Controversial pastor Freeman resigns from Menifee church

Rev. Bill Freeman was confronted by protestors in August 2017 when his church voted to become a sanctuary church. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Rev. Bill Freeman, whose liberal doctrine at Menifee United Church of Christ resulted in backlash from the conservative Sun City community the last 3 1/2 years, will deliver his final sermon for the  church on Sunday.

Freeman announced recently that he is resigning his position, saying in a news release, "I feel I've taken the church about as far as I can." He told Menifee 24/7 on Thursday that he and his wife plan to move back to Michigan, where they have family and where Freeman served as a pastor before moving to California in 2014.

The United Church of Christ is the oldest church in Menifee, holding its first service on Nov. 24, 1962, when 117 people from various faiths joined together to form the Sun City United Church of Christ. When the church celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012, it had nearly 250 members. Today, it has about 30.

Freeman's arrival brought what he calls an "open and affirming church, which means being accepting of everyone." Shortly after his arrival in 2014, the church opened a food pantry and clothing closet for poor people. Members of the homeless community were allowed to stay on church property for a short time. Vandalism and public outcry ended that practice, but homeless individuals have continued to be a constant presence on church grounds.

In 2015, Freeman performed the church's first same-sex wedding. In 2016, the church began welcoming members of the LGBTQ community. And last year, Menifee UCC declared itself a sanctuary church, supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

“In three and a half years, I’ve transformed Menifee UCC into a liberal Christian church, supportive of gays, women, minorities, immigrants, and the homeless," Freeman said.

That change was not accepted by many in the Sun City community. Twice, a banner on the side of the church (left) supporting the gay community was stolen. Residents also complained about a "Black Lives Matter" banner displayed at the church, located at the corner of McCall Boulevard and Sun City Boulevard. And the church was broken into twice in two nights in 2016, with a safe full of cash stolen and church property vandalized.

In May of 2015, residents packed City Council chambers to protest the church's policy of sheltering the homeless. And the boiling point might have been reached in August of 2017, when a small group of local residents protested outside the church while members were voting on the decision to become a sanctuary church.

The changes in church doctrine and direction under Freeman's leadership also resulted in a dramatic decrease in membership. Although Freeman says at least some of those remaining support his teaching, he admits that most of the congregation has left to join other area churches in recent years.

Chuck Otto, who as moderator of Menifee UCC serves as a lay leader, grew up in that denomination and joined the church when he moved to Menifee 11 years ago. He says he is now "the last of the real old group" among the now-small congregation.

"To a degree it has, but we're trying not to dwell on that," Otto said when asked about any negative effect Freeman's presence might have had. "We're a very positive group that is trying to do what Jesus would do. That often doesn't fall in with the mainstream community.

"We lost a tremendous amount of members -- some through passing on or moving away, but we also had a series of splits where members had to choose one of two philosophies and many left. Even so, the people in the congregation today are totally committed to the teachings [Freeman] has brought to us."

It is perhaps no coincidence that the congregation is selling its decades-old church property at the same time Freeman is leaving. With financial resources limited, UCC sold its buildings to The View Church, which is relocating from a small site just northeast of the old Fire Station 7 on Bradley Road. Coincidentally, the UCC congregation will meet in a rented storefront space in that same Bradley Road center while looking for permanent property outside the Sun City core area.

"We're looking for a permanent location, either to buy or build," Otto said. "We want to move where there are young people who are more oriented to our doctrine.

"I wouldn't say that Rev. Freeman's teaching drove people away, but he did expand our outlook and some didn't want to undergo change."

Otto said lay leaders will direct Sunday services, which will continue to be at 11 a.m. Meanwhile, Freeman will oversee the congregation one final time this Sunday.

"I came to a more conservative part of California than I realized," said Freeman, shown at right addressing the City Council in 2015. "I thought I was coming to liberal California, but I soon learned those liberal areas are more centered in L.A. and San Francisco."

Freeman acknowledges that he was arrested and convited of civil disobedience for occupying City Hall in Holland, Michigan in an unsuccessful attempt to convince City Council members to support equal rights for lesbians and gays. He also performed 48 same-sex weddings in one day in 2014, when a federal judge declared Michigan's same-sex wedding ban unconstitutional. Soon after, Freeman moved to Menifee.

"But I had never been protested against like I was here," he said. "And people packed City Hall to complain about me housing the homeless. We still have some hanging around the grounds of the church, which I'm kind of proud of. I don't know how you would act otherwise if you follow Jesus."

Menifee City Council member Greg August, whose District 1 includes UCC, says he expects to receive a lot fewer complaints from residents once Freeman leaves.

"I'm not sorry to hear it," August said about news of Freeman's departure. "This will reduce my work load considerably, as I did receive a lot of calls about what was going on with the church. But he's always been respectful to me and I wish him and his wife the best.

"He just never really seemed to fit into the area. He's obviously been a source of major complaints that come my way, regarding people who stayed there, and by people driving by with the signs and so forth."

The church sign in August 2017 describes the congregation's stance on treatment of undocumented immigrants.