St John’s Cathedral

What an incredible church! I’ve never been to a church service that was so welcoming and supportive of ALL people. I was lucky to have gone today as they were celebrating the LGBT community; and what a beautiful way they did! I look forward to going back and learning more in this church. :)

An absolutely gorgeous Episcopal Cathedral. It is not massive, although it is on the large side of churches in LA. The mosaic work is unbelievably beautiful. If you go, be sure to check out the chapel on the far front right… it is amazing. You can wander around AFTER the service (not before), and do take a good look around… it is unique and beautiful. Photos really do not do it justice.
The service starts at 11am, which is great for those who want to sleep in a little on Sunday. It is rather high, incense, sung liturgy, but I enjoyed that.
There are no pews, rather freestanding chairs (nice quality), so they can configure the congregation into different formations for different celebrations. They are apparently quite innovative on some of the special holidays as to how the «stage» the services, which I will have to check out… it sounds great.
The sermon was smart and well delivered. The music was good, a little hard to hear sometimes because of the size of the church, and I sat at the back, but I was impressed for what looked like around a 20 person choir. My biggest «complaint» (and it is not really a complaint) is that some of the score for the liturgy sung by the congregation was rather complex, and came off rather messy… people around me were all over the place, and the organ music was difficult to match to the singing. This only happened a couple of times. I only bring it up as a «heads up» and to say don’t worry about not singing along… plenty of people were just reading along silently.
The congregation was a nice mix of every kind of person. This is a wonderful example of everyone getting along and being one happy mix of people — it is Los Angeles at its best. People came up and greeted me warmly at the Peace and made me feel quite welcome. This is a gay-​friendly Church, and they do celebrate gay weddings :)
The congregation was a little reserved before the service, but very friendly at the Peace, and especially after the service. If you go, do stick around and say hello to some of the people in the congregation, and especially to the people who are part of the service, as they are really very friendly and excited to have new visitors. The Rector (who gave the sermon) was a really nice man, who was warm and welcoming. Oh, and they have a parking lot which is great, I got there about 20 minutes early, so there was plenty of space. I will be back, and look forward to it.

I served as visiting assisting organist and conductor this morning, so my observations are somewhat different than most who will attend, since choristers and clergy met me in a leadership capacity; that being said, I can’t recall when I’ve ever been more warmly welcomed to a church of any denomination.
The liturgy was an unusual and exquisitely tasteful blend of urbane/​global service music, stational processions, iconography, liberal use of incense (with gorgeously trained and disciplined servers), the psalm sung to Anglican chant, chanted intercessions and a communion proper: all led by one of the smartest professional quality choirs I’ve ever worked with. It reminded me (somewhat) of my visit to Trinity Wall Street (NYC) in the late 1980’s to hear Larry King and James Simms’ choir lead music for a Rite II Eucharist that would serve as a model for my vocational time spent in the Episcopal Church. I was moved to tears at several times throughout the Mass, but no more than when Ned Tipton accompanied a paraphrase of the Nicene Creed sung to Rustington.
Church and Liturgy nerds: I commend St. John’s Cathedral in the City of Angels to you as a destination worthy of your consideration. I have rarely been so deeply moved to prayer and praise as I was in this very holy place.

St. John’s is a very beautiful Cathedral, and the services are soulful and touching. My favorite part of the service is when the Deacon says, «My friends, for whom shall we pray?» and people are invited to call out the names of those they pray for. Also it’s lovely to sing the Lord’s prayer. And the people are non-​judgmental and welcoming to gays and lesbians.

St. John’s is a friendly, diverse, and progressive Episcopal church in the heart of Los Angeles. St. John’s has transformed from simply a church into a home for me. I’ve made strong friendships and received countless opportunities as a member here. It’s contributed to my growth spiritually, and is helping me become the person I want to be. Services are Sundays at 7:30am, 9am, and 11am, and Wednesdays at 6:30pm.

Pacific Crossroads Church is a sister church of Tim Keller Redeemer church in New York. They hold a Sunday evening service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. I started attending a few months ago. It has a very diverse mix of people, awesome sermons — very structured and applicable, and is approachable to all people regardless of the status of their walk. I’ve been searching for a church/​fellowship since I graduated from college in ’03 and it’s been refreshing to find such a welcoming church.

what a beautiful cathedral in the heart of downtown LA, near USC

St. John’s is no longer simply «St. John’s Episcopal Church». As the newly-​designated ProCathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, we are now officially known as «St. John’s Cathedral». Please see and post Reviews under that name. Thanks!