A Parish Story from Fountain Valley | Orange County, CA

Sometimes inhabiting your parish looks like your apartment complex becoming a tangible healing ground to experience the love of Christ. Pastor Lamont Hartman shared his Parish Story at our recent Cultivate Gathering and it reminded us that God calls us to root right where we are as we seek to join the liberating story of God in, with, and for the very place where we lay our heads at night.

In the aftermath of the painful life transition, Lamont and his children moved into an Orange County apartment complex not knowing anyone and wondering if they’d be welcomed there. The barriers of difference were immediately felt. As they started to pay attention, however, they noticed that behavior that at first seemed to be cold and standoffish might come from a place of fear.

Living in the midst of difference can bring up all kinds of instinctual boundaries–not knowing who is safe and who will understand you. In a community where English is not always the primary language, greeting a neighbor–let alone practicing hospitality–can feel hard. Yet when Lamont and his kids started to be faithfully present in their neighborhood, they found countless opportunities for connection, building trust across unlikely differences.

Lamont Hartman

The problem is not with my eyes, it’s with my attentiveness.

It was through a young kid in their apartment complex that Lamont began to experience the healing love and hospitality of God in his own life. This kid was full of life and trusted easily. This interaction was a turning point for Lamont in seeing his apartment complex as a community of love and care for himself and his family. 

God’s love looks like potlucks, movie nights, and swim parties.  Lamont, his family, and his neighbors found creative ways they can support one another tangibly, stay connected, and enjoy their shared living context. As we root our lives deeply into a place, we give and receive love. It’s not so much that we “bring God’s love” into a place, it’s that God’s love and presence exists everywhere we look, if we have eyes to see it. 

If you’d like to connect further with Lamont, you can learn more about the church community he co-pastors: The Reconcile Church.