Update on the possible return to their former building of St James the Great Episcopal Church from the OC Register:
Members of neighboring Episcopal congregations said during an emotional public forum Saturday morning March 10, in Laguna Hills that they would like to see St. James the Great Episcopal Church return to the building on Via Lido in Newport Beach.
Members of the 72-year-old Newport Beach congregation have managed to stay and worship together in the last three years, since June 2015, when they were evicted by then-Bishop J. Jon Bruno, who determined the church wasn’t financially viable, and decided to sell that piece of prime real estate to a developer who wanted to build luxury condominiums on it.
At the hearing were also members of the diocese’s Standing Committee, who are set to make a recommendation after their March 21 meeting regarding whether St. James congregants should return to their home church in Newport Beach. Those who spoke during Saturday’s hearing, be it members of St. James or members of the neighboring churches, overwhelmingly supported the congregation’s return to the Newport Beach property.