IN THIS HOUSE -
The Story of Mount Hollywood Congregational
Church tells the history of how one church has
never
wavered from it's belief of a
peace and fellowship between all people.
Even
at a time in which the majority of churches
in America supported
a war in Europe early on in this century
- this one small church stood
fast in it's opposition to those who would
ignore God's commandment
that 'Thou Shall Not Kill'. Leading one Methodist
minister to resign from his
church council and bring half of his church
membership to come to this place
that honored that commandment and commitment
to life.
Writer / Producer
/ Director David Alan Gates with Setag
Productions documents
this in a historical series for television,
in a program called 'IN THIS HOUSE
- A History of America's Houses of Worship' with the
first episode dedicated to telling the story
of this remarkable institution called Mount
Hollywood Congregational Church
and their active social involvement against
prejudice, discrimination and hate. Leading to the Los Angeles City Attorney's
office and the FBI to investigate their 'socialist'
activities for having A.J. Muste;
Upton Sinclair; and Ralph
Bunche, who called this church
his home - come to speak out against the
activities of the police 'Red Squad' and
unequal
treatment of women. It was home to the F.O.R. in Los Angeles and one of the first chapters
of the A.C.L.U. in the west, and home to
one man who many called the 'conscious of
the county
of Los Angeles' - John Anson Ford, Supervisor
for the County of Los Angeles for over 4
decades.
And home to the moral and spiritual foundation
for this house - pacifist and pastor Rev.
Allan Hunter.
It was also the place where
the color of one's skin didn't mean you were
less valued
in this
world or in this house of God - having been
the first integrated church in Los Angeles
with two
young black children innocently leading the
way for adults to follow,... and helping
to quell the
racial hatred against asians in the 1920's
- culminating in the saving of a Japanese
American
church after Pearl Harbor, when American
citizens of Japanese ancestry lost everything
to
prejudice and hatred
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