From The Back Pew:

I met the Rev. Rob Holman in summer 2008 at Crescenta Valley Park, as he was about to go down a Slip ’n’ Slide with his son, Mitchell.

As they slid down the hill, the pair made every effort to stay on the plastic and not end up on the dry grass. When their trip ended, they were all smiles and went back for more.

I got a chance to talk to Holman for the first time that afternoon. As it turns out, La Cañada Congregational Church Pastor Skip Lindeman was there, too. He took a turn at the Slip ’n’ Slide as well, and I learned that afternoon that men of the cloth can have a good time too!

The event at Crescenta Valley Park that afternoon marked the first time the Crescenta Valley hosted a community church picnic and outreach.

Holman had just been appointed reverend of St. Luke’s of the Mountains Anglican Church, so I was eager to speak with him. We agreed that I would call his office upon my return from vacation the next week.

I was very impressed with him.. He had goals for his church, but he was also a very prayerful man who would turn to God to help him achieve those goals.

We talked about his background, his family, what his hopes and dreams were for St. Luke’s — all the basic questions. He ended by saying that the people at St. Luke’s had welcomed him warmly into their community and were looking forward to having him serve as their pastor.

Then the Anglican congregation at St. Luke’s got sued.

They got sued because St. Luke’s idea of religion was different from the U.S. Episcopal Church’s idea of religion. The former saw things one way; the latter saw things a different way. So the former split in 2006, affiliating itself with an Anglican Diocese in Uganda.

When this happened, the Episcopal Diocese hit the roof and sued on the grounds that the property was theirs. Of course, St. Luke’s fought back, the congregation’s main argument being that they did have a right to the property after maintaining it for years.

They had a strong ministry there, they had families that had called St. Luke’s home for decades. Denying them the property would uproot all of that.

Still, the Episcopal Diocese insisted the property was theirs.

I got to interview Holman again, this time in the heat of a situation that would soon get worse. Again, I saw a very prayerful man who was turning to God to guide him in what to do next.