HomeMy WebLinkAboutEComment - Stephen Komanapalli (Item No. 5)From:noreply@granicusideas.com
To:Yasuda, Erica; Woodward, Carrie; E-Comments
Subject:New eComment for Regular Meeting of the City Council/Special Closed Session-5:00 pm/Regular Meeting-6:00 pm
Date:Tuesday, October 6, 2026 12:39:31 PM
City of Tustin, CANew eComment for Regular Meeting of the CityCouncil/Special Closed Session-5:00 pm/RegularMeeting-6:00 pm
Guest User submitted a new eComment.
Meeting: Regular Meeting of the City Council/Special Closed Session-5:00 pm/Regular Meeting-
6:00 pm
Item: PUBLIC INPUT - Members of the public may provide comments in writing, in person or in
real time via Zoom to address the City Council on items on the Closed Session Agenda.
eComment: Stephen Komanapalli Tustin, California October 6, 2026 Honorable Mayor and
Members of the Tustin City Council City of Tustin 300 Centennial Way Tustin, CA 92780 Re:
Support for a Mariners Church campus in Tustin Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, I write as a
Tustin resident to support Mariners Church opening a campus in our city. My family lives and
serves here. As a pastor, a chaplain with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and a
nonprofit leader, I have seen firsthand what a healthy congregation adds to the place around it.
Mariners has a long record across Orange County of doing that well. The benefits reach well
beyond the people who attend on Sunday: • Economic value. University of Pennsylvania
research led by Ram Cnaan found that a typical congregation contributes far more to its city
each year than its own budget, through social services, volunteer hours, local spending and
crises prevented. • Shared space. Church buildings often host recovery groups, scout troops,
classes, blood drives and community meetings at little or no cost. • Volunteers and civic life.
Robert Putnam's research shows regular churchgoers volunteer more and give more to secular
causes as well as religious ones. They tend to be engaged neighbors. • Support for families.
Churches supply many of the foster, adoptive and host families our county relies on. They also
offer mentoring, tutoring and youth programs that give young people safe adults outside school
and home. • Crisis response. Food pantries, benevolence help, meals after a loss and volunteers
after a disaster often arrive quickly through a congregation's existing relationships. • Health and
connection. Harvard research by Tyler VanderWeele links regular religious participation to lower
rates of depression and stronger well-being. A church is also one of the few places where
different ages and backgrounds meet weekly, which helps counter isolation. • A long-term
partner. Schools, first responders and city staff gain a dependable partner that stays in the
community for decades. These benefits are greatest when a church treats the city as its
neighbor, asking what Tustin needs and serving alongside local schools, nonprofits and other
congregations. I am confident Mariners intends to do exactly that, and I respectfully urge the
Council to welcome and support its campus in our city. Thank you for your service to Tustin and
for considering my perspective. Respectfully, Stephen Komanapalli Tustin Resident
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