I have been in LA at Fuller Theological Seminary taking some classes and this past Tuesday morning started bright and early as our MAGL cohort headed down to the Metro to take public transportation to East Hollywood.  The train was crowded with people heading to work and I stood most of the forty-five minute commute.  When we finally reached our stop, after switching trains at Union station in downtown LA, we emerged to a short walk to Kairos LA, lead by my Friend JR, whose church is housed in East Hollywood at Hope International Church.  At Hope, we enjoyed a great breakfast and heard from Pastor Ed and kitchen leader Lenny about the ministries of Hope International.  We then were able to observe, serve and interact with the homeless of the community as they came to the Tuesday morning meal and picked up a bag of supplies.             

Following our time with the homeless and learning about Hope International, we gathered to reflect on the urban environment, discuss the Bakke and Gorringe texts we had read, and prepare for the next stage of our day.  Small groups formed around five ministry/observation opportunities in the East Hollywood neighborhood.  We walked about a mile down the road to eat lunch at a Thai restaurant, and met the people who would be escorting us that afternoon. 

My group was escorted by Israel.  Originally, from Armenia, Israel spent his first fifteen years in Soviet controlled Armenia.  A little over twenty years ago, he immigrated to the US to East Hollywood, which has a large location known as “Little Armenia”.  Israel took us on a tour of “Little Armenia” showing us Hollywood through Armenian eyes.  We became acquainted with the Armenian shops and restaurants, learned how “Thai town” overlapped “Little Armenia”, observed a mural made by Armenian children, and finally made our way to the Armenian school and church.  We ended our day by stopping in at Panos Bakery, and enjoyed baklava and chocolate stuffed croissants.

My morning routine thus far during my time in Pasadena has included turning on the morning news and Tuesday morning was no different.  Two stories particularly hit me that morning.  The evening before in Hollywood, two fathers had come home from work and stabbed the mother of their children.  Both murders occurred in front of the children.  This was what was weighing on my mind as we ventured down into East Hollywood. 

As I passed the apartments and condominiums on the way to Hope International, I wondered about the serenity that appeared.  This was an urban environment not unlike my home in Atlanta.  This was home for hard working families, homeless, gangs.  I questioned the peace of the city.  I questioned the serenity, the small yards with flowers and the children’s toys seen on porches.  Was there really peace here to find? 

At Hope International, I did not want to get in the way so I stood back and watched.  Actually, I hid, even in the midst of all those people.  The homeless make me nervous.  I am not sure what to do or how to react around them.  I served a couple of plates of food and handed out a few bags, but really, I was glad to fade into the background. 

By the time, we had gathered for reflection around our reading, I was not really in the mood.  Those murders were clawing at me, pushing me around, and challenging me.  We reflected on Jeremiah 29:7[1], everyone seemed to accept the fact that there was peace in the city.  I knew there was, I have lived in the slums of Toronto, yet at that moment, I just did not see it.  I asked God to show me peace.  Where was the peace for those kids whom had called 911 screaming for help, crying for their mother’s life?  Where was the healing touch in their lives?  I felt like we had missed the point.  We need not seek peace in peaceful places. 

God showed me the shalom of the city.  It was Pastor Ed, Lenny, Isreal, Michael whom we met at the Armenian Church.  The people were the peace bringers, and they had created spaces where people could come for peace.  Hope International was such a place.  A refuge in a trustless city. 

Israel was a peace-bringer and a peacemaker.  He knew his neighborhood and cared for it.  He told so many people about the East Hollywood council, and the work that the council was doing on behalf of the people in the community.  He might not realize it, but he is an agent of Gods shalom.  Michael, the Archdeacon at the Armenian Church is an agent of Shalom…peace.  He gracefully and effortlessly hosted us in his church, an oasis of peace in that community, and spoke his story of hope.  His story merged tradition and context in a way that set aside barriers and welcomed the stranger. 

As I sat on the Metro heading back to Fuller that afternoon, I reflected on my day.  There was peace in the midst of exile.  I thought about those kids again.  Who would be their peace agents?  Would it be their grandparents, a police chaplain, a pastor?  Who would be the physical reality of an incarnational God? 

I trust God that there is someone, I pray that someone is there with them in their pain and hurt.  I know God is there, and I have seen some of his agents in Hollywood.  Am I an agent of peace where I am?