A Pacific Beach Congregation Since 1946
Christ Lutheran Church has stood at 4761 Cass Street in Pacific Beach since the late 1940s. Reverend Quentin P. Garman answered a call to start a new church there, gathering the first 101 charter members for worship on June 8, 1947. The congregation worshipped its early years in a thirty-five-by-thirty-five-foot radio repair shop on a dirt lot and dedicated its first chapel on Thanksgiving Day in 1948. By 1955 a 400-seat sanctuary had been built to keep up with explosive growth, and the church has continued to expand and adapt on the same Cass Street campus ever since.
Nearly eighty years on, that same campus now hosts a sanctuary, fellowship halls, gardens, and a drop-in center for neighbors without housing. The congregation belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), with the Pacifica Synod as its regional body, and lives out an original calling that has not changed: sharing God's unconditional love with Pacific Beach and the wider world.
Sunday Morning at the Sanctuary
The Sunday service begins at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. It is described as a traditional service, with hymns, prayers, scripture readings, a sermon, and Holy Communion. The flow follows a recognizable liturgical shape: a group confession, Bible readings, live music and congregational singing, a sermon, an open communion, prayers for the community and the world, and an offering. Non-alcoholic and gluten-free options are available at the communion table, which is open to everyone; the church's theology of open table means visitors do not need to be Lutheran, or even Christian, to participate.
Casual dress is the norm. The guidance is direct: come as you are, in whatever is comfortable. Children may sit with their families in the pews, or use the Pray and Play area at the rear of the sanctuary, which is stocked with quiet activities and toys. Busy Bags are also available in the church entryway. The congregation's stated attitude toward children's noise is plain: little humans sometimes make noise, and that is fine.
After worship, coffee and light bites are served at 10:30 a.m. in the Gathering Place. First-time visitors are not asked to speak, sign anything, or give money, and are not singled out, though a warm greeting is likely.
Free parking is available in two lots, one east of the sanctuary and another across Chalcedony Street at the Compass Station.
The River of Life Mosaic
The chancel of the sanctuary was renovated in 2001 and is anchored by a striking 82,000-piece glass mosaic depicting the "River of Life." The biblical line that runs alongside it, "Where the river flows, everything will live" from Ezekiel 47:9, shapes its teaching on justice and charity, the theme that runs through much of its work in the neighborhood.
A Reconciling in Christ Congregation
Christ Lutheran Church officially became a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation in 2021, an affiliation within the ELCA that publicly affirms the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people. The congregation's welcome statement is unusually direct: people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, marital status, social or economic state, physical or mental challenge, and people who are confident or questioning in their faith all belong here. Visitors do not have to change who they are, who they love, or how they express themselves to take part in the life of the church.
The church is also committed to ongoing anti-racism work, a stance woven into both worship and outreach.
An All-Woman Pastoral Team
After several decades that included the chancel renovation, structural repairs across the campus, multiple pastoral transitions, and the difficult sale of the Luther View Apartments, a low-income senior housing project the congregation had built in the 1970s, the church moved into a new era. In 2014 Pastor David Nagler returned as Senior Pastor and helped bring in new young families and programs like the Cass Street Community Garden. The congregation then entered its eighth decade under its first all-woman pastoral leadership team: Lead Pastor Kinndlee Lund and Associate Pastor Keegan Chin-Cheleden.
Both pastors are warm and accessible to visitors. The wider staff includes Music Director John Mark Harris, Faith Formation Coordinator Grant Kay, Community Life Administrator Anabelle Petersen, and Business Manager Sabrina Stern. The Church Council, which meets most third Sundays after worship, includes a 2026 executive committee of President Cristine Holmer, Vice President Kate Arnold, Treasurer John Heffner, and Secretary Jackie Hanson, along with council members Samantha Arnold, Angela Cyphers, Tom Petersen, Lucas Petersen, Mary Jeanne Schram, and Dan Trapp.
What We Believe
The congregation is rooted in classic Lutheran conviction: that all people are made whole or "saved" by God as a gift, that salvation cannot be earned, and that followers of Jesus are called to both charity and justice. A Desmond Tutu parable about a river frames the difference. Charity, in this telling, is the lifeguard station that pulls people from the water. Justice is the harder work of walking upstream to ask why people are falling in. Christ Lutheran members sit across the political spectrum and do not agree on every answer, but they are united in their understanding that faith calls them to engage the question.
The church reads the Bible through the lens of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and sees worship and prayer as practices that reorient and strengthen believers for service. Martin Luther's idea of believers as "little Christs" sent into the world runs through the congregation's giving theology as well.
Music and Choir
The Music Ministry is led by John Mark Harris and includes the CLC Choir, which rehearses on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. in the Music Room. Singers, instrumentalists, and anyone interested in helping with children's music programs are welcome to join or collaborate with John Mark. Music is woven through the Sunday service as both an act of worship and a form of community.
Bible Study, Book Group, and Wellness
Several smaller groups meet throughout the week for study, conversation, and movement. Bible study groups run on different days, and the Mary and Joanna Bible Study Circles, hosted under the women's group, gather monthly.
The CLC Book Group meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 2:30 p.m. in the Gathering Place, alternating between fiction and nonfiction. All are welcome, even if they have not read the book; past selections have included works by Louise Erdrich, Jane Goodall, and Jean Hanff Korelitz.
The Wellness program hosts donation-based yoga, meditation, and mindful movement classes throughout the week. The classes are open to anyone, regardless of beliefs or experience.
Christ Church Women
The congregation's women's group, Christ Church Women (CCW), is a unit of the Pacifica Synod Women of the ELCA (WELCA) and a member of Church Women United. The group hosts receptions and memorial services, an annual Christmas luncheon with gift bags for members who can no longer easily attend worship, and distributes annual benevolent gifts to local nonprofits. Two monthly Bible study circles, Mary and Joanna, are part of CCW. A portion of every Sunday offering goes to the local and synodical WELCA.
A Campus Built for Care
Christ Lutheran's campus on Cass Street functions as a working hub of care for Pacific Beach. The Compass Station, a drop-in resource center for unhoused neighbors operated by Shoreline Community Services, sits across Chalcedony Street from the sanctuary and is open Monday through Friday. On the main campus, Garman Fellowship Hall hosts Our Daily Bread, a free weekly meal that has run for more than twenty-five years in partnership with the San Diego Catholic Workers; it is served every Friday at 11:30 a.m.
God's Garage, established decades ago as a meeting space for addiction recovery groups, continues to host 12-step meetings. The Cass Street Community Garden brings visible greenery to the lot, and organizations including Gigi's Playhouse also share the buildings for their programs.
The congregation also publishes an updated Pacific Beach Homelessness Resource Guide, available for download or in the church office, listing free meals and other assistance in the neighborhood and across San Diego.
Partners Near and Far
Through its annual budget, the church directs a share of every offering to a roster of partner organizations doing related work in the neighborhood and around the world: Agape San Diego, Community Christian Service Agency (CCSA), the ELCA Pacifica Synod, ELCA World Hunger, Lutheran Disaster Response, Reconciling Works, the Rwandan Orphans Project, and Shoreline Community Services.
Beyond money, the church has a long history of direct service. In the 1960s the congregation sponsored refugees from behind the Iron Curtain. In the 1970s members built the Luther View Apartments for low-income seniors. Globally, the congregation funded wells in Sudan, built a home for an orphanage director in Tecate, Mexico, and supported orphans in Rwanda. The mission of sharing God's unconditional love, as the church describes it, remains "still very much a verb."
Endowment Fund and Facilities
The CLC Endowment Fund supports ministries and stewardship activities beyond the congregation's operating budget. Distributions take the form of general grants and scholarships, both open to applicants who meet the published criteria.
The Cass Street campus hosts weddings and other special events.
Online Worship and Giving
Each Sunday a meditative online service is released on the church's YouTube channel, Christ Lutheran Church San Diego. The videos follow the same lessons and readings as the in-person service. Giving can be done by cash or check at the offering plate or by mail, through the online giving page, or via the Vanco Mobile app for iOS or Android.
The church also keeps an active presence on Facebook and Instagram and publishes a weekly email newsletter called The Christ Connection.