Alternative worship group picks up the pieces after leaders leave Hollywood Presbyterian
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, May 25, 2005
A worship service for seekers, skeptics and mostly young people at Hollywood Presbyterian Church is picking up the pieces after its leaders decided to leave in the aftermath of the Presbytery of the Pacific’s decision to have an administrative commission run the congregation.
The service, titled Community Urban Experience (CUE), had grown from a start-up with about 100 people to nearly 400 at the time of the presbytery’s action.
A statement posted on the new Cue Fellowship Web site states that, “We are just beginning to walk these steps, together. We are still here to worship. These are obviously very turbulent times in the life of our church.”
Saying that “we don’t know” what’s in store for the future, the statement said that, “Some of the leadership of CUE last week decided to form their own congregation. Their name is yet to be determined. We mourn the loss to our church body of their companionship, vision and tremendous faith. Even as it grieves us, we pray for God’s wisdom, peace and strength to be with them as they take these steps. We want to reaffirm our commitment to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We also remain committed to this ministry at this church.”
CUE’s leaders posted a letter May 15 on its Web site announcing their plans to leave the presbytery, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Hollywood Presbyterian, where they met in warehouse that once served as a nightclub.
“We, the leadership of CUE, feel called and committed to love one another as Christ loves us and to proclaim the inerrant Word of God,” they said. “We feel called and committed to worship God through artistic interaction, and to provide community through the cue crew teams in the areas of discipleship, prayer, outreach, events, welcome, and cue vision. And finally, we feel called and committed to continue the heart, style, and integrity of what we’ve been doing each week here in Hollywood.
“We believe this will happen best if we are not connected to the Presbytery of the Pacific and the PCUSA. Our desire to continue the CUE service apart from the Presbytery of the Pacific is not a spiteful or hasty reaction. We’ve spent many hours in prayer and discussion and stand unified in this decision to preserve the ministry of CUE.”