Day 5

We only went to one place on Saturday. Harabee Ministries, run by Rudy Carrasco, is a youth center/school in an aging suburb—Pasadena. Twenty-five years ago the surrounding neighborhood was the most violent place to be during the day in the Los Angeles area.

Carrasco encouraged creativity. Every neighborhood is unique. No one model fits all contexts. Even once a model is found to be effective, neighborhoods change. Thus, no model is guaranteed to last long before there is a need for refining and updating.

Pasadena/Altadina is an ideal location to use as a representative of change. Once a small town along US-66—a transcontinental highway that once stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles, Altadina is now part of an entirely-urbanized countryside, besides a few hills that are too steep for development. In my observations of scenery along present-day I-5, CA-2, CA-134, I-210, and CA-110, I noticed old bridges that told me of what once was. Long before these freeways were in place, the suburbs were favorable places to live primarily because of their distance from the urban core. Yet, this suburban life was threatened once more at the mercy of the suburban sprawl that occurred in Southern California in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s.

This neighborhood seems to have been built between the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. By 1982, when Rudy Carrasco arrived on the block, the suburb was in the midst of drugs and gangs. Noteable is that it took only 1-2 decades for the vices that motivated this nieghborhood’s existence to catch up to it. Now, we experience white flight from this nighborhood. Cities that were white suburbs 30 years ago are now becoming miniature urban cores. Thus, I-210 (soon to extend more than 80 miles) has replaced US-66. What was once a small country road fifty years ago is now a crowded superhighway.
Hence, the community in which Rudy lives and ministers is not—at first sight—“urban” by traditional definition. We usually associate “urban” with noise from vehicle traffic, lack of greenspace, and a five-minute walk to the nearest store. Yet, none of these factors are the case in this neighborhood. Each residential dwelling is a suburban, one-family unit with its own grass and trees. We may in fact be more than a 20-minute walk from the nearest store.

This brings me to a more interesting issue for the poor in aging suburbs. Public transportation is more scarce because the streets were once built for families who had at least one dependable vehicle. For this reason, the suburban poor can be less advantaged than the poor of the core. They stand in the gap between the haves (newer suburbs) and the have-nots (urban core). They receive neither the best private transportation, nor the best public transportation. Their hope is to get by with two half-dependable forms of transit to and from work and school. Families in Carrasco’s neighborhood are likely to find the largest obstacles to their lifestyle improvement because of this. These aging suburbs simply were not designed for the poor. They were designed for those who would (scarcely in a million years) rarely sit in a public bus with the poor.

With this insight, Harambee Ministries is very ideal to this neighborhood. He has found a more permanent problem that needs a more permanent fix. His ministry is located in the actual suburban neighborhood in which his students live. Because transportation is inadequate, this location is favorable to those who prefer to walk to school, etc. This gives the kids of the neighborhood a place to go that is closer to their houses—especially necessary when gangs might me the only thing to do that is less than 30 minutes walk.

Concluding, Harambee Ministries blends in with the residential scenery because it is in fact in a series of adjacent houses. Two houses are joined by a porch to imply a school building. This is a private school, with affordable tuition. One of the houses was recently used as a men’s community that lasted nearly ten years.

Rudy’s staff has claimed the neighborhood as their turf. Their presence in the neighborhood has earned them a reputation as a factor of positive change.

Day 4

The first place we visited Friday was the church known as MOSAIC. Historically known as “The Church on Brady,” MOSAIC has evolved from its original form. They recognize their geographic context within the city to be important. When they moved from south of the Pamona Freeway (CA 60) to the north, they encountered different demographics. From East LA Latino neighbors to Monterey Park “Asian” neighbors, MOSAIC today understands itself to be from multiple backgrounds. Their logic is to be the church that meets the needs of the world—not a church to meet the needs of its own congregants. Thus, MOSAIC is friendly to people from unchurched and/or non-Christian backgrounds. Their path of inclusion is reversed compared to the dominant North American congregation. Rather than Become—Believe—Belong, congregants of MOSAIC confer to Belong—Believe—Become.

The MOSAIC is called to live differently from the city around them. Yet, they are not necessarily called to live away from the city. In fact, they are aware of the evengelical roots that suburban settlements have in them. Suburbia was created to get away from the city. As such, they ‘advance’ their congregants through the structure of a traditional retreat in an effort to emphasize their call to live in the city as an object of redemption for the city. Further, everyone who follows Jesus is a missionary. In their case, each member is a missionary to the city.

The second place we visited was Victory Outreach. I left there with a different attitude toward them than I had went I arrived. We Nazarenes don’t give such Pentecostals a very good reputation most of the time. We charge that they are too charismatic, or that they blindly follow the Holy Spirit to the extent to which all reason is lost. Yet, their use of men’s and women’s homes is evidence that they realize the impact that the surrounding environment has upon individuals. Yes, the Holy Spirit empowers. But, the Spirit does not render us exempt from our historical context.
Our attitude Pentecostals represents a common state amongst us Christians. It seems that doctrine gets in the way of seeing that there is some Godward discipleship that is not happening in the same way through many of our churches. People come to Victory Outreach’s doorstep with drug addiction and gang ties that swallow them up, leaving them victim to the chaos of the dirty economy.

Redepmtion from these oppressing forces is not found simply through prayer and bible study. They are removed (temporarily) from these forces, and moved into houses—30 men/30 women, 2 houses. They are given a new environment that empowers them to remove themselves from the up and down of the collosis. They are immersed in a system (a much smaller one than the city that surrounds them, of course).

Hence, the insight that they seem to get more accurately that others do id that while we depend upon the Holy Spirit for transformation, we must recognize that there are systems around us that either restrict us or empower us.
I became aware of this lacking on the part of the Church of the Nazarene in college. I over-corrected by shifting to the other side of the contunium. The Spirit was nearly entirely transcendent—the only empowerment that the poor would find were to be my own hands. Compassionate ministries were a large part of Nazarene beginnings, were trumped out by Pentecostal influence, yet resulted in the Nazarene Church’s idleness amongst the poor within the United States by the 1940’s.
Victory Outreach has some insight that has been ignored by the Nazarenes due in large part to decades of misunderstanding. They do not assume that the Spirit is the only form of empowerment, nor that the hands of their congregation is the only form of empowerment. Yet, for Victory Outreach, the Spirit should be understood as our primary source of power. The Spirit is what sets us apart from the non-Christian “mission” organizations.

Our third visit on Friday was to the Dream Center. We ate dinner at the cafeteria of the Dream Center. Yummy. Cheesecake. (I only ate desert because I ate too many tamales at Mama’s.) We ate in their cafeteria. I was enthralled at the use of 1950’s diner theme—this was a creative way to bringing beauty to those who have lived in ugliness. I saw a T-shirt that made me roll on the floor with laughter→ comedy brought joy to those who have lost hope. An institution as large as Dream Center seems scary to me, though. A former hospital, the series of buildings seems to reak with the feeling of unpersonal institution. If I were mentally ill, I would likely end up in a place like this. Cold and anything other than ‘home,’ I would be ready to leave at moment’s notice.

One last comment one the neighborhood of Dream Center: they remarked that the crime rate had gone down by 70 percent after their arrival in the community. My worry is that they merely moved the crime rate. Worse yet, Dream Center might be close to bearing the character of the all-American prison: all the people who have the nature to commit crimes are locked up between walls under the roof of a gigantic institution so as to keep them away from the ‘good’ people.

Our last stop on Friday was at Angeleus Temple—the foundaing church of the Pentecostal movement. This was quite the experience, with the concertlike atmosphere, prosperity gospel in the sermon. Even a theology of instant transformation was obvious here. What I don’t understand is how Nazarenes opposed such theology while at the same time claiming to a “second blessing” theology that turned into a perception of entire sanctification as a sudden, one-time occurrence. No one seemed to speak in tougues (the big no-no for Nazarenes of my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ generations). Even testimonies were given by people who were cleaned up from drugs after the Spirit has empowered them to break free from addiction and gang bonds. Our class was told of the factor of instant bodily healing that used to take place in this building decades previously. Does this still happen? No evidence was shown of this. Yet, what I do see evidence of is that the Spirit is getting credit for instant redemption of individuals amidst the temporal factors that tend to claim their lives.
Here are some observations of this service:

Band Plays: 15 members total
9 guitars
1 drummer
5 vocals, etc.
Give-Aways: CD’s and T-Shirts, Books




Theme of the day: “Get Your Hopes Up!”

Day 3

Today, we had a highlight—to be noted as one of the highest points of the week. The high point was, however, an awkward point for me—and will possibly always be a as such for me. I simply am still to conservative (more than I realize), and ignorant, to construct a an appropriate action upon homosexuality. I can pretend that the lifestyle does not exit. I will be confronted, eventually, with a gay couple in my parish. What will I say? What will I do? As this is a very controversial issue, I am not ready to take a definite stance. I agree that some issues are more important than others. Yet, different people consider different issues to be of top importance depending on their political and theological lenses. While many fundamentalists argue that homosexuality is amongst the most important issues for Christians in the United States, others argue (at best) that homosexuality just isn’t a major theme. Each argues over whether or not this is a primary reason for divine wrath in scripture. As a moderate, I prefer that we remain permissive of contrasting perspectives, because arrogance has gotten us nowhere on this issue. For me, to say that something is not as important as the other is not to assume that it is the least important. Christians are not exempt—yes, amongst the guilty—of black and white thinking.

After the AIDS project, we went to the “Mama’s” kitchen tamale restaurant. Mama’s is a non-profit business that provides food service training to those who wish to become a vendor or restaurant owner. I was fascinated by this opportunity for Latin Americans, whose eating-out experiences normally encompass street vendor dining. They are the clientele for anyone who has setup a taco stand without cleanliness approval. Mama’s is an answer to those who struggle to jump through the legal loopholes that that restaurant owners have to go through.

The third place we visited was the Catholic Worker soup kitchen. The lady who runs this kitchen worked with Dorothy Day herself—including sitting in jail with her for two weeks in 1972. Very politically active, she protested in person the building of a multi-million dollar cathedral that replaced an earthquake-damaged one.

The most intriguing part of our visit to the Catholic Worker was her story about the shopping carts that the local homeless used to transport their belongings. In the context of new urban development, the police have complied with the city developers’ newfound strategy to scoot out the homeless by attaching to them any offence possible. Their possession of a stolen shopping cart usually meant a misdemeanor offense. Authorities jump on this as a way to get their way with the poor. As a response, Kathy (?) buys carts from stores for the purpose of distributing them. They are gifts—not stolen property—to their beholders, thus, cannot be used as a tool for espionage.

Day 2

During our walk from LA 1st Church of the Nazarene to the Thai restaurant where we ate, we passed an interesting mixture of Hispanic/Latino, Korean, Thai, and other evidences of multi-cultural/multi-ethnic presence. This street we walked—3rd Street—bore the resemblance of a major street similar to that of other 1920’s to 1930’s neighborhoods. Small shops opened up onto the sidewalk with only three to five feet between the threshold and the street. Amidst this was a periodic strip mall with off-street parking, giving evidence to urban redevelopment after the 1950’s. When we arrived at the corner where our lunch at the Thai restaurant was to take place, I noted a residential street branching off the 3rd Street throughfare. This suburban street was lined with palm trees probably 40 years old, thus dating this nighborhood near the 1960’s.
I find an interesting variety in the occupants of the city. These occupants give life to the city’s nature. After visiting several sites today, I realized a remarkable difference between the North American and Asian Churches. First, the size was phenomenal. The Oriental Mission Church numbered 4,000 members, with a sanctuary of 1,400 seats, and soon expanding to 5 Sunday services. What was even more amazing was that the pastor preaches every single one of these services!
A second difference between the N. American and Oriental churches was the paradigm within which they functioned. While North Americans tend to be service oriented, the Oriental church is more community oriented. I find, furthermore, their idea of publically displaying slots for individual tithes quite revolutionary for my upbringing. Further, the presence of a Korean-language library reserved for the parishioners, and providing meals after services (breakfast daily, and lunch on Sundays) were excellent examples of how a parish can structure community life as an independent entity from the context of the city around itself.

I was impressed by the multi-billion dollar project by 1st United Methodist Church. They tore down their property so as to construct upon their property what they thought would be more fitting for urban land use. Building several residential complexes→ One for retirees, one for low income, and one for medium income, they have created a block of affordable housing for a diverse array of people. Part of the substidies was that they already owned the land. A major contributor to skyrocketing property values is not the building itself, but the land upon which it sits.

My only concern with the 1010 Project, however, is that there is no legal loophole that permits this to be specifically Christian in any way. This community cannot be specifically Christian community. While the church daycare recently relocated onto this block, there is not much else that they are legally permitted to do because of the amount of government funding that their project has received.

My final observation for Wednesday is the karaoke at Central Community Church of the Nazarene. Needless to say, I had a good time. Further, I find that this gives the poor an opportunity to do something that they would scarcely get to do otherwise→ have fun. If it were not for this event, these participants would probably not use the left part of their brains nearly as often.

Karaoke is a unique, doubtless, creative way to gather with the poor. Many times we gather the poor for the specific purpose of dispensing a service to their basic needs—food, clothing, ect. Hence, I find that there is a way in this event a way to bond with them as people, rather than as objects of (my own) charity.
A question I have for Scott Chamberlain is whether this might be seen as a means through which to get people into the door in order to evangelize to them in the form of a church service or bible study. Or, is this really as a perceive it—a creative means of (compassionate) ministry? Central Community Church left me with the impression that they are trying to bring beauty where ugliness usually dominates.

Day 1

I have been in quite and experience in the last 24 hrs so far in LA. I have come from the life of semi-rural San Joaquin Valley to experience some of the life of the metropolis of 14 million that makes up LA. I have come with a desire to retain my comfort zone, yet, have already found comfort amidst the grim realities of the city. There are people who know what they are doing when they design space, are doing when they design space, place signs, and conduct their body language. Sights, smells, sounds, etc., have meaning. I have instantly been reminded that the preconceived notions that I brought from Fresno to LA (and from Kansas City to LA) have been placed at odds with this new place. Thus, I attempt to understand this new environment in the language of sights, smells, sounds, boundaries, elevatory position (altatude), etc.

I already have to face the reality that my own privileged status makes it very difficult to see beyond the propaganda that has made me, well, me. To see the city through different eyes requires different lenses. Yet, there are many sets of lenses. Thus, my challenge is to determine which set is significant to its accompanying language.

By the way: Skid row is far too romanticized. This insight is partly due to my own tendency to give in to propoganda that attempts to jerk emotive response. Ministry upon these terms stands an elevated risk of becoming a fulfillment of self-interest. I might get into my personal issues with such over-romanticized form ministry.