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.