Neutral Haven in Los Osos: St. Benedict’s Church

By Sona Patel, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Jul. 10–Pastor Caroline Hall of St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Los Osos has been preaching a key tenet of the Bible that couldn’t be more applicable to the town’s residents: love thy neighbor.

She’ll use that lesson periodically during Sunday worship in the white, steeple-topped building across from Los Osos Valley Memorial Park, where she has been a driving force for the church’s 60 members.

"We’re welcoming people with a wide range of beliefs," Hall said. "But what unifies us is our worship."

Since the church was built in Los Osos, Hall said St. Benedict’s has been welcoming people with diverse backgrounds, both religiously and spiritually.

The church will mark 20 years in San Luis Obispo County this month with a three-day celebration starting Friday.

In her nearly 15 years at the church — one-and-a-half of them as pastor — Hall said some of the most distinctive characteristics of her congregation are its passion for service, fellowship and most of all, politics. And she likes that.

The decades-long debate over a sewer in Los Osos lingers on the minds of some of the church’s congregants when they attend service.

But fortunately for Hall, she has been able to use that as a way to preach key messages of the Bible.

Many local residents have varying opinions over the controversial idea of building a sewer in the coastal town.

It’s the epitome of conflict in the town with some residents arguing mainly over where to build a treatment plant and how much it’ll cost.

Choosing the town’s leaders has also been the center of debate, with citizen groups at one point successfully ousting the majority of the Los Osos Community Services District board.

Another group also tried to dissolve the district last year.

No matter what issues some of St. Benedict’s members side with, attending church means a time for socializing and worshipping.

Although political division is evident within the walls of the church, Hall said respecting others’ opinions and being aware that God loves people on each side of the conflict is important to reaching common ground.

She knows some of her members’ backgrounds on the sewer, including who is directly involved in the process of building one or who is the most vocal on the issue.

"Everybody is respectful of the issue," said Maria Kelly, a church member who is on the county’s sewer advisory panel and who has run for the services district board.

"The community is divided, but we can be in social situations," Kelly said.

Hall said she stops short of taking a position on the issue when preaching.

She thought about attempting an intervention among key members in the community in hopes that it would help alleviate tension, she added.

Instead, Hall chose not to get involved, saying, "All we can do is pray."

For three-year church member Sally Somers, Hall’s message resonates well.

"We always pray for the people in Los Osos," Somers said. "We pray for the world, we pray for the government and we pray for Los Osos."

Besides hoping for a resolution to the town’s political tension, church members said they’re doing what they can to give back to the community they’ve celebrated with for the past two decades by maintaining the volunteer-run Abundance Thrift Shop and feeding the homeless once a month.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

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