Now It’s a Church in L.A.

In keeping with my aim to feature the often overlooked, exotic subculture next door, I document handcrafted churches repurposed from stores and homes in Los Angeles. These humble places of worship offer a respite from troubling times in our ethnically diverse city of L.A. in ways that are religiously and culturally familiar to their congregants, and in languages that they understand––including English, Spanish, Korean, and Tagalog.

In addition to spiritual inspiration, these churches can be a source of essential services for their often economically challenged community, offering food distribution, immigration assistance, recovery programs, and youth outreach. Particularly in such precarious times, these handmade houses of worship are a bright beacon of hope and an anchor for their communities.