100 Years of The Neighborhood Church of Palos Verdes Estates

The Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates 1926-2026

On March 21, 2026, the members of The Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates have an opportunity to celebrate another milestone in the first hundred years of their church’s history, the first religious service held in the new community called Palos Verdes at the home of residents, Florence and George Gibbs, Jr. at 2708 Via Campesina. During the previous month on February 10, a group of twenty women representing sixty homes had formed the Palos Verdes Woman’s Club representing resident families in the newly-formed community.  One of its many areas of interest involved starting a non-denominational community church with worship services, Sunday School classes, Easter Sunrise Service and a special Christmas Eve celebration. The Malaga Cove School built in 1925 offered a location for their meetings and activities. The evolution of the church continued on February 14, 1937, when residents formally organized separately from the Woman’s Club with a Church Covenant and a list of founding members, a church constitution in 1938, Articles of Incorporation with Bylaws in 1939, first minister in 1945, membership in the Los Angeles Association of Congregational Churches in 1951 and affiliation with the United Church of Christ in 1961. The vitality of their dreams and goals for the building of meaningful relationships among neighbors and services to the community can be observed throughout the many decades with connections to many of the present-day church members one hundred years later.  Many of those early families worked tirelessly to obtain a permanent church home with the purchase of the John Joseph Haggarty villa on Paseo del Mar in 1950 despite the legal challenges for zoning approval and the funding needs for repairs, improvements and maintenance. In 1953 the God the Holy Spirit Window located on the right side of the present-day organ in the sanctuary was dedicated by the family and friends to the “loving memory of George Gibbs.” In 2026 the tenth senior minister, Reverend Scott Spence, represents the bridge connecting two centuries of determined members working together in the love of truth and in the spirit of Jesus for the worship and service of God.

Wirtten by Fran Bock

Church Historian