April 29, 1992 was arguably one of the worst dates in Los Angeles history. Four LAPD officers were acquitted of criminal wrongdoing in the beating of Rodney King; and that touched off three days of violence that left over 50 people dead, and caused more than a billion dollars in damage. Many of us were paralyzed with terror and disbelief as we watched businesses only blocks away from our homes being looted and burned.

However, no horror is so great that the Lord can’t use it to manifest his good and loving presence in this world. Immediately after the fires were put out, there was an unprecedented effort by city, national, church and business leaders to come together and really do something about circumstances that caused poor and minority communities in Los Angeles to feel that crime and violence were the only courses of action left to them.

The New City Parish was one of the results of these efforts. Pastor Albert Starr from Ascension, Brian Eklund from St. Mark, Joseph Chu from Messiah, Carlos Paiva from Angelica, and Jim Lobdell from Holy Trinity, formed a non-profit coalition to enlist the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ in addressing the problems of poverty, racism, and injustice that had been going on for decades prior to the riots.

Today, while most of the projects to rebuild LA have gone quietly by the wayside--having fulfilled their purpose of coaxing business and investment to return to Los Angeles, the New City Parish feels the necessity of their mission stronger than ever. The economic rebound the city experienced in the past several years has been rougher in many ways on the poorest communities; as the cost of housing increases faster than incomes, and the post 9/11 attitude toward law enforcement has redefined what people call “injustice”.

Still, God shines his light in even the darkest corners of the world. New City Parish is part of that light. There are seven member ELCA churches in the coalition which provides food, health care, tutoring and mentoring programs and ministry training to areas of Compton, Pico Union and South Los Angeles that always seem to elude the prosperity and opportunity that Southern California is so famous for.

And...NCP has that awesome Gospel Choir, headed by Mark Coates, which brings the Good News to people in a way that only music can!

To find out more information on how you can be a part of this vital mission, call New City Parish at (213) 387-9037 or visit their web site.