Reaching out to other faiths

Outside St. Joachim Church in Costa Mesa stood an Episcopalian and a Roman Catholic, foreheads blackened with ashy crosses.

Even though Betty Flores doesn’t share her husband, Frank’s, Catholic beliefs, she said, “They were sweet enough to give me one anyway.”

Diocese of Orange County Bishop Rev. Tod Brown would have been pleased.

Christians across Orange County marked the beginning of Lent, or Ash Wednesday, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and alms giving. St. Joachim Church reached out to people of different backgrounds and faith traditions, just as Brown encourages.

“The message has been now is the time to look inward, to look in our lives and see anything that might be hindering our relationship with God. If it’s doing that, it’s probably hindering our relationship with our neighbor. So hopefully what we do, the sacrifices we make, the special practices we take on during Lent, should bring us closer to God and our neighbor,” said the Rev. Stephen Doktorczyk, one of St. Joachim’s leaders.

“If Christians don’t say, ‘At least get along and try to work together on the things we have in common,’ then what kind of example is that going to be to the rest of the world?”

Karen Frinzi and her husband, Tom, don’t need to be reminded to be tolerant toward others, they said.

“That’s something we were born with as Christians,” she said.

“We’re all the church. Even if we do have differences, we’re trying to reach out. That’s what the Lord would want us to do,” said Costa Mesa resident Sally Keane, forehead smudged in black.

Lent ends shortly before Easter; the specific day depends on the Christian denomination.

The 40-day period represents the 40 days Jesus Christ fasted in the desert and was tempted by Satan, Doktorczyk said. He said Catholics are allowed one regular-sized meal and two smaller meals during the day. The smaller meals combined should not be larger than the regular meal, he said.

During Lent, people usually abstain for 40 days from something they would normally do. Tom Frinzi, like others interviewed, abstains from alcohol for Lent. For Doktorczyk, it’s TV.

“To me it is a sacrifice. But I’ll have more time to do spiritual reading, more time to read scriptures, more time to pray,” he said.

“When we look, do we really need everything we have? The answer is no. Just cut back on some things and just say, ‘I’m going to do this for you, Lord.’”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].