In late April of 1992, Los Angeles was the site of the worst U.S. civil disturbance in our nation's history. The problems that the community had been feeling for years, decades, and perhaps even longer than that, had reached a boiling point and spilled over following the not-guilty verdict related to the beating of Rodney King. This man-made catastrophe caused by a wide range of systematic problems of racism, poverty, and overall injustice in the community needed to be addressed.
Five Lutheran Pastors who had been directly affected by this disastrous situation came together to begin the long process of recovery for the residents and to build a new reality in the city. Pastors Albert Starr from Ascension, Brian Eklund from St. Mark, Joseph Chu from Messiah, Carlos Paiva from Angelica, and Jim Lobdell from Holy Trinity decided to do something to change the reality that they had witnessed all around them. The decision was made to incorporate and become a non-profit to meet the growing social and economic needs of the community and to do so with our collective understanding of the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The pastors were determined to demonstrate to many impoverished, frustrated and neglected inner city individuals and families that there is real meaning and purpose to life, reason to hope, and light at the end of the tunnel. This has been accomplished by “...manifesting Christ’s presence within established parish boundaries through cooperative ministries which enhance spiritual growth, multi-cultural understanding, education, and social and economic well-being.”
Our Ongoing Response in the City
Human impoverishment, discrimination on the basis of gender, race, or ethnicity, the fragmentation of life-sustaining communities, and the degradation of nature are incompatible with this reign of God. Our never-realized attempts to develop sustainable communities are undertaken in light of this in-breaking promise of God. We respond to God's saving, justifying action in Jesus Christ with justice-seeking love for the "neighbor," who is both near and distant, both human and non-human. This includes working with those of various faiths and persuasions for the sake of more just, sustainable communities.
In the process of transformation we must deal with ongoing ethical tensions between providing for immediate human needs and what will be sustainable over time. Sin, abuses, and unjust uses of power continue, but they are not the final word. The Spirit renews us and our commitments, especially in the face of powerlessness and hopelessness. As we stand between the world's hopes and God's hope for the world, we are empowered to work with and support others in shaping new possibilities for human beings, communities, the environment, and coming generations.
Who We Are and Where We Serve Today:
New City Parish is a California non-profit corporation listed on the roster of subordinate organizations of the ELCA as an Area Ministry. A social ministry organization of the Southwest California Synod. Tax exempt under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. An urban coalition or parish of nine (9) multi-cultural ELCA congregations.
We are comprised of a 12 member board of directors, a professional executive director, over two hundred congregational volunteers, various church-based collaborating agencies, a well-known gospel choir and a talented group of liturgical dancers are joined by numerous prayerful, financial and in-kind-gift supporters who represent a growing constituency across the United States.
This L.A. area coalition serves within a ninety-eight square mile section of the city bordered by the Hollywood Freeway on the north, the 91 Freeway on the south, Alameda Street on the east, and La Cienega Boulevard on the west. Within these boundaries resides one of the most culturally integrated, linguistically complex, and ethnically diverse populations in the world.
We hope that you will join us in helping to transform our communities and create a “New City” based on values of justice, equality, and peace.
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