Late last fall, Neighborhood Congregational Church in Laguna Beach welcomed its new permanent Senior Pastor, the Rev. B. J. Beu and his family into their congregation. This fall, the church celebrated this special day at Rev. Beu’s Installation Ceremony in the church sanctuary on September 27.
The Installation Ceremony included music from the choir and beautiful drumming and chanting from the church’s chanting circle, an interfaith group that meets on Wednesday mornings. Beu’s spouse, the Rev. Mary J. Scifres brought an inspiring message on being both Potter and Clay, Art and Artist, in our relationships with God, with one another, and with the world. Her message was accompanied by a local artist Leigh Abraham, who spun and formed pots throughout the afternoon’s worship service. Each worshipper was also invited to work with a small ball of clay to form creations to take home in reflection of covenant relationships. Officiating for the Installation was our own Interim Conference Minister June Boutwell, who played an important role in guiding the church’s Search Process last year. After the formal ceremony, a reception of food, drink, and fun took place in Bridge Hall, across from the sanctuary.
Founded in 1943 in rooms above the Sandpiper Lounge on Pacific Coast Highway, Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) has been located at 340 St. Ann’s Drive in Laguna Beach for many decades. Neighborhood Church is an Open and Affirming congregation and is passionately committed to inclusion of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. All are welcome to share in the life and leadership, ministry and fellowship, worship and sacraments, and responsibilities and blessings of full participation in the congregation. To this attitude of openness and outreach, Rev. Beu was drawn and is firmly committed.
Beu comes to our Conference after serving as Senior Pastor of Fox Island UCC in the Seattle/Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest Conference for 14 years. He received his Master of Divinity at Boston University School of Theology, with additional masters and doctoral level studies at Boston University School of Religion and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. Beu received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Beu’s parents, Jack and Winnie Beu, are active leaders in the Forest Grove UCC, where B. J. grew up outside of Portland. Jack and Winnie were also at the Installation Ceremony in Laguna Beach to celebrate with B. J. and his family. B. J. is married to United Methodist pastor Mary J. Scifres, his co-author in the yearly worship-planning handbook The Abingdon Worship Annual. They are blessed with one son, Michael, who is enjoying his first year of Middle School as a sixth grader at Thurston Middle School, but really loves guitar lessons, Legos, and theatre class!
