Building bridges and expanding horizons:
a small church reaches out

Building bridges, strengthening community, expanding lives -- a fairly tall order for a small urban congregation, but it's a mission that United University Church in central Los Angeles has undertaken with "energy, intelligence, imagination and love." It's a mission shaped by the congregation's commitment to being an "out there" progressive church - a community that welcomes people of all sexual orientations.

In 1984, UUC established a Peace Center as a way of living out its commitment to be a place of hospitality and welcome in its urban setting, by working as a catalyst for peace and justice efforts in its own neighborhood.

Then in 1997, to make its mission activities more appropriate and helpful, the Peace Center canvassed its neighbors to learn what were their own greatest needs and concerns. One need they expressed was for their children -- mostly of Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan heritage -- to have more experience of the arts and culture, and to explore the larger Los Angeles community.

And so was born PeaceTrek, L.A., a summer program in which volunteers plan and conduct Saturday tours for children to all sorts of interesting destinations around L.A. In the past year, Treks have visited the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California Plaza performances, Angel's Flight and the Central Market, the Long Beach Aquarium, local festivals, Chinatown, Hollywood, and taken a day trip to the local mountains for a nature hike.

The program also involves the children and the volunteers in fixing their lunches together, storytelling, arts, crafts, cooking and exercise. It all adds up to a world-expanding adventure, and at the same time a safe and welcoming place, for children who have had little access to the wider community and all its riches.

And like any good mission effort, the program is evolving in response to the people it serves. Parents expressed a desire for their children to have some experience of making music, so in 1999 the Peace Center started Music Mentors, using music students from USC to offer neighborhood children basic training in reading music, playing instruments, and singing, as well as attending special musical performances. This program, which runs on Saturdays through the academic year, lets the children show off what they've learned in recitals at the end of each unit, and lets their families enjoy and celebrate their children's accomplishments.

Altogether, some 65 children and their families are benefitting from these two world-expanding programs. They are served by six USC student volunteers, five members of the congregation, four mothers of participating children, plus a couple staff members from the University and a variety of musicians who occasionally join in.

So United University Church, a union of Presbyterian and United Methodist congregations, goes about "the work of faithful Gospel action - specifically by serving [their] neighborhood ... as useful and hospitable neighbors in the midst of our diversity and in often dangerous and hostile environs."

Thanks to the Rev. Dr. Bear Ride, director of the Peace Center, who provided the information from which this sketch has been written by Doug King

GA actions ratified (or not) by  the presbyteries   

A number of the most important actions of the 219^th General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries, confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.

We provided resources to help inform the reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.

Our three areas of primary interest have been:

If you like what you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and growing!

Please consider making a special contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve this service.

Click here to send a gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.

Or send your check, made out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to our PVJ Treasurer:

PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

Got more blogs to recommend?