Oriental Mission Church

It was, by church standards, irreverent. Beating drums thundered through the sanctuary as the crowd waved flags and pumped fists. Young men and women in face paint jumped up and down near the pulpit, leading hundreds of faithful followers in cheers. Grandmothers in pews gasped in horror and screamed with excitement. Traditionally a house of quiet worship, Grace Korean Church in Fullerton became a raucous party on Tuesday as hundreds arrived to watch South Korea play Nigeria on three giant screens.

It was, by church standards, irreverent. Beating drums thundered through the sanctuary as the crowd waved flags and pumped fists. Young men and women in face paint jumped up and down near the pulpit, leading hundreds of faithful followers in cheers. Grandmothers in pews gasped in horror and screamed with excitement. Traditionally a house of quiet worship, Grace Korean Church in Fullerton became a raucous party on Tuesday as hundreds arrived to watch South Korea play Nigeria on three giant screens.

Charged with espionage and facing a North Korean death sentence, Dong Sun Lim began to remember his brother's talks about the Bible--preachings that he had rejected in the past. "But there in the jail cell, I began to pray and then I met Jesus Christ," he recalled. "I heard three answers:You will not die in jail. You will become my servant. Do not fear."

As the Rev. Hyun Seung Yang oversaw the distribution of food through the Korean American Food and Shelter Service he marveled at the "invisible reconstruction" going on in this small corner of the city. "People talk about the effort to rebuild L. A. in terms of the visible rebuilding of structures, but this is where the real process of healing and building for the future is taking place," Yang said of the food bank open each weekday in the parking lot of the Oriental Mission Church.

As the Rev. Hyun Seung Yang oversaw the distribution of food through the Korean American Food and Shelter Service he marveled at the "invisible reconstruction" going on in this small corner of the city. "People talk about the effort to rebuild L. A. in terms of the visible rebuilding of structures, but this is where the real process of healing and building for the future is taking place," Yang said of the food bank open each weekday in the parking lot of the Oriental Mission Church.

One of the biggest Korean-American congregations in Los Angeles will move into a newly constructed church complex next weekend--a $9-million symbol of the robust church activity among Korean-heritage Christians. Despite inconvenient parking and makeshift classrooms at their old Koreatown facility, the Young-Nak Presbyterian Church was ranked last year as the fourth fastest-growing U.S. church in attendance. Attendance at Young-Nak services and religious education classes grew to more than 4,600 churchgoers on the average Sunday in 1987, according to the latest survey by the Church Growth Research Center in Bolivar, Mo. "But we know many people stopped coming because of lack of parking and educational programs," an assistant pastor at the church said.

When the winter rains washed down Western Avenue 60 years back, puddling up around 9th Street--where the rutted road dipped--the local boys would make a nice piece of change bringing their horses to drag the Model A's and their sheepish drivers out of the muddy rainwater. The California Korea Bank now presides over that stretch of Western where Silas Lawler, now 82, once borrowed his father's horses to rescue trapped motorists.

Korean-American community leaders, in a sometimes acrimonious meeting Thursday, strongly criticized the heads of a Korean grocers group for meeting with purported gang members to hammer out a proposed rapprochement. Some participants suggested that the tone of Thursday's meeting makes it unlikely that the grocers will agree to specific proposals from the gang members in follow-up talks today..

California has 25 of the top 100 Protestant churches in the country, ranked by average Sunday attendance, according to a new survey by John N. Vaughan, International Mega-Church Research Center, Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Mo. Here is how they rank in the state: 1. Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa: 12,000. 2. Grace Community Church, Sun Valley: 8,000. 3. Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside: 7,700. 4. Calvary Chapel, Downey: 7,500. 5. Calvary Church, Santa Ana: 6,000.

"We pray because we realize that, at the core of who we are, we are incomplete. We have been created to be in touch not only with the natural, but with the supernatural. There is that longing for the divine." -- Richard Peace, professor of spiritual formation at Fuller Theological Seminary * It was just after 5 a.m. Thursday in Koreatown, and 500 people had already filled pews inside the Oriental Mission Church on Western Avenue to pray. Led by the Rev.

One of the biggest Korean-American congregations in Los Angeles will move into a newly constructed church complex next weekend--a $9-million symbol of the robust church activity among Korean-heritage Christians. Despite inconvenient parking and makeshift classrooms at their old Koreatown facility, the Young-Nak Presbyterian Church was ranked last year as the fourth fastest-growing U.S. church in attendance. Attendance at Young-Nak services and religious education classes grew to more than 4,600 churchgoers on the average Sunday in 1987, according to the latest survey by the Church Growth Research Center in Bolivar, Mo. "But we know many people stopped coming because of lack of parking and educational programs," an assistant pastor at the church said.

Charged with espionage and facing a North Korean death sentence, Dong Sun Lim began to remember his brother's talks about the Bible--preachings that he had rejected in the past. "But there in the jail cell, I began to pray and then I met Jesus Christ," he recalled. "I heard three answers:You will not die in jail. You will become my servant. Do not fear."

When the winter rains washed down Western Avenue 60 years back, puddling up around 9th Street--where the rutted road dipped--the local boys would make a nice piece of change bringing their horses to drag the Model A's and their sheepish drivers out of the muddy rainwater. The California Korea Bank now presides over that stretch of Western where Silas Lawler, now 82, once borrowed his father's horses to rescue trapped motorists.

CITY COUNCIL LAX TOWER: Approved an agreement between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration for the construction of a 17-story air traffic control tower at Los Angeles International Airport. The tower will replace the existing 12-story tower that was constructed more than 30 years ago. The tower will be built with federal funds. KOREAN HEALTH FAIR: Approved a proposal to spend about $850 to partially finance the Korean Health Fair Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

KOREAN HEALTH FAIR: Approved a proposal to spend about $850 to partially finance the Korean Health Fair Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Oriental Mission Church, 424 N. Western Ave. in the Wilshire area. About 35 physicians will provide free health examinations, including blood pressure tests and medical referral services. MUSICAL PARTY: Approved the closure of 54th Street from 10th Avenue to 11th Avenue from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.