After a conversation with people about religion, spirituality and faith, I thought maybe I should re-visit the idea of going to church. I did a Google search of churches in Los Angeles. The first 2 that came up were Hollywood United Methodist Church and WeHo(West Hollywood)Church. Not really sure what they were I figured I would give them a try before I made any judgments.
Sunday morning I woke up and figured I would drive by the WeHo Church to check it out first since it was closer to my apartment. If I didn't feel it was a good fit, I would then head to Hollywood United Methodist.
I drove to the street that WeHo Church was on and I'm looking, looking and looking for the address. I kept passing it but couldn't find where this "building" was. After a third drive by I found it. It looked like it was a storage facility and the service took place in one of the garage units. This didn't seem like it was for me.
So, I then drove to Hollywood United Methodist. Not really sure what Methodists really are, I thought I'd give it a shot. After finding the church I parked my car and walked through the doors. For this, I would never be the same.
The parishioners were all walks of life. This was a very open and accepting church. Many people looked homeless and others just looked they were trying to “find themselves”. There was one lady who looked like she was going to the Kentucky Derby. The minister and others came up to me and asked if this was my first time here. They welcomed me and were very happy to have new comers. I knew that this wasn’t the church I would be attending, I contemplated about leaving. However, I figured I was here and what else do I have to do today. I decided to stay and watch the show. I was sitting next to a very nice elderly woman who kept to herself. I thought I would be safe sitting next to her. She told me the service was about an hour.
The service started and they asked if they had any first time visitors. About 6 people raised their hands, and then a nice gentleman 2 pews up shouted, “Scott, raise your hand! It’s your first time here!”. They handed out flowers to all of us and warmly welcomed us with a round of applause. This was also Father’s Day. They then asked all the fathers to stand up to be recognized. 12 people stood up and 4 of them were dressed like women. Once of the fathers got up to say a little prayer and told his personal story. After finally living his life as his true self and not receiving a Father’s Day card from his son for the past 18 years, he finally got a card this year. It included a gift certificate to receive a facial at the Woman’s Spa of LA.
An hour and forty five minutes into the service they were making the final announcements before communion. They were going to be having a lunch afterward to celebrate Junteenth. (Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865.) They were going to be serving BBQ and fried chicken.
When communion started, I snuck out the back door.
Sunday morning I woke up and figured I would drive by the WeHo Church to check it out first since it was closer to my apartment. If I didn't feel it was a good fit, I would then head to Hollywood United Methodist.
I drove to the street that WeHo Church was on and I'm looking, looking and looking for the address. I kept passing it but couldn't find where this "building" was. After a third drive by I found it. It looked like it was a storage facility and the service took place in one of the garage units. This didn't seem like it was for me.
So, I then drove to Hollywood United Methodist. Not really sure what Methodists really are, I thought I'd give it a shot. After finding the church I parked my car and walked through the doors. For this, I would never be the same.
The parishioners were all walks of life. This was a very open and accepting church. Many people looked homeless and others just looked they were trying to “find themselves”. There was one lady who looked like she was going to the Kentucky Derby. The minister and others came up to me and asked if this was my first time here. They welcomed me and were very happy to have new comers. I knew that this wasn’t the church I would be attending, I contemplated about leaving. However, I figured I was here and what else do I have to do today. I decided to stay and watch the show. I was sitting next to a very nice elderly woman who kept to herself. I thought I would be safe sitting next to her. She told me the service was about an hour.
The service started and they asked if they had any first time visitors. About 6 people raised their hands, and then a nice gentleman 2 pews up shouted, “Scott, raise your hand! It’s your first time here!”. They handed out flowers to all of us and warmly welcomed us with a round of applause. This was also Father’s Day. They then asked all the fathers to stand up to be recognized. 12 people stood up and 4 of them were dressed like women. Once of the fathers got up to say a little prayer and told his personal story. After finally living his life as his true self and not receiving a Father’s Day card from his son for the past 18 years, he finally got a card this year. It included a gift certificate to receive a facial at the Woman’s Spa of LA.
An hour and forty five minutes into the service they were making the final announcements before communion. They were going to be having a lunch afterward to celebrate Junteenth. (Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865.) They were going to be serving BBQ and fried chicken.
When communion started, I snuck out the back door.
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