On Sunday, Jan. 28, the office of the Honorable Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles County Supervisor, District #2, presented proclamations of appreciation to the Restoration Community Development Corporation (RCDC) at the Cathedral of Christ Temple Church of Christ (Holiness) USA (CCTCC).
After the worship service, April Johnson, assistant director of constituent engagement for the supervisor’s office, presented certificates to Bernice Noflin, founder and executive director of RCDC, Bishop Emery Lindsay, senior pastor of CCTCC, Edmond Hamilton, Jr., trustee chair of CCTCC and Rev. Robert Hendricks, senior pastor of New Testament Church of Christ.
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“You know, God is love,” said Noflin. “I want to be as simple as possible—we don’t need a class to love each other. We need the will to love each other.”
Established in 2015, the RCDC program provides and supports people experiencing homelessness. The organization provides essentials such as nutrition, hygiene, mental health, medical and legal services. Noflin stated the program started by hosting events intentionally with the faith community. The RCDC also partners with county, city, and local nonprofits to provide supportive services.
“We gathered here to commend all of these wonderful people for their remarkable collaboration along with the volunteers and hosting that fabulous event, the Day of Dignity for the unhoused,” said Johnson. “Together they have exemplified compassion, community spirit, providing a beacon of hope for those in need.”
Johnson continued, “Their dedication for making a positive impact is truly commendable, and on behalf of Supervisor Holly Mitchell and the 2 million people that we represent in the Second District, we express our heartfelt gratitude for their unwavering commitment to fostering their sense of dignity and humanity in our community.”
“My mother always said, you know, if not for the grace of God. We really do have to stop and really think about that.
“When we see folks out there struggling, we don’t know their details. We don’t know their stories.”
“I would just like to say on behalf of my husband, who unfortunately wasn’t able to be here today, and that is that we have all been blessed to be a blessing,” said First Lady of CCTCC, Pearl Lindsay. “And I know that it’s the sentiment of his heart to be a blessing to everyone and particularly those who are unhoused because as someone said earlier, it could have been us.”
She continued, “Thank you for the recognition and we’re just so grateful for the blessing that we have been to you and to others.”
Partnering with CCTCC on RCDC’s unsheltered program is Pastor Hendricks of New Testament Church, who also received a proclamation. He shared why his church joined the program.
“Bernice Noflin had a conversation with us and because we are a church that wants to be an oasis to our community, we decided that we wanted to partner with her so that we can make a difference in our community,” said Hendricks.
Noflin is passionate about the work RCDC does in the community and she believes in helping people. She wanted it to be clear that this isn’t about her or the RCDC, but to her obedience to God.
“You know all honor goes to God,” said Noflin. “I couldn’t do this; this is not what I intentionally thought I would be doing at this point in my life but I’m a believer and I want to be obedient.
“And so, this is not really my plan, it’s God’s plan and it has taken us this far.
“I want to give thanks to Bishop for kind of rescuing our program when, you know, we had a hiccup, but I also want to thank everyone here – the volunteers, Pastor Hendricks – for joining us in this journey.”
Cathedral of Christ Temple Church of Christ (Holiness) USA would like to recognize Dr. Erica Lindsay McCool for beginning the homeless outreach program at Christ Temple Church.
For more information on the Restoration Community Development Corporation, visit www.restorationcdcla.org. For more information on Cathedral of Christ Temple Church of Christ (Holiness) USA, visit www.christtemplela.org
