The summer of 2022 was incredibly hot. We had just returned to in-person worship after the pandemic, and the first few months had gone well. However, we noticed that the success of Project Roomkey meant that many of our unhoused neighbors had been relocated to different parts of the city. Additionally, there were so many new faces in the area.

One Sunday when we arrived to set up for worship, we found a man who had been beaten up and left to die. We were able to offer him some water and crackers. His ribs and feet were broken; all of the sores on his body were exposed and infected. He looked decades older than his age. As we sat with him, he was able to tell us more about his story. He accepted a hat and some food. Because of his experiences and challenges, he was very reluctant to receive any kind of medical attention. I sat with him and gently offered that his injuries were more serious than we could address on-site. He finally allowed me to call 911. I requested that they arrive with their siren off, since he was so skittish, but they neglected to do so. As soon as the siren pulled into the lot, he panicked. He attempted to get up and walk away, but his injuries were too severe. The paramedics saw him refuse their care, and they left immediately. I called 211, the Homeless Help line in Los Angeles, but I was sent to voicemail. The local agencies and non-profits simply can’t keep up with the demand, and they’re not open on weekends. When we left, we helped move him to the shade, offered him as much food and water as we could, and alerted the neighborhood patrol to his condition.

Eleven days later, I received a call from a caseworker from 211LA. He told me they’d patrolled the area and didn’t see anyone matching the description. I asked when he went, and he said within the past hour. We heard from other people in the neighborhood that our friend had died, alone, across the street on Tuesday the previous week.

This horrible outcome haunted me, and I prayed fervently for a solution. We learned from the unhoused people who attended worship that the weekends were especially hard. Most of the governmental agencies and non-profits closed on Friday, which meant that no one was offering assistance over the weekend. To complicate matters, EBT cards cannot be used to purchase hot food, only groceries. This is incrediby unjust. I realized that we were seeing people after two days without food and in the bleakest of weather. If we could do one thing, it might be to offer a hot meal.

That afternoon, our Business Administrator, Debbie Bowlus, opened the mail and called me, excitedly. She told me that we’d received a check for $1000 from a couple in Memphis, whom we did not know. They found our church online during the pandemic and wanted to contribute to our ministry. This money because the seed from which the Breakfast Ministry has grown.

Thanks to Debbie’s organization and the help of dozens of volunteers, we have been able to offer a hot meal on Sunday mornings for the past two years. This program has grown so much and we are aware that with more funding, we could exapnd our meal count to serve more people. Currently, we are able to serve 40 people. With the proper funds, we could likely double this.

This year, we have made a remarkable connection with the Rotary Club of South Pasadena, thanks to the missional outreach of one of our members, Sara Munshin. The Rotary Club of South Pasadena partnered with the Interact Club of South Pasadena High School, and together, they have brought dozens of new volunteers during this school year, many of whom are students with a heart for justice and service.

In December 2023, we were featured on ABC News “All Good News” Segment by reporter Ashley Mackey: “Los Angles First United Methodist Church preaches "love thy neighbor," and they mean it. The downtown Los Angeles church saw a need in the community. So, every Sunday, they serve free hot breakfast to those in need.” The week after this aired, we had a gift give-away event for our guests and neighbors. Fifty volunteers from the church, the neighborhood, the High School Interact Club, and the Rotary Club came to distribute warm clothing, socks, hats, and supplies for the winter. Nearly 200 people received gifts, and we were incredibly overwhelmed by the joy, love, and support for this outreach.

It is so necessary for us to provide help to our neighbors and community to the best of our ability and with our limitations. The phrase "We can't do everything, but we can do something" guides us in our ministry. We are offering a place of acceptance, where everyone is welcomed and loved. We preach inclusion of all, and are very clear about our position around LGBTQIA inclusion in the life and work of the church. So many people we encounter have found themselves in homelessness because their families did not accept them when they came out, and we have become a safe and loving place for them. We are able to offer a place to rest, eat, be heard, and provide some basic and needed items. It is such a wonderful feeling of community to be able to engage in conversation while serving a hot meal to folks that might have gone days without food. We are able to keep up with people week by week, and learn more about their challenges and what we can do to assist them. Our parking lot revenue covers our basic needs, including the tremendous property tax bill that we incur each year (it costs a significant amount to remain houseless). We are able to pay our apportionments in full, pay our staff equitably, and offer benefits for our full-time employees. We also work to maintain our parsonage, which we converted into use as an affordable cohousing community. The Breakfast Ministry is a significant add to our budget, and we rely primarily on donations to help us cover it. It is incredibly humbling to serve those in such tremendous need, and they are so very grateful and appreciative. Each one of us serving on Sunday receives the same gift.

Los Angeles County has nearly 70,000 unhoused people, and nearly 12,000 of those are in our 3-mile radius mission area. Our breakfast ministry provides a hot meal, a place of rest, fellowship, and peace for those who are struggling through 60 hours of neglected time. We address the injustices of our socioeconomic reality, which traps people in cycles of generational poverty due to the inherent racism, sexism, homophobia, and lack of resources for mental health struggles in our country. While we are working to solve some of these challenges, including developing our land into low-income and permanent supportive housing, it will be years until this dream is realized. In the meantime, we are offering what we can to help our neighbors who are in the most critical need.