In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, Pastor David Harris of Greater Page Temple Church of God in Christ is not only looking after his parishioners but his own parents, who lost their home – where Harris grew up – on Las Flores Drive in the Eaton Fire.
He says his West Adams church happens to be, “strategically between the Palisades and the Eaton Fires,” and that even before the disasters, it served the community with basic needs.
“We’ve been a community-driven church, so we are a disaster center,” says Harris. “Because we believe in the mission of Jesus Christ, and what he told us to do, we have been serving the community through food, water, diapers, and clothing. No one is refused. I don’t care what faith you are… we’re going to help anybody.”
As part of their ministry every week, Greater Page Temple assists about 60 families in need with food and other necessities. At Thanksgiving, the church provides them with turkeys and components of the festive meal, and the members cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner to those who do not have the means to cook, including the homeless; 300 people were served Thanksgiving dinner at the church last year. In addition, Greater Page Temple’s Skid Row ministry, led by Deacon Christopher Ballard, goes to Skid Row monthly with clothing and hygiene products.
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Pastor Harris also has an eye to the future of the church’s younger members. He has created an afterschool tutoring program and is spearheading the opening of a primary school to ensure that children have the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
“I find that a lot of our youth don’t have … the building blocks to be successful in the future,” he says. “We want to give our children the best start they can have, foundationally.”
Harris says that later this year, a building on the church property will be prepared to serve as the school, which will open to first through third grades. He anticipates eventually expanding the school up to the sixth grade.
Mother Frances Harris, Greater Page Temple’s executive pastor, shares her son’s vision for the school, not only to boost academic skills, but to provide guidance for children’s faith and morals.
“Our children need to be… I call it discipled,” she says. “There’s a lot of beliefs out there that the Word of God is not with. And so, we need to teach and stand on what we believe.”
Like a concerned parent, Mother Harris also wants a safe environment for her parishioners. She expresses her wish for Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who serves as president of the Los Angeles City Council, to pay attention to frequent requests to repair the curbs near the church.
“We went so far to hire a private gardener to come and cut the city’s trees on the curb,” Mother Harris says. “As long as we … are an extended arm in the community, there is upkeep that he can assist us with, and fixing the curbs around Greater Page is number one.”
With family as a firm tenet of the COGIC, Pastor David Harris comes from a longstanding tradition. His maternal grandfather, Rev. M.L. Bereal, founded the first COGIC in Altadena, Hillside Tabernacle, the sanctuary of which was spared in the Eaton Fire, although its community center burned to the ground. Previously, Mother Frances Harris co-pastored with her husband Pastor Jerry Harris, at Hillside Tabernacle for 15 years.
“I come from a long line of Levites … ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Pastor Harris says. “I didn’t choose – it chose me.”
As part of this lineage herself, Mother Harris looks to the future of Greater Page Temple.
“I see much growth and inspiration to the body of Christ,” she says. “Needless to say, I did take a little sucker punch with my house burning down. It made me stop and realize the trying of my faith worked its patience and if God allows it, I have to accept it.
“But overall, for the church … I really feel there are no limits,” says Mother Harris. “There are struggles, but I believe though the leadership of Pastor David Harris, we’ll be able to navigate through the difficult times [with] eggs being $8.00 a carton, gas being as high as it is, and the displacement of people because of fear. He has to stand strong [and] take the leadership of this particular church and let the community that he’s serving know that there is safety and peace in the Word of God and in this house. I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know Who holds my hand.”
