CHURCH DEARTH GROWING COMMUNITY SHORT ON ROOM FOR WORSHIPPERS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Going to church in this fast-growing community usually means pulling up a chair in the multipurpose room at a public school and settling in to pray.

Worship replaces spelling tests weekends at Castaic's three schools, available for lease to churches that have yet to build in a town where housing tracts are mushrooming but congregations are lagging in raising the money to build.

New contracts were approved recently with three churches, offering Catholics, Lutherans and members of a nondenominational Christian church to worship locally.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Newhall, about 10 miles away, holds Sunday services at Live Oak Elementary School in Castaic.

``This really helps us,'' said the Rev. Norm Supancheck, associate pastor of Our Lady. ``We are able to have our service, and at the same time we can save our money so we can build a church.''

Catholics in Castaic have been meeting at Live Oak for about 18 months; the church has held services in nearby Val Verde for 12 years, bringing the faith to a low-income semirural area otherwise cut off from Sunday worship.

Castaic is rapidly growing, much like the rest of the burgeoning Santa Clarita Valley. But it takes time and start-up funds for new churches to raise money to build.

``That's the same phenomena all over Southern California,'' said Charles Edwards, pastor of First Baptist Church of Castaic. ``Unless they have a parent denomination behind them, it's hard for them to get started.''

The Baptist group has been in the Castaic area since 1945 and has one of the few dedicated churches in Castaic - built in 1965.

But Our Lady of Perpetual Help; Castaic Community Church, which meets at Castaic Middle School; and Prince of Peace Church, which uses Castaic Elementary School, have yet to build.

About 400 Catholics gather for Mass each week at Live Oak, Supancheck said. In the Santa Clarita Valley since the 1940s, Our Lady of Perpetual Help has spawned branches in Canyon Country and Saugus and has plans for five more local churches, including two in the Castaic area.

``There are a large number of people moving in,'' Supancheck said. ``We need one in the Val Verde area and one in northern Castaic.''

Castaic Union School District officials said that they don't mind helping out community organizations. Space, however, must be leased to churches to ensure the legal separation between church and state. The cost is about $28 per use.

``All three of our school sites are used by local churches,'' said Bill McDermott, director of business services for the school district. ``The Civic Center Act, which all school districts are required to follow, allows churches and other agencies to use the facilities.''

While the facilities are typically available whenever the school is not in use, school officials give first priority to school groups, functions and activities.

``We have so many things going on during the week, we don't really have time for them to use it,'' McDermott said. ``Every year we set a schedule.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1) Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church holds services at Live Oak Elementary School's multipurpose room.

(2) At left, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church workers break down the altar to return the room for schoool use following Mass. Parishioners, above, attend services at an elementary school's multipurpose room in Castaic.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer