SANTA ANA — Hoping to avoid legal action that could threaten their church's tax-exempt status, members of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa have decided to rename the voter's guide they plan to publish before the Nov. 8 election.

David Hocking, a pastor at the church, said Thursday that the group will distribute the guide under the name "Concerned Parents of Orange County" to avoid charges that the church itself is engaging in political action, which is prohibited by Internal Revenue Service rules.

The guide was originally called the "Calvary Chapel Voter's Guide," but by weakening its connection to the church, Hocking hopes to avoid criticism that a religious institution is inappropriately venturing into the political arena.

"The title will reflect what it is. Our church isn't exactly involved in it. It's a group of parents and volunteers," Hocking said.

"The word \o7 church \f7 needs to be defined," he added. "If you mean 'the church' as an organization or staff, no, none of that was involved. If you mean 'church' as people, yes, there were people from the church putting (the guide) together."

The name change was prompted by a complaint from John Duran, a West Hollywood civil rights attorney who, in a letter to the church Tuesday, threatened to file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service if the church published its guide as planned.

Duran said Thursday that by taking its name off the guide, the church would solve the legal problem and there would be no need to report the matter to the IRS.

Duran filed a similar complaint against the Traditional Values Coalition, another tax-exempt, nonprofit group, five years ago. That complaint is still pending, he said.

"The issue is whether a tax-exempt organization is using any of its resources for political activity," Duran said. "If a group of individuals who all just happen to belong to that church use their own labor and resources to put it out, then it's OK."

In an unprecedented foray into local politics, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa--one of the largest churches in the nation--mailed surveys last month with pointed, yes-or-no questions on controversial moral issues to candidates for city council, school board, special district and county positions.

Though several Christian political groups have published similar voter's guides for years, Calvary Chapel was the first church in Orange County to do so.