congregational church

Photo by Priscella Vega.

The First Congregational Church of Long Beach can easily boast about its many accomplishments: they own the largest pipe organ in the city and South Bay Area, their church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, they were one of the fastest growing congregational churches in the country in 1932 and their Italian Romanesque architecture is still intact—even as it reaches its newest accomplishment, its centennial mark.

Despite it’s many pinnacles, the church’s main satisfaction is knowing their relationship with Long Beach still runs deep. In celebration of their 100th year, they are screening/producing Postcards from Paradise: A Love Letter to Long Beach. The film-meets-live performance features history of the church’s relationship with Long Beach using historical photos and early film footage. 

Mark Wheeler, a member of the church who instigated the idea with other friends, said the idea of Postcards stemmed from Press-Telegram‘s columnist Tim Grobaty’s “The Long Beach Chronicles.” 

“[The book] looks at the start of the city up to ’33, but [Grobaty] does it in a way of pulling newspaper clips and personal letters,” Wheeler said. “He did everything from major events, to silly little things, and we looked at it and said, ‘Okay, this is a picture of Long Beach.'”

Wheeler pulled from Grobaty’s book to write the script and also used vintage photos lent to him by the Historical Society of Long Beach. The planning stages continued to evolve from there, and soon enough, members were learning more about the church’s relationship with the city. 

“We dug into our history and learned about the background of the congregation and Long Beach and learned there’s this dynamic synergy between the [two]—it’s what Postcards shows us,” Senior Minister Elena Larssen said. 

Although Larssen has only been the senior minister for the past 15 months, she said there were distinct qualities that drew her to the First Congregational Church. 

“I’m still very new, but I came to this church for two reasons. One, I appreciate that it’s a historic downtown congregation that’s committed to it’s community for generations with it’s special energy,” Larssen said. “And two, I love that it’s a very creative, passionate place. It’s what I see in this project of “Postcards.”

Larssen said she knew she was meant to be their senior minister when she sat through a musical production of October Morning set by her congregation members. The musical focused on the Matthew Shepard tragedy, a young gay male who was murdered in Wyoming, eventually leading to federal legislation defining hate crimes. It was material that took viewers through a place of grief and difficult moments to reach a place of hope.

She said she couldn’t see every church be willing to look at the dark and bright side in the way their church did. 

“It’s not every church that use art as a way to express a commitment to justice,” Larssen said. “We could be real about the pain in the world and be authentic about the hope that is always present.” 

Since then she’s come to learn a lot about the congregation and church building.

“Our history and architecture buffs understand the value of it, but the average member, someone like me who doesn’t know much about architecture, doesn’t necessarily know what gem we have,” Larssen said. “[Planning Postcards event has] been part of this consciousness raising for the congregation. We love [our church] because we come here every Sunday but we’re learning what an actual gem it is of Long Beach.”

Postcards isn’t a sole event put on as part of their 100th anniversary; its a natural part of the church’s evolution since the 1800s. Their congregation continually hold summer camps for neighborhood kids, they serve hot meals every Sunday, provide artistic experiences, concerts, art exhibits, readings, and more. Add to this the fact that their congregation is made up of members from Downtown Long Beach to other cities like Palos Verdes and Tustin, and it is clear that their centennial is just more frosting on their cake of philanthropy and community building.

Over 100 members of the congregation will be present on Saturday and Sunday to either assist with production, sing in the choir or be part of the cast. Wheeler said if their congregation wasn’t excited, the event wouldn’t be happening. 

“I grew up in a local church in Rossmore, and everything went there because it was a place of convenience,” Wheeler said. “People search us out, we have folks from all over. The congregation is how we continue to thrive, people make it an effort to come out here and be a part of this.” 

Postcards from Paradise: A Love Letter to Long Beach will screen on Saturday, November 15 at 8 PM and November 16 at 5 PM. Admission is free. The First Congregational Church is located at 241 Cedar Avenue. For further information, click here.