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Will Jesus come to Echo Park? |
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Written by asap
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Saturday, 08 July 2006 |
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 LOS ANGELES — The homemade signs are everywhere: Jesus is coming to Echo Park on July 7, 2007, at 8 p.m. with 1,000 doves and a rainbow. Rambling fliers declare that a year from Friday, Jesus will lower rent for the poor and give a college degree to any teenager who shows up.
If the signs look familiar, that’s because a similar batch was posted last year, declaring that Jesus would come on July 7, 2005. About 30 people came to the park, but Jesus didn’t.
A woman who said her name is Olga Soto and calls herself a prophet put up the signs and fliers. Soto explained last year that Jesus was expecting 4,000 people and that’s why he didn’t come down.
This time, the arrival would be on 7/7/07 -- a repetition of the seven that some believe is Jesus’ number and a notch above this year’s 6/6/06.
Despite several attempts, Soto could not be reached for comment.
 A LONG TRADITION
Monsignor Kevin Irwin, dean of theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., said that predictions of Christ’s return are nothing new.
“Olga is in good company. Since St. Paul, people have tried to anticipate or predict when Christ is going to come again,” Irwin said.
Few suggest, however, that Christ is coming back to do wonderful things for people.
“The belief is that when Christ comes at the end of time, time is going to come to an end. The show is going to close, it’s all over,” Irwin said. “So, the prediction of Christ’s return is the end of the world and that’s where she parts company with anyone else who has tried to do this before. ... When Christ comes again there will be no need for rent control, there will be no need for scholarships and no need for education. It’s finished.”
Similar predictions of Christ’s return flourished around the turn of the millennium and they usually crop up at times of natural disasters, Irwin said.
“To be very honest, after (Hurricane) Katrina and New Orleans, people asked if Christ was coming again and if this was a sign of the end of the world,” Irwin said. “But last I checked we’re still here.”
A NEIGHBORHOOD WELCOME
Echo Park is a working-class neighborhood that runs along the Hollywood Freeway near downtown. The once gang-infested area is undergoing gentrification, and the park is bordered by homes set on hilly terrain.
The Angelus Temple across the street was the base for Aimee Semple McPherson, a pioneer in radio evangelism in the early part of the 20th century. McPherson incorporated vaudeville elements in her sermons and once took the stage dressed as a motorcycle officer when she preached on the matter, “Stop! You are breaking God’s law!”
“The park has always had quirky characters around it,” said Scott Fajack, a board member of the Echo Park Historical Society.
Frank Navarez, 53, of Los Angeles, was enjoying a picnic in the park Friday with his wife.
“There are strange people that come to this park,” he said. “I think this would be one of the best places for Jesus to come, but it’s kind of odd.”
The Catholic Church believes that the time of Christ’s return is unknowable. Irwin, the monsignor, has no plans to come to Echo Park next year.
“No,” he said. “I’ll probably be at the beach.”
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Watch the video to learn more.
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THE RETURN THAT WASN’T
Several blogs and the LA Weekly covered last year’s prediction that Jesus was coming to Echo Park:
http://hexod.us/a/2005/07/so—we—went—to—s.html
http://www.laweekly.com/general/a-considerable-town/jesus-of-echo-pa rk/8354/
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Paul Chavez is an asap reporter based in Los Angeles.
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