Dear Reverend Bill Barman:
I was thrilled at having a new church being built close to where we live in west Santa Ana. As you know, Harbor has been a very spiritually dark street for many years. Now we are hoping that the new church will add spiritual light to this spiritually dark area. We are thrilled at what your ministry has accomplished at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Santa Ana. However, we are not thrilled at the disunity that has been caused by the new name of the church.
As you know, California culture is very conscience about names being forced on certain groups of peoples. For example, in the Protestant section of Christendom, many denominational churches have been renamed as "Community" churches. Saddleback Community Church in south Orange County is really a Southern Baptist church. Yet, it is one of the largest churches in the country. People here in California generally do not like the idea of going to a church with a foreign sounding name. Unless a church is going to serve just one cultural group, then it must have a generic name. But what name should be given?
A name reversal back to Our Lady of Lourdes would insult our Vietnamese brothers and sisters in Christ. Why not pick a name using the Holy Bible? For example, in Fountain Valley we have the Holy Spirit Catholic church. Since Harbor will now have spiritual light, how about Light of the World Catholic church. Or, Christ the King Catholic church may be even more Biblical. Saint Paul told us Christians to have Jesus Christ preeminent in all spiritual things. (Colossians 1:18) Thus, any name glorifying the name of Jesus Christ should be acceptable by all parish members. Moreover, a church name promoting the name of Jesus Christ would also help in the reconciliation of the various branches of Christendom. Additionally, to pacify any offended parish members, the Biblical name could be written in the three prominent languages of the community on a monument sign fronting Harbor Blvd.
My wife has told me that a name change from Our Lady of La Vang will never happen. If this is true, Catholic children will probably be mocked at the local public schools. I can already hear some kids saying "So you go to the Fang Lady church?" Being Caucasian, when I heard of the new name, the word "fang" immediately came to mind. As you can see, "La Vang" has zero relevance for most of us Californians. My wife has said we would continue being members of the Holy Family parish in the city of Orange and I'm in agreement with her. However, I'm hoping for Biblical name change and being a part of your parish.
In Christ,
Holy Family parish member
Cc: Bishop Todd Brown; The Orange County Register