Transfiguration Church Supports Community with Homeless Connect in Leimert Park Village

Father Anthony Bozeman, 3rd from left, and Principal Evelyn Rickenbacker, right, join with Transfiguration School students and staff at the Homeless Connect event. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

On Saturday, November 20, in the Leimert Park Village, The Church of the Transfiguration sponsored Homeless Connect. Along with parents, students, parishioners, The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, the church came out to support the community with donations of clothes, shoes, toiletries, barbecue dinners, manicures, a mobile barber service, and entertainment.

Church members prepared and packaged barbeque meals to give to the community. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

They also provided recourses in health care, housing, job counseling and COVID-19 testing. One of the school’s student council members said she enjoyed participating in the Homeless Connect because it gave her the opportunity to help others.

When asked why the church decided to have the event, Father Anthony M. Bozeman replied, “We are bringing Christ to the community and trying to help transform this dark world by sharing Christ’s awesome light.”

A Transfiguration Church volunteer, left, assists a community member with gathering donations during the free event held in Leimert Park Village on November 20. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

Mrs. Evelyn Rickenbacker, Transfiguration School principal, agreed. “It is important that we go out as a school community and serve others as Christ has taught us to respect and love our brothers and sisters in Christ,” she said. Rickenbacker oversees more than 200 students enrolled in classes from pre-kindergarten through 8^th grade.

Visitors inspect some of the stylish items of clothing that Transfiguration members contributed to the event. COVID-19 testing and other resources were also available. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

A unique aspect of Transfiguration Church is that it is the only African American parish in the Diocese of Los Angeles. In a March 2021 L.A. Sentinel interview, Bozeman explained, “Transfiguration is specifically for the Black community. There are no bi-lingual Masses for any other ethnic community.

“All are welcome, of course, but the mission is to make sure we focus on our Blackness and celebrate that Blackness, so we can bring our gifts to make the church truly catholic – universal – and bring people together,” he said about Transfiguration, which is located at 2515 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Special packets were filled with toiletries, socks, sanitizers and helpful literature. (E. Mesiyah McGinnis/L.A. Sentinel)

To learn more about Transfiguration Catholic Church, call (323) 291-1136 or visit https://transfigchurchla.com. For information about school enrollment or to schedule a school tour, call (323) 292-3011.

Religion editor Cora Jackson-Fossett contributed to this story.

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