lavish Glory of Christmas productions with live animals or smaller, personal memories, Schuller said.

But there are new memories to be made at the new home, which until this weekend has been St. Callistus Catholic Church, about a mile away.

The Catholic Church has renamed the cathedral Christ Cathedral. And Crystal Cathedral Ministries, while keeping its corporate name, is now Shepherd’s Grove.

Another congregation scheduled to move to the St. Callistus site is the Tree of Life church in Orange, where Schuller also is a pastor.

Joining Schuller on Sunday was his father, former Crystal Cathedral pastor Robert A. Schuller, who delivered the benediction. Absent was Bobby Schuller’s grandfather, the man who built the ministry alongside his wife, Arvella. Both octogenarians separated from the church last year.

A number of themes ran through Sunday’s service and a special ceremony with Catholic leaders afterward. One of them: Something good will come out of the downfall of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which crashed financially and has been mired in numerous controversies in recent years.

“Every single time God has moved this community, it has been an upgrade,” Schuller told congregants.

Members and supporters echoed the sentiment.

“The best is yet to come,” soloist Dana Baker said to Ed Arnold, the longtime announcer of the “Hour of Power” television show, before the service.

Doris Carlton, 87, said she’s excited about the future. And she remembers when the Rev. Robert H. Schuller preached atop the roof of a snack bar at a drive-in movie theater, before the cathedral and its sister buildings were created.

“I’m excited about a new beginning. And we’re excited about Bobby. Bobby is an extension of his grandpa,” said Carlton, an Anaheim Hills resident believed to be only charter member still affiliated with ministry.

“We have lost a place but there’s something really good happening here,” said Jim Kok, who was honored Sunday before retiring after 30 years as a pastor at the ministry.

“We’re all growing, and we’re growing in unity with the Catholics,” Kok said.

That theme was repeated by Bobby Schuller and the Rev. Christopher H. Smith, rector and episcopal vicar of Christ Cathedral. During a ceremony following the Sunday morning service, both spoke of cooperation and blessed each other’s churches.

They prayed for each other, Schuller said, “not as Protestants and Catholics, but as Christians.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or rkopetman@ocregister.com