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In the fall of
2004 I had the pleasure of serving as a minister in The Norwegian seamen's
church San Pedro, Los Angeles. The Norwegian seamen's church there is indeed a
lovely place. |
It all started when I was supposed to step in as a substitute for five weeks
during summer. But as the sailor's pastor Morten Gravdal had a severe accident
that led to a long sick leave, I ended up staying for five months ...
At first, the Norwegian Seamen's church was situated in the middle of San Pedro
Town. The small annex next to the church served as the rectory for the sailor's'
priest .
It was far away from the port and the sailors. The location was not the best.
The first church was sold and is now owned by a Baptist congregation.
Around 1950 this reorientation took place.
At that time, the seamens'
pastor was strolling up and down the streets of San Pedro looking for suitable
place for a new seamens' church
in the Los Angeles harbor. 
In Beacon Street he found a great spot. It provided a broad view of ships coming
and going all the way to Long Beach. Eventually the priest ventured to the door
of the owner. Was the site possibly for sale?
The answer was a blank refusal.
The lady who owned the glorious property could tell that God had shown her that
upon this spot, there was going to be built a church. So it was definitely not
be sold. And that's final.
Great was the joy for both buyer and seller when it dawned on them both that
they shared a common respons to prayer .
And in 1951 the new Church in San Pedro was finished.
It became an oasis for Norwegians in the urban desert.
Now it is a point of contact and a resource for all Norwegians and all of
Norwegian heritage throughout Los Angeles County.
Of course, it's still primarily
for Norwegian sailors, though they grow fewer by the year.
But equally, it's a second home
to all residents of Norwegian ancestry, - for students and young au pairs, for
tourists and business people staying for short or for long stay in the megapolis.
Los Angeles indeed is a megapolis. 
In fact, it consists of no less
than about 160 large and small cities woven into each other over an area of 100
x 100 km.
Highways with up to eight lanes
in each direction bind the area together, and all distances are measured in
minutes to drive, not in miles.
The core of it all is the real Los Angeles City, often called the Downtown of
the natives, where skyscrapers mark that here is the center. 
The port of San Pedro / Long Beach is the busiest port on the U.S. west coast.
Here are boats from all over the world. Particularly heavy is the traffic from
the major new industry countries of Asia: China, Japan, South Korea.
Containers in tall stacks is to be seen for miles along the quays.
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