Presbyterian Church Orange County

Without uncertainty there can be no faith, and one of the county's oldest Protestant congregations has had its moments of doubt. A major flood in 1938 brought thigh-deep waters into their church. Years later, the church's donation to a 1960s radical leader nearly tore it apart. And recently, pro-life advocates demonstrating against the church's pastor confronted churchgoers each week.

To create room for a long-awaited expansion, a Catholic parish in Newport Beach has agreed to spend $6.7 million for a neighboring Presbyterian church to move a few miles down the road. If the rare interdenominational deal goes through, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church will pick up four acres of land adjacent to its property near Corona del Mar High School, land now occupied by St. Mark Presbyterian Church. There, it would build a new 1,200-seat church for its 4,800-family congregation.

To create room for a long-awaited expansion, a Catholic parish in Newport Beach has agreed to spend $6.7 million for a neighboring Presbyterian church to move a few miles down the road. If the rare interdenominational deal goes through, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church will pick up four acres of land adjacent to its property near Corona del Mar High School, land now occupied by St. Mark Presbyterian Church. There, it would build a new 1,200-seat church for its 4,800-family congregation.

Without uncertainty there can be no faith, and one of the county's oldest Protestant congregations has had its moments of doubt. A major flood in 1938 brought thigh-deep waters into their church. Years later, the church's donation to a 1960s radical leader nearly tore it apart. And recently, pro-life advocates demonstrating against the church's pastor confronted churchgoers each week.

Six prominent Vietnamese Americans from Orange and Los Angeles counties were given lifetime achievement awards here Sunday for creative work they began at least two decades ago in Vietnam and pursue today in their adopted homeland. A writer, journalist, sculptor, actress and two musicians received the awards from the Committee of Vietnamese Overseas Artists, a nonprofit group headquartered in Little Saigon. Organizers hope the awards will become an annual event.

BRINGING THE PAST ALIVE: Dead Sea Scrolls authority Bruce E. Zuckerman will bring the ancient texts to life in a lecture Wednesday presented by the Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance in conjunction with an archeological exhibition of the same time period titled "Akeldama: In the Shadow of God's Mountain." Zuckerman is associate professor in the School of Religion at USC and director of the USC Archeological Research Collection. Guided docent tours will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Hong Van Le had made a living in Vietnam on boats. He and his young family fled their native country in 1980 to seek freedom in America by boat. And after years of being unable to find work and wrench his family out of poverty, the Garden Grove father of four turned once again to the sea and a boat. On his first American fishing trip this week, Le and another man died on the boat. Both men were asphyxiated while sleeping, possibly because of carbon monoxide fumes from the vessel's engine.

As Sandy Lee grew up, she attended a church in Torrance where the preaching was in Chinese followed by a translation into English. But when she was invited to the Chinese Presbyterian Church of Orange County, where services are in English and most members are American-born Chinese, she felt more at home. "I liked it all being in English," said Lee, 29. "I felt part of the church right away."

Rabbi Akiva Gerstein is the new rabbi at Adat Ari, North Orange County Synagogue, a Conservative temple in Anaheim Hills. He was ordained in 1965 at the Yeshivat Anshe Maamad in Jerusalem. He served as rabbi at Congregation Agudusachim in San Antonio, Tex., before assuming his new duties at Adat Ari. In addition to his rabbinical responsibilities at the temple, he will also serve as the religion school director. He will be present at the synagogue's open house on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.

In a 3-2 vote before a tense and emotional crowd, the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a proposed ordinance that would ban discrimination against AIDS victims, making Orange County the only urban area in California without such a measure. The vote capped an 18-month study by the county's HIV Advisory Committee that concluded the ordinance was necessary to reduce the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome by making its victims more likely to seek treatment.