Unity Fellowship Church, Los Angeles (UFCLA) was founded in 1982 by Reverend Carl Bean for openly gay and lesbian African Americans. The first meetings were held in the private residence of Rev. Bean, on Cochran Avenue in Los Angeles. In 1984, a reorganization took place in the last residence of the late Archbishop William Morris O’Neill, located on South Burnside Avenue (also the ordination site of our founder). Weekly Bible studies then moved to the home of Deacon Christine Tripp.
UFCLA received its nonprofit status in 1985. The first UFCLA public worship service was at the Cockatoo Inn on Hawthorne Blvd in Inglewood. It was then decided by the membership to move the worship service to a more central location, so that it would be more accessible to those on public transportation. The new location was the Ebony Showcase Theater on Washington Boulevard , which was an integral part of the culture of the black community. Public worship continued at the Ebony Showcase Theater until 1988. It was then that Unity Fellowship Church purchased its first property, and moved to West Jefferson Boulevard.
The Unity Fellowship Church Movement (UFCM) was registered in 1990 as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, headquartered at the Jefferson Boulevard site. Presently, the UFCM network is far reaching with various national departments, urban outreach ministries, the national mass choir, periodicals and constituency-based programs nationwide.
The Primary work of Unity Fellowship of Christ Church is to proclaim the “SACREDNESS OF ALL LIFE,” thus focusing on empowering those who have been oppressed and made to feel shame. Through an emerging international network, the Unity Fellowship Church Movement works to facilitate social change and improve the life chances for those who have been rejected by society’s institutions and systems. Although its pivotal work focuses on the urban weak and powerless, the scope of its work is inclusive and has significance for ALL PEOPLE.
