When Union Rescue Mission started 135 years ago, horse-drawn wagons scooped up wayward souls around downtown Los Angeles and delivered them to a nearby haven, where they might get a bowl of soup and a dose of prayer.
Today, the mission on San Pedro Street in downtown Los Angeles fights to bring a measure of relief in the midst of what’s believed to be the biggest encampment of homeless people in North America. It offers food, shelter and myriad programs to try to lift up those who are struggling.
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In the midst of such overwhelming need, help has come from an unlikely quarter — an Orange County mega-church. For the last several Sundays, a busload of congregants from Mariners Church have driven to Union Rescue Mission to offer love, prayers (and the occasional hygiene kit) to people used to being ignored.
“In a large church like ours, we’re reminded that we are all created in God’s image,” said Jorge Molina, the Mariners Church pastor who helped bring the O.C. to L.A.’s most troubled neighborhood. “We can’t forget we are here for the whole city, for the whole country,” for everyone.
OC takes over Sunday services in LA
Mariners maintains congregations around Orange County. Collectively, the membership ranks among the largest in California. The church’s first venture into Los Angeles began late this fall, when the Union Rescue Mission’s leaders asked whether their southern neighbors would be interested in running Sunday services.
Molina grew up in El Salvador. He had seen people living in dire circumstances. But the reality of skid row — block after block of cardboard hovels, with people adrift, many fighting inner demons — stunned him. “I did not even realize there were places like this in the U.S.,” he said. “I felt safer in a Third World country than I did here.” But he and Mariners’ senior pastor Eric Geiger also felt certain: “This is where Jesus would come to church.”
So Mariners members have been venturing to skid row for more than a month. They visit beaten down residential hotels and social service centers, inviting people to join them for services.
On a recent Sunday, a video connection with the OC allowed Geiger to preach to about 110 people in the Union Rescue Mission chapel. He showed a video of the 60-year-old “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and reminded people how Linus described the true meaning of the holiday. Geiger told them that Linus finally could leave his beloved security blanket, wrapping it around the Christmas tree, when he found true protection in Jesus Christ. That brought a round of “Amens” from the Rescue Mission congregation.
A few minutes earlier, Steve and Olivia Button, chuch members from Aliso Viejo, had been on the sidewalk when Ernest Fenner came whipping along on a scooter. Fenner stopped to see what all the balloons outside the Union Rescue Mission were about. He stayed to talk to the Buttons, then later huddled with them at the front of the church.
A Chicago native in the city of angels
Fenner, 64, said he had left his native Chicago because he didn’t feel welcome. He’s doesn’t trust many of the other tenants at his nearby residential hotel. But at least on this day he appreciated being seen by a couple of strangers.
“That’s why I say here in California, they got the name right, the City of Angels,” Fenner said. “Because, there are angels out here.” He promised that he’d do himself up for the following Sunday, saying, “I guarantee you, I’ll put my teeth in next time.”
Steve Button is a partner in a group of San Diego restaurants called “The Mission.” A couple years back, the eateries began giving away a couple hundred breakfast burritos a day to homeless people. Button said God directed him to the work.
“I like to say, God sent me to the minor leagues in San Diego, with their homeless problem, only to promote me two years later to come up here to the big leagues,” Button said. “There’s no job too big, no miracle too big.”
Today’s top stories 
Heavy rains cause flooding in the streets of San Francisco as a storm system pummels Northern California.
(Jessica Christian/AP)
Deadly winter storm arrives in Southern California
- A major atmospheric river storm hitting Northern California is expected to move through the state and bring SoCal its worst Christmas storm in recent memory.
- Forecasters are predicting the storm will bring five straight days of rain through the holiday, bringing widespread flooding and travel risks.
- Here’s more information on SoCal evacuations, road closures and safety tips.
Melodee Buzzard case
- The 9-year-old who was reported missing in October has been found dead, a relative confirmed to The Times.
- A months-long investigation ensued after Melodee vanished during a road trip with her mother, who was taken into custody Tuesday morning.
Flu season hits early
- Doctors are warning that the virus, fueled by a new strain, may be especially hard on kids this year.
- State and county data shows a surge in concentrations of flu detected in wastewater in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a rising test positivity rate in L.A. County and Orange County.
Aftermath of the fireWhat else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readOther must readsFor your downtime 
Fried plantains and a queso and loroco pupusa at Delmy’s Pupusas, a farmers market pop-up.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Going outStaying inQuestion of the day: What is your New Year’s resolution?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
Richard Kind is photographed at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood on May 13.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Christina House of actor and comedian Richard Kind at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Take a look behind-the-scenes of this photo and the other best entertainment photos of 2025.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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