Friday, January 30, 2009

circuit rider

I'm happy to say that I'm negotiating with our UU Church in Los Angeles to provide quarter time ministry to their congregation. I'll still be at the Santa Clarita church 3/4 time and giving Los Angeles my free hours. I've had some prior experience serving two congregations at once. It's tricky, and obviously Sunday mornings I can't be two places at once, but I do think I have something to offer Los Angeles even on a very part time basis, without shirking my responsibilities in Santa Clarita. And I've already been in contact with several other local ministers who've agreed to help.

First Church Los Angeles is an historic church in the mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. The congregation built a large building back in the 1920s. They have a proud history concerning social justice ministry. Currently the congregation is small and depends on rental income. Their most recent minister, Rev. Monica Cummings recently resigned to accept a position with the UUA.

The neighborhood around the church is urban and mixed ethnic, mostly Latino and Korean. It also seems to be undergoing revitalization recently. There's a subway stop two blocks from the church at a major LA intersection: Wilshire and Vermont. The Gay Men's Chorus that I sing with rehearses at a Presbyterian church just a few blocks from the Unitarian church. And I live only about a mile away - I'm much closer to the LA church than the Santa Clarita church, which is about 35 miles from my house.

1 comment:

Robin Edgar said...

Yikes! There is only one Unitarian*Universalist Congregation in Los Angeles and it has a small congregation to boot? How is this possible Rev. Rick? May I correctly guess that Hollywood movie stars, at least the current crop of them, find Scientology more appealing to them than the "tiny, declining, fringe religion" known as Unitarian*Universalism? I wish you well in your endeavors in any case Rev. Ricky. You seem to me to be an exemplary Unitarian*Universalist minister as far as I can determine from reading your "less than perfect" but really quite excellent blog.

Best Wishes,

Robin Edgar