COMMUNITY NEWS
Talega Life Church Building Community
by Anne Batty M
oving from eight months spent in temporary tents into a simple, white concrete structure, Talega
Life Church was planted in the Rancho San Clemente Business Park nearly ten-years- ago. And although exteriorly similar to the occupants surrounding it, interiorly - in structure and habitation - it is really quite different. Crossing the threshold of the main
building one encounters a well-planned, welcoming gathering place. Hosting all the requisite areas: reception, pastoral offices, nursery, and Sunday school … at the heart of everything is a state-of-the-art youth cen- ter and the sanctuary/worship space. Most of the rooms are decorated in
warm earth tones, each displaying inspir- ing artwork, and semi-circular seating is set up in the sanctuary to accommodate 150 worshippers. A surround-sound system, baby grand piano and elevated platform complete the accoutrements, providing ex- ceptional audio and visual accessibility for the congregants. “Thanks to the generosity of an anony-
mous philanthropist and the faithfulness to follow a vision, we have been able to
furnish our church very com- fortably and with up-to-date equipment,” explained home- grown pastor, Pondo Vleisides. “And most fortunately, our church is able to operate com- pletely debt free.” Born and raised in San
Clemente and a believer from a very young age, Vleisides first answered his heart’s call to ministry by serving as Youth Pastor at the San Clemente Presbyterian Church. Moving from there to serve as Associ- ate Pastor of Family Ministries in St. Peter’s Presbyterian Church in Huntington Beach, it wasn’t long before he was ready to lead his own flock. At that time, a small church on the
The church space that has been set aside for TLC’s Preschool and After School Care, in- cludes a computer lab, playground, classrooms, indoor skate park, basketball court, four square site, surround sound Dolby theater, Wii center, ping pong and foosball.
it became what is now Talega Life Church, Preschool and After School Care. Guided by Pastor Pondo, with a focus
bluffs of Capistrano Beach (the San Clemente Evangelical Free Community Church) was in need of a senior pastor. Pondo Vleisides was well-prepared, and he answered the call. After serving in that church for two years, he was called to move the church to a larger location and
on making a difference among the youth, homeless and financially challenged in San Clemente, much has been accomplished in the last few years by the relatively small membership of TLC. Four-years-ago one of the church’s un-
dertakings – and one the parishioners are quite proud of - was the acquisition of a second building adjacent to the main structure for the purpose of housing a state-licensed, affordable pre-school. “Under the auspices of our philanthro-
pist and prior saints from the original church, we have been able to offer the community a pre-school and after school care program reasonably priced for all,” re- vealed Vleisides. “In these difficult financial times, it is our hope that this pricing will con- tinue to enable many more fami- lies to take advan- tage of this important child- hood education.” With the plan-
ning advice of Marlene Vleisides - Pastor Pondo’s mother and ca- reer pre-school teacher/principal – as well as the help of the con- gregation, Talega Life Church Pre- school is presently educating 90 to 110 stu- dents annually. The quality of its educators, as well as the brightly lit, colorful site fur- nished with all the pertinent equipment and supplies, makes possible the finest of instruction in art, literature, science, drama, math and music. And Marlene’s ground-
20 SANCLEMENTEJOURNAL
work and advice as a children’s advocate and legend, gleaned from years of experi- ence in the field, is evident in its operation and in much of its success. Author and cancer survivor, Greg An-
derson’s quote, “focus on the journey, not the destination … joy is found not in fin- ishing an activity, but doing it,” is the phi- losophy adapted and implemented by the TLC Pre-school. Implementing that quote, and integrating it with the pre-school’s mission … “to provide a positive first step in a child’s lifelong journey of faith and ed- ucation” … TLC Pre-school is definitely reaching its goal to aid in its students’ de- velopment physically, spiritually, intellectu- ally and emotionally, as well as socially. In their continuing aspiration of build-
ing community, one of the latest innova- tions at TLC is the After School Care. Just
A karaoke stage and ping pong table await students in the after school program.
this year, 30,000 sq. ft. of church space has been set aside for this care, equipped with qualified caretakers, a computer lab, play- ground, classrooms, 2,000 sq ft. indoor skate park, basketball court, four square site, surround sound Dolby theater, Wii center, ping pong and foosball. Weekly ac-
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