Loma Linda to No Longer Receive Mail on Sundays

A tradition dating back to the 1930s is coming to an end April 23.

The United States Postal Service will discontinue Sunday mail delivery in the city of Loma Linda in an effort to save money and get mail out to residents sooner. Mail will be delivered on Saturdays instead.

Sunday delivery began as a good will gesture towards the Seventh-day Adventist community, which attends church services Saturdays and begins their Sabbath on Friday evenings. Now, only two other communities with ties to the Seventh-day Adventist faith - one in Northern California and one in Tennessee - will continue to receive mail on Sundays.

“There is a cost involved with Sunday delivery,” said acting postmaster Dan Mesa. “Employees get Sunday premium pay, and we incur extra charges for transportation. The service issues are that everything gets delivered a day late. If you mail a letter from Loma Linda, it sits there until Monday, because we don’t have transportation that comes and goes all day on Sundays, and nobody works at distribution plants on Sundays.”

That change has upset members of the Seventh-day Adventist community.

"The federal government allows the mail to be delivered on Sundays instead of Saturday mainly because we are a Seventh-day Adventist town," said Sylvia Shepphard, of Loma Linda. "Perhaps most of the people in Loma Linda aren't Seventh-day Adventist but that does not make a difference."

Loma Linda was chosen by the person that Adventists believe to be the prophet of God, Shepphard said.

“The city was bought by Seventh-day Adventists," Shepphard said.  "It's been kept by Seventh-day Adventists. The hospitals, the schools, the university are all Seventh-day Adventists. I am just appalled at this change. I really am. I'm ready to go up and stand at the post office with a petition. I am very much upset about it."

On Thursday, Loma Linda residents and box holders all received a letter explaining the change and what will happen. It reassured residents and business owners that the transition will be seamless and mail will be delivered and processed faster.

Although it was distributed the day before April Fool’s Day, Mesa says that “no one thought it was a joke, but I did feel like a movie star because everyone called me to say they saw me talk about this on the news.”

So far, feedback to Mesa has been mostly positive.

“We haven’t had a lot of complaints,” he said. “One person called and said they go to church on Sunday, and they’ll be glad to get mail on Saturday so they can deal with it and mail what they need. Even before this, we would get phone calls about this issue, from both sides. For every person who doesn’t like it, you get someone who does. It’s just time for change and to move forward.”

Kerrie Brooks, a former Loma Linda resident who still receives mail in the city, is fine with the new direction.

“I am not Adventist, so I have no problem with Saturday delivery,” she said. “As long as I get my mail and it saves money, I’m all for it.”