The Children of God

Daily Register, California

December 2, 1968, North America

HUNTINGTON BEACH—Pastor Dave Berg and his Teens for Christ will make a visitation today.

Berg said a substantial part of his group of 50 teenagers “are formerly hippies hung up on dope who have been delivered.”

Some of them, he said are still hippies and retain the garb of the hippie and when his group enters a church, the regular members generally appear somewhat apprehensive.

“But we are only there to express our love for them,” said Berg, a 6-foot man in his forties. “None of us is concerned with marijuana, pot, heronine, or what have you—we are cleansed, we are delivered from such things.

“Our marches to a different church each Sunday are a good-will gesture.

We meet at our hall 116 Main St. in Huntington Beach at 10 a.m. Sunday and we wait there for inspiration from God as to which church we are to visit. We never …

By James McNabb, Daily Pilot Staff, The Daily Pilot, California

November 25, 1968, North America

An apparent attempt to disrupt church services by a band of self-styled “Christian revolutionaries” from Huntington Beach was thwarted Sunday by a muscular minister of a Santa Ana congregation.

Pastor H. Syvelle Phillikps of the First Assembly of God Church reported the band of 40 to 40 hippie-appearing persons, with some infants-in-arms, entered the sanctuary at 500 W. Fifth St. shortly before he was to begin his 11:30 a.m. sermon.

Youthful zealots of both sexes marched up the aisle taking seats in the front rows. “They came to take over, but we stayed on top of the situation,” the Rev. Phillips said. He said he was forced to leave his pulpit and reprimand one of the agitators after several outbursts of, “that’s a lie!”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound minister said the interruptions ceased when he jumped down and gently laid a finger on the nose of one of the noisiest.

At …

By Jerome F. Collins of the Daily Pilot Staff

November 15, 1968, North America

More than two dozen howling, hippie-like strangers—some of the men bearded, some of the women hysterical—disrupted but did not halt services at St. James Episcopal Church in Newport Beach Sunday.

Nobody knew where they came from, nor where they went after their visit to the church.

They remained restlessly and noisily in their seats in front of the altar throughout the 11 o’clock services.

The outbursts endured by St. James’ congregation included a shout from one of the visitors during communion:

“This is hypocrisy!”

“It was a strong loud voice that could have been heard for a quarter of a mile,” said the Rev. David A. Crump later. “It was a bit shaking.”

The 41-year-old minister who is associate rector, said he was upset by the shout and his regular parishioners were doubtless horrified, but he didn’t attempt to respond.

Throughout the service, the casually garbed strangers (only two or …