Robert Schuller's Drive-In Church

I didn't know this, but before Robert Schuller occupied the Crystal Cathedral, he used to lead his congregation at a drive-in movie theater. A couple of OCThen readers share their memories...

Anonymous said...

Does anyone remember the old drive-in in Garden Grove where Dr. Schuller used to hold his church services on the roof of the snack bar? When you went into the drive-in you would stop a get one of the speakers for your car. I remember this being back in the late 40's.

Pat / pb said...

Old drive-in-church in Garden Grove. In the 60's we would walk through the orange grove across GG Blvd from where we lived and explore.Somewhere in the middle between gg blvd and chapman we came upon an old drive-in that looked like a ghost town. No signs of life and run down. I was 12 years old and went to Riverdale Elementary School. I think the entrance was off of Luis? Sometime around then and 1966 , Robert Shuller leased or bought the drive-in and turned it into his church. When we were in the 10th grade at Santigo High, we would drive to the church service sometimes on Sunday, grab a speaker for our window and listen and watch Shuller deliver his sermon standing on the roof of the snack bar with a single mike. Smoke and be in church at the same time, at a drive-in during the daytime. What a trip!

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Did Pope John Paul II Ever Visit Orange County?

I did some researching online to see if Pope John Paul II ever visited Orange County. Thus far, I haven't seen any documentation suggesting he did. In September 15 and 16, 1987, he visited Southern California. But his visit appeared to be limited to Los Angeles County. I imagine Bishop Norman McFarland, who was the Bishop of Orange County at the time, probably went up to see him.

If anyone has any information to share about a connection between Pope John Paul II and Orange County, please post a comment. Maybe the Pope landed his plane at El Toro MCAS? Maybe he spoke of something having to do with Orange County?

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