Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles

History

1. On October 09, 1904 'eighteen Colored folk' were received by a confession of faith or by baptism which allowed the process for Presbyterian membership to officially begin. On October 21, 1904 the Westminster Presbyterian Church of LA began to hold service. The church was announced to the Presbytery of Los Angeles and was ordered to enroll in the “Presbytery.”
2. The first pastor invited to lead the church in 1906 was Reverend Robert W. Holman. The first pastorate of Westminster, the Reverend Robert W. Holman was installed as spiritual leader of the fledgling assembly, consisting primarily of those who came to Los Angeles with educational backgrounds acquired in Presbyterian schools located in the South. 
3. In 1906, the Westminster Presbyterian Church of LA bought the land on West 35th Place and Denker Avenue. The church is now located at 2230 West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90018. 
4. Ethnic changes in residential areas became noticeable as a new “Westside” developed. Populations relocated and the African American residents west of Western Avenue began to have–an effect on exclusively monoculture congregations that had been located in the Crenshaw district and surrounding areas. The first multiethnic ministry in the Synod of Southern California and the Los Angeles Presbytery was started by the members of Westminster. Political issues such as poverty, hunger, public education and social services resulted in an expansion of church membership and an increasingly dynamic Christian witness.  
5. The Westminster congregation grew, and the need for a new pastor became evident. A call was extended through established Presbyterian procedures, and Reverend Hampton Barnett Hawes, a product of Presbyterian schools, was invited to provide ministerial leadership to Westminster. Reverend Hawes, a man of exemplary Christian character, served Westminster for 45½ years, establishing a tenure -of-service unequaled in the history of local Presbyterian churches.
6. During the four decades of Reverend Hawes’ pastorate, which embraced the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, recessions, epidemics, job discrimination, school segregation, and injustices within the church at large, Westminster experienced steady growth, and became a “spiritual anchor” to the Christian community. The spiritually impeccable Reverend Hawes led Westminster to new heights, and because of his powerful, profound ministry, he received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Occidental College. 
7. The church was uplifted and inspired by the pastorate and musical talents of the Reverend Glenn Jones, who was appointed as Supply pastor in March, 2002. He brought, in addition to his pastoral acumen, an enhanced musical ministry. 
8. On April 1 of 2014, The Rev. Carlton A. Rhoden began his pastoral leadership at Westminster. After a year, because of his forward-reaching approach to ministry and the synergetic relationship with the congregation, Rev. Carlton A. Rhoden was called and installed as Permanent Pastor.
9. Westminster Presbyterian Church is the home of the oldest African American Presbyterian congregation in Los Angeles. According to its website, “the fellowship began in the early 20th century with eighteen “Colored” people whose background, training and education came from schools operated by the Presbyterian Church in the Carolinas. They began holding services in the Central Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoons.

In this recorded sermon delivered on the church's 115th anniversary, the congregation is treated to a broad history of the church as different reverends have navigated leadership through turbulent eras of American history.

The Westminster Presbyterian church of LA has an extensive backlog of videos that date back to 2014. On the church’s dedicated Youtube channel, there are regular recordings of hour-long sermons delivered each week, in addition to a collection of videos produced with the intention of focusing on Black History, or having a representative focus on a specific part of scripture as well as several short films. There are also various videos that offer testimonials of some members and their current work in the community. One such video features a local educator, Patricia Solomon, who speaks about the community need for childcare for young children up to age 13 and her efforts to fill that need.

Member Resources

The church provides a number of ministries for members to be a part of. For example, Ministry of Evangelism and Mission, Ministry of Spiritual Growth, Ministry of Congregational Care, Ministry of Administration, Ministry Of Stewardship Finance & Property Management, and lastly, Ministry of Worship and Music.

The church empowers their community members to learn about financial services by providing their members with the Ministry of Stewardship Finance and Property Management. This ministry includes units such as (1) Property and Property Maintenance, (2) Finance Committee/ Budget, (3) Special Offerings, (4) Stewardship Campaigns (Awareness), and (5) Facilities Usage and Care/ Facility Use Permits. The church encourages the community to serve God through management of resources (Ministries of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, 2020). Next, you will read the objective of the Ministry of Stewardship & Property Management. 

“The Ministry Of Stewardship Finance & Property Management has the task of overseeing the care and maintenance of all church property, as well as challenging the people of God with the privilege of responding to God through the responsible planning and management of all resources. This ministry encourages the members to be Responsible Stewards of their money, time, and talents and with the maintenance of the places entrusted to our care. The Ministry Of Stewardship Finance & Property Management urges the members to develop effective ways for the use of their gifts and offerings as a response to the goodness of God. The responsibility of this ministry is to help strengthen the members in their commitment to serve God through the careful and responsible management of God’s resources (Ministries of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, 2020).” 

This video is a financial service testimony featuring a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles. 

The video demonstrates the community participating in a food giveaway to ensure their members continue to be nurtured and invigorated. This work of act is a part of the Ministry of Congregational Care that members are a part.

Community Outreach

'The windows of Westminster look out upon the avenues of the World' —Reverend James Edward Jones

While it maintains a majority African-American congregation, the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles is not an exclusively Black church. Emboldened by an era of prominent Civil Rights action, Reverend James Edward Jones mandated a call to action to facilitate multicultural membership into its practices of worship.

This service to a broader community became a prominent pull for Rev. Jones to eventually run and serve as President of the LA School Board.

Continuing to this day, the WPC of LA has been committed to fostering a diversified congregation, composed of multiple ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

On a special occasion mass in honor of Mother's Day in 2017, the church invited Ines Velazquez-McBride to deliver the sermon in honor of motherhood. What marks her invitation as significant was her belonging to the Mosaic Church of Arkansas, a church which asserts its commitmentment to a ‘multiethnic christendom.’ The ideal of a non-racially bound congregation is what the junior pastor in a live streamed youtube video (below) declares is “how its supposed to be.”

The church administration has two dedicated ministries that concern themselves with both outreach and member retention. The Ministry of Evangelism and Mission deals primarily in the first contact with prospective members by facilitating visits to the church and following up with the newer additions to the congregation, while the Ministry of Spiritual Growth takes charge in providing members of the congregation to develop as leaders themselves (Ministries of Westminster, 2020).

This outreach extends to members of the community which find themselves vulnerable in various ways. According to a report by the LA Sentinel, residents of an apartment complex, Westminster Arms Senior Community, which is partially maintained by the Westminster Presbyterian Church of LA, were potential victims of voter fraud as recent as the 2020 November election. The residents became suspicious of tactics that sought to disenfranchise them of their votes and various faith groups were altered, prompting them to work with LA County to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Outreach of the more conventional variety comes from efforts by the church to address food insecurity on a weekly basis which is regularly scheduled alongside socially distanced and virtual worship and calls for trust in the ongoing vaccination process.

Community and the Arts

The church provides their community members with the Ministry of Worship and Music. The committees within the Ministry of worship and Music includes: (1) Choirs, (2) Acolytes, (3) Musicians, (4) Liturgists, (5) Ushers and Greeters, and (6) Wheelchair ministry.

“The Ministry of Worship and Music provides oversight of all services of worship that encompass elements of worship in the corporate setting. This ministry makes sure that fundamentals of worship are in place and that they enhance the experience of praise and worship. The Ministry Of Worship And Music encourages individuals to develop a personal relationship with God. Since Worship is a crucial element in the…life of believers, the Pastor together with the Session takes primary leadership in this ministry and makes sure that within corporate worship believing members of this faith community have opportunity to participate in the Holy Sacraments (Baptism and Communion) and that these Sacraments are observed on a regular basis (Ministries of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles, 2020).” The Westminster Church Of L.A. provides photos and videos of their events via their Instagram social page  https://www.instagram.com/wpcofla/?hl=en .

The church’s Youth Choir is part of the Angelic Voices.  https://www.wpcofla.org/childrens-choir-angelic-voices-los-angeles/   Credit:  www.wpcofla.org 

Furthermore, the church encourages their members to participate in worship and music to build a relationship with God. Participating in art, choir, liturgy, music and other services is considered worship in the church. Here, a video invites the community to an Art Show.

The church has a dedicated program of the arts called the Remix Youth Academy (RYA) that centers its mission on engaging with younger members of the congregation (ages 14-19) to develop skills in various artistic pursuits including, music production, poetry and filmmaking among others.

Community Growth

Maintaining ties between different religious communities of Los Angeles is a key characteristic of the WPC of LA. The reliance on other denominations has been documented in stories such as one from the LA Times, which details Reverend Rhoden uniting with other pastors to protest against the torture of prisoners of war during the early years of the Iraq War, along with a list of other community priorities. Different denominations unite for similar causes in a highly political climate by ‘working together and submerging the ego’

Reverend Rhoden uses YouTube to welcome the community and to give a couple of updates and reminders for upcoming events. Through their YouTube channel the community can communicate and stay connected.

Modern Issues & Looking Toward the Future

In the realm of spiritual content, part of community growth has been the tailoring of sermons to be applicable to the modern age. One sermon on the notions of ‘Come and See’ illustrates this—linking the word of Christ to the modern age of online consumerism, advocating to interact more intimately so as to understand with neighbors or sellers and products in a more evenly grounded territory. And in so doing, discerning for oneself whether a product or an ideology works according to one’s own reason. With efforts such as these, the WPC of LA is accessing community growth, not just by expanding the reach of the church but also through making lessons accessible intellectually for the current generation.

While community outreach and facilitating the needs of different members has always been at the forefront of WPC of LA's efforts, the national quarantine mandates due to the COVID-19 Pandemic did not spare this Church from the challenges of continuing to meet those needs in a safe and socially distant manner.

As several of the above videos have shown, utilizing technology has been a main resource for engaging with church members, a fact that has only grown as the Church has instituted video streams of sermons and periodic direct addresses from the pastor. Additionally, the church has developed a regimen of socially distant bible study and has even ramped up efforts to address food insecurity for the community through weekly care packages.

Most recently, the church’s positioning toward race relations has been fortified and become increasingly bold in response to the murder of George Floyd which sparked massive protests in the Summer of 2020. A video from Reverend Rhoden characterizes the fresh anger and frustration during that summer as he makes an impassioned plea toward his non-black ‘brothers in Christ’ to not sit idly by while the Black community lives under the threat of police brutality.