Manhattan Beach Community Church installs new senior minister
In a special ceremony Sunday, Rev. Mark Pettis was installed as Manhattan Beach Community Church’s new senior minister before local clergy, community leaders and the congregation.
The New Hampshire-born pastor grew up in San Diego and obtained a bachelor’s degree in politics from Pomona College. He thereafter worked as the coordinator of community resource development for the Grossmont Union High School District before obtaining a Master of Divinity degree from Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky.
Prior to his new post at MBCC, he served nearly four years as the senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Christ in Moorhead, Minnesota.
MBCC, a United Church of Christ affiliate founded in 1905, is the longest standing church in Manhattan Beach.
Pettis is married to Elena Larsson, who recently began serving as senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Long Beach. The couple now lives in Manhattan Beach.
Push & Flow lecture at Creative Arts Center
As part of an exhibition on display at the Creative Arts Center, artist Vanessa Kettering will give a free lecture entitled “Optimal Experience: The ‘Flow’ Facilitates Creativity and Well-Being” this Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.
The exhibition, called “Push & Flow”, investigates the concept of flow, which in positive psychology is defined as an optimal experience during a creation process where one’s skills rise to meet new challenges and one feels a sensation of fluidity in his or her work. “Push & Flow”, which is open until next Thursday, shares the internal processes of flow in six local artists: Elizabeth Casuga, Nancy Voegeli-Curran, Dawn Ertl, Esmeralda Montes, Ian Pines and Peggy Zask. For gallery hours, visit citymb.info.
