Adventures in Louisiana and beyond

So, it's basically shameful how I've neglected this blog.

To the faithful few who pay attention to it -- hey Jamile -- I figured I'd provide an update on some of the stuff I've been working on. I recently returned from an amazing trip to New Orleans to work on a story about the homeless population there. The number of homeless people has basically doubled since Hurricane Katrina, rising from 6,000 people to about 12,000 -- or about one out of every 25 New Orleans residents. Many people had drug and alcohol problems or mental illness issues and received treatment at the former Charity Hospital, which has been shut down since the 2005 hurricane.

I'm still in the process of finalizing the story, but you can learn about the process by checking out the blog of my professor, Diane Winston. I also have some photos posted.

I also wrote a story/blog about the Arab American vote for the Huffington Post.

Things have been fairly busy with school, church, life, etc. So much has been going on -- football games, plays, concerts, the election, etc. I'll definitely have more information up soon, but hopefully this will suffice for now.

Blessings from La-la land!

On the Web

One of the great things about this specialized journalism program at USC is that I have the privelege to learn from Diane Winston, the Knight Chair in Media and Religion.

As part of my course work, I recently completed a blog for the Knight chair Web site about a couple of the prayers said at the Democratic National Convention.

Feel free to check it out at http://uscmediareligion.org

Adventures in churching

Matters of faith are not necessarily the first things that come to mind when people think of LA.

The city is much more well known for its movie industry, its music scene and "California cuisine."

But as my academic advisor reminded me recently, Azusa Street was the birthplace of Pentacostalism, LA contains the world's second largest Jewish population (New York is No. 1), and the area has a whole host of Buddhist temples.

That's not to mention Southern California megachurches like Saddleback Church pastored by Rick Warren and Harvest Christian Fellowship pastored by Greg Laurie.
As a committed follower of Jesus Christ, I knew that finding a church would need to be a top priority once I arrived here, but it's hard to know where to begin when there are so many options.

Thankfully, I've already been blessed to find a place that I'm considering as a home church. I stumbled upon Westminster Presbyterian Church about a month and a half ago when I was looking for housing. I had driven up to LA from Patterson early Sunday morning to meet up with the man who eventually became my landlord, and I figured I'd check out some churches while I was in town. While driving around seemingly aimlessly after having a burrito for breakfast at Taco Bell and praying for a church to check out, I stumbled upon Westminster and decided to see what time it started. A couple of kind men greeted me at the door and informed me that the service would start at 11 a.m. -- about half an hour before my meeting -- so I said I couldn't attend but that I would come back once I was in town.

I made good on that promise a couple of weeks ago, and discovered a friendly congregation consisting of mostly elderly African American attendees. In fact, the first Sunday I attended, I was the only white person present. Everyone was extremely welcoming and accommodating, and a married couple sang some gorgeous hymns.

The Presbyterian Church has its roots in the Church of Scotland, and many congregations tend to be mostly white, predominately elderly and somewhat formal in their form of worship -- giving them the oft-deserved moniker as the "frozen chosen."
But Westminster doesn't fit those stereotypes at all. Attendees sing spirited renditions of hymns and African American spirituals and say occasional "Amens" during Pastor Virginia Brown's sermons. I can almost tangibly feel the Spirit of God at work in that place as members gathered in groups and prayed for one another. The first Sunday I was there, Brown talked about reaching out to others in the community in rest homes and other places, before giving an altar call. A giant stained glass window portraying Jesus praying in the Garden of Gesthemne stands at the front of the sanctuary, which is about 100 years old.

Last week, a regular attendee told me that the church is in a neighborhood where a lot of young people are getting shot, and members are looking at ways to reach out to the surrounding population. (Note: During the day, I have never felt threatened walking in this area.)

During the prayer time, one member thanked God that I came when there were many other churches to attend that had younger members. It was somewhat ironic because I ended up checking out a church later that night that mostly consisted of twenty- and thirty-somethings.

Tribe of Los Angeles is technically part of the National Association of Congregational Churches, but it fits much nicer into the "emerging church" phenomenon. The church meets in "Smashlabs", where the LA-based band The Mutaytor practices. The night I was there, church attendees had dinner together, followed by communion at the dinner table. Then came a time of worship with electronic music and an African-style drum circle and Bible teaching. The dinner had a "Big Lebowski" theme, where White Russians and sarsaparilla were served along with the meal. (No, I'm not making this up.)

Apparently, the church branched off of a Bible study started by Christians who went to the annual Burning Man event in the Black Rock Desert each year, and many attendees are involved in artistic endeavors. Folks trade off giving the Bible teaching each week, and attendees are given opportunities to ask questions and respond. It was certainly an interesting experience, and I enjoyed certain aspects of the service, though I haven't gone back since.

Yet another local church that could fit within the "emergent" category is Mosaic, which meets in several locations, including The MAYAN nightclub in donwtown LA. When I visited Sunday evening, the church seemed light years away from its brethren at the Southern Baptist Convention who previously boycotted Disney products. A slick video production featured a young woman who shared how she came to know Christ, and a pop/rock worship band kicked off the service with songs the band had written. The worship time almost felt like a rock concert, as the group performed songs to electronic and hip-hop beats as lights flashed about them. A young woman gave the message, talking about how God helps us through the struggles of life.

As a first time attendee, I got a latte from Mosaic's coffee stand for free, and talked to a couple of people at this event for newcomers. Apparently, there are a lot of artist types at Mosaic as well, and many of them get plugged in immediately, helping out with the church's video productions, dance teams and improvisational drama among other ministries. In fact, there is an artist's retreat coming up this weekend, in which members can get together and share their gifts.

Of course, there are tons of other houses of worship in this city of 4 million people. I saw dozens of storefront-type churches in South Central alone when I was looking for housing there. I'm not sure where I'll ultimately end up -- I'm kind of leaning toward Westminster -- but wherever that is, it definitely will be a different experience from anything I've had in the Central Valley.

Then again, it's all worship of the same God, just with different styles and types of communities. It's amazing to see how diverse and beautiful the body of Christ truly is.

First impressions

OK, I've been a Northern California resident for most of my life, so when I learned I would be heading down to USC for graduate school, I was excited about the prospect of attending the university but not so much about living in Los Angeles. I've always considered Southern California to be its own state, with a completely different outlook on life.

My prejudices have led me to believe it's an area with lots of traffic and smog, gang problems in the urban areas and shallow lifestyles in the suburbs, and a huge mass of humanity that is more than willing to use Northern California and Colorado resources, yet gives back little in return ... unless you count Disneyland.

Oh yeah, and it's a textbook model for what not to do in urban planning. LA and sprawl seem to be rather synonymous. A friend of mine who lived in the area for several years said it was the only city she had lived in that seemed to have no soul. And I found it particularly amusing that the Southern California Automobile Club building on Figueroa Street is surrounded by churches and has an almost cathedral-like quality itself, seeming to symbolize the way Southern Californians revere driving.

But as I began looking for housing near USC this upcoming year, I discovered there is actually much to laud about the City of Angels. For instance, I was excited to discover the original Pantry Cafe, which has served up generous helpings of homestyle cuisine since the 1920s. And I fell in love with many of the Victorian homes in the historic West Adams neighborhood near USC, including the nearly century-old home where I am now living. I also loved the diversity of culture that is present. I must admit I had the best shawerma I've sampled since living in the Middle East at a Mediterranean restaurant in Pasadena. It's also fun to meet so many fascinating people and to have interesting encounters, like the time I went apartment hunting in South Central. (That's another story in and of itself.) It's like a journalist's dream.

Now, that I have spent nearly a week living here, I will be intrigued what my final verdict will be in a year's time. Some of my earlier prejudices have been confirmed. For instance, when shopping for furniture in West Los Angeles, I noticed men who looked like 50-year-old surfers -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- and women who looked like "the beanpole dames in the magazines" that Sir Mix-A-Lot parodied years ago in his hit, "Baby Got Back."


As I donned my "Keepin' It Rural" shirt downtown, I got a few bizarre stares. For me, the shirt is as much a political statement it is a funny play on words on the phrase "Keepin' it Real." But I realized most Angelenos probably can't relate to the cries of longtime Central Valley residents who lament farmland being paved over to make way for massive housing developments. After all, Orange County lost most of its orange groves decades ago. Some of LA's in-town traffic has also driven me crazy at times, and I am planning to walk or bike to class rather than drive.

On the other hand, I love traveling through the city's cultural enclaves such as Koreatown and Little Ethiopia. And while driving through sections of the Fairfax District this week, I could have sworn I was back in Jerusalem, with Jewish cultural centers, synagogues and eateries. Several women were dressed in orthodox regalia, something I also had not noticed since being in the Holy Land. I enjoyed talking briefly to a Jewish woman who ran a thrift store about a set of coffee cups that I purchased and an Ethiopian woman across the street who sold me a coffee pot.

I also love my new place. Portland Street is lined with trees and historic homes. The room where I am staying still contains a fireplace and a hearth, and my housemates seem like nice folks. The house is just down the street from the majestic-looking 98-year-old Second Church of Christ, Scientist building, which almost looks like a state capitol with its domed top and Parthenon-like exterior. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. I hardly have any friends in this area at this time, but in some ways I feel more at home here than I ever did in rural Patterson. I like being around people and visiting interesting places.




I'll have a better perspective in a few months time, I'm sure. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to classes starting on Monday. More on USC life to come.

Ta Ta, for now!