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11. The St. Athanasius Church & The Fight to Save Perfect Park
By Carmen Lodise
 By
the end of the 1980s, Isla Vista's St. Athanasius Church had become
the most powerful political force in the community.
From its humble beginnings in the early 1970s as the UCSB chapter
of the Campus Crusade for Christ, the political and economic influence
of the church has grown to the point that their membership has
collectively become one of the biggest property owners in Isla
Vista. Its spokesmen routinely offer up input in community governance
in defense of the Church's interests, while its members have held
important elected positions in Goleta Valley politics.
Slow-growth County Supervisor and former Isla Vista resident Bill
Wallace has said, "Individually, they're all really nice
people, but politically, they certainly are pro-growth."
Mike Boyd, a member of the I.V. Park Board and a candidate for
the Goleta Water Board in 1987 against two of the church's members,
Gary McFarland and David Lewis, called them "I.V.'s moonies"
and a "cult" during the campaign. The reaction of one
church leader, John Sommers, was to call Boyd a "fascist."
Other people have called them "I.V.'s 'moral majority'"--a
description not meant to be a compliment.
While the relationship between the church and Isla Vista's elected
community leadership could best be described as strained, it wasn't
until the church announced plans to build a 19,000 square foot
temple in Perfect Park, that a full-scale war broke out.
The EOC
"St. Athanasius" is the third name of this congregation
since the leadership began moving to Isla Vista in the late 1960s.
Until 1979, they were the Grace Catholic Church. From 1979 until
early 1989, they were the Evangelical Orthodox Church. But, in
the late 1980s they became the St. Athanasius Church when they
affiliated with the 200,000,000-member Eastern Orthodox Church
worldwide.
A large mural that used to be on the south side of their church
building at 976 Embarcadero del Mar (across from the Bagel Cafe)
depicted a lion being subdued by a lamb. Most people interpreted
this to mean the church (the lamb) will subdue the community (the
lion) though its gentle ways.
Only some of their ways, however, can be called gentle.
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