Building a Church on “Sacred Ground”?

New Life Church, which has been meeting in a school gym, a school multipurpose room, and a warehouse for its 11-year history, is going forward with plans to build its facility on five acres in rural Vacaville.

But getting the OK wasn’t easy. There was a conflict between Christian and Native American faiths. Each side strongly defended its position and beliefs. And while our church won, it wasn’t pretty.

I was one of about 25 people from New Life who attended the Vacaville City Council meeting Tuesday night to provide silent support of the project, a two-story church with a parking lot and septic system on a parcel bordered by Cherry Glen and Rivera roads just southwest of downtown Vacaville. Local resident Roberto Valdez appealed the Vacaville Planning Commission’s granting of a conditional use permit to build on the site, contending that construction would unearth remains of Native Americans possibly buried there.

Since its inception, New Life had been meeting at Fairfield High School and Laurel Creek Elementary School in Fairfield, where it currently has two services. New Life’s Warehouse, also in Fairfield, hosts two youth-oriented services. In April 2008 church officials announced to the congregation that we purchased five acres off Cherry Glen Road and have an option to buy an adjacent six-acre site. Since then, we’ve worshiped on the site three times, at least to my recollection.

Before we entered the council chamber, Associate Pastor Brad Stanhope told us that the appellant and his supporters were not the enemy.

Before Valdez spoke, Wounded Knee, a Vallejo resident and a member of the Mi-Wuk tribe, pleaded with the city council not to allow the church to build on the land, which once had a restaurant, hotel, and bar until the 1960s.

“How can you build a church on a (Native American) sacred ground?” he asked.

Interim Community Development Director Maureen Carson said the site had been surveyed for any signs of a burial ground. The Native American Heritage Council was contacted, and it concluded that the acreage had no known burial sites. To appease Councilmembers Ron Rowlett and Pauline Clancy, the church agreed to recruit a Native American volunteer to monitor construction in the early stages. While the councilmembers sympathized with Valdez and his supporters, the Planning Commission was thorough in reviewing the conditional use permit application and environmental documents.

After the city council denied the appeal unanimously, some New Life members applauded. I was not happy about that. For one thing, clapping when two sides are passionate about this contentious issue is in poor taste. Second, the appeal pitted two faiths against each other. I found it very humbling.

Frankly, I don’t think Valdez is finished with his fight to keep the land undisturbed. I will feel better once the doors of our new church open for the first time.

Writing Diva