Strangers Pitch In to Repair Church Built 103 Years Ago

The little church with the brown shingles has stood on the corner of Union Avenue and Court Street in Los Angeles for 103 years. It has welcomed and given strength to waves of immigrants, most from the Philippines.

Recently though, the church has been hurt by an aging and declining membership and lack of money. So on Saturday about 115 people, most of them strangers to the members, showed up to help make repairs. From early morning until midday, the group planted geraniums, painted walls throughout the church and scraped rust off black iron gates.

“It’s hard to believe that there are just so many people reaching out to us,” said Filipino Christian’s Rev. Ric La Paz. “Wow.”

La Paz put down his paintbrush and surveyed those repairing his church. Most were from from churches in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Most belonged to the Disciples of Christ, the same denomination as La Paz’s church.

The workers--ranging from college students to studio singers to retired teachers--came to the church to help on what is known as a “Miracle Day,” during which dozens of the denomination’s churches share resources to help parishes that are less fortunate.

“I’m sure a lot of people at my church are surprised to know this many people care,” La Paz said.

There aren’t a lot of people who still worship at his church.

Filipino Christian, like many other churches, struggles to remain viable at a time when its membership is aging. On most Sundays about 40 to 50 congregants are scattered among the church’s oak pews, less than half the number who attended a few decades ago.

The church doesn’t have enough money to pay for repairs and upkeep. Until Saturday, Filipino Christian, located a few blocks west of Echo Park, hadn’t had a paint job in a decade. The roof and walls leaked water, some of the windows were broken and held together by duct tape, and an iron gate surrounding the church was rusty. There were even a few bullet holes in a concrete wall, the marks of gang shootings that too often plague the neighborhood.

Volunteers were busy fixing those problems Saturday.

“There’s a special feeling in the air today. We call it bayanihan,” said member Kathleen Pagdilao, referring to the Tagalog word for togetherness. “It makes you feel like we are honoring all that this church has meant in the past.”

The church, a small building with a stucco and brick exterior, has stood on the corner of Union and Court since 1898. The Filipino congregation made it its home in 1950.

Parishioners Are Proud of Church

Longtime parishioners said they have great pride because their church has been a strong fiber in the fabric of Filipino life in Los Angeles for many years.

Eugene Obillo, a parishioner since 1953, said many of the city’s Filipino organizations and social clubs started at Filipino Christian. He said the church has a long tradition of tolerance. It welcomed families such as his, which traces its roots in this country back nearly 100 years, as well as new immigrants.

“You have the old and the new here,” he said. “In the ‘50s, this was a way for me to connect with my roots. . . . That is why it is important that we keep it alive.”

Filipino Christian was not the only Disciples of Christ church to receive help Saturday. Artesia Christian Church and the Church of the Chimes in Fontana were also cleaned up.

Each site was worked on by about 100 volunteers, said church spokesman Jerry Brown. Forty-five Disciples of Christ congregations in Southern California raised $35,000 to help with the repairs. Members from all three churches helped out with repairs at other congregations.

Natalie Nevin, a longtime member of the Artesia church, spent the day helping to paint Filipino Christian’s sanctuary. Nevin’s church, like Filipino Christian, has suffered from a shrinking congregation. She said the work will help each church feel it is supported by a larger body of believers.

“This shows us that there is hope for the future of our smaller churches,” Nevin said. “You hear about all of the big mega-churches and all that they do, but we need to remind ourselves that there are plenty of things small churches can do for their community.”