Who We Are
HISTORY OF JOY OF ALL WHO SORROW CHURCH IN MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA,
2024
The Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church, originally called Saint Innocent of Alaska Orthodox Mission, was born out of love for God and a desire to serve the Westside neighborhoods of Los Angeles. First, the Venice Beach “Bookstand on the Strand” was started in the mid-1990s, and in late 1995, the bookstand added the availability of a Los Angeles one-car garage home chapel for worship. Soon it evolved into a two-car garage chapel, again in Father John Tomasi’s home but this time in Venice. An influx of communicants and ever-expanding hope for a permanent Orthodox presence on the Westside drew many to embrace this community effort.
In 1999, the Archangel Michael Orthodox Bookstore was established in Culver City, California, which included a small but often used sanctuary adjacent to the bookstore, and hundreds of books, icons, lampadas, incense and burners, and gift items from across the globe. The autumn of 2000 brought about the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) formally accepting the mission under its wing, changing its name to “Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church.”
After eight years of utilizing a 1,200-sq. foot building, the fledgling Joy of All Who Sorrow parish moved into a larger facility nearby. Finally, in 2009, the church and bookstore landed in its third location at 4145 Sepulveda Boulevard in Culver City.
Parishioners, ranging in age from 0 to 87, ventured into our community to pray for one another and for the world in these often-difficult times. Now, at the close of 2024, we are in our fourth location, currently with our largest bookstore and chapel, in Marina Del Rey, California.
Everyone is welcome to attend services as well as classes and special events that are offered throughout the year. Since we first opened our doors, each Sunday after Divine Liturgy, a delicious potluck Agape Meal is provided by the Hospitality Committee and through the generosity of our parishioners. Our Agape Meal provides everyone an opportunity to get to know our church family and to feel at home in this loving Christian environment.
Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church
4161 Lincoln Blvd. Marina Del Rey, California 90292
1-310-391-9911 Church/Bookstore *** 1-310-849-9451 Messages
www.joyofallwhosorrow.org
ARCHPRIEST JOHN TOMASI
RECTOR OF JOY OF ALL WHO SORROW ORTHODOX CHURCH, MARINA DEL REY, CA
Like many who survived the unrest of the 1960s, Father John was searching for meaning in his life. Having grown up in an Italian Catholic family in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he loved football, and he also loved going to church. Although not forced by his parents to attend, Father John attended mass daily from his childhood well into his teens. The onset of Vatican II both confused and saddened him because the church he had known from his earliest memories had drastically changed. Almost overnight, the solemn Latin Mass became the folk mass, and in his mind, much of the ritual was modernized into accommodations for the people rather than the age-old solemn worship of God.
In the early 1970s, disillusioned by his loss of faith in the church, Father John turned to eastern religious practices. Still unfulfilled and searching, in his early twenties he traveled alone to Europe, where for 11 months he learned about other cultures and ways of life. Finding himself in the Holy Land toward the end of this journey, he had an experience of God calling him to serve. Answering the call, he put everything else aside to devote his life to God. After returning to the United States, Father John helped the homeless through the Raphael House family shelter in San Francisco. At that time, he finished his bachelor’s degree and earned his California teaching credential.
In 1985, Father John married his wife Deborah in Portland, OR (where he worked as a parochial schoolteacher for 8 years). They were both formally received into the Orthodox Church in 1988. Father John completed his Master’s Degree in Education in San Bernardino, CA, along with his California Learning Handicapped certificate and later his Resource Specialist Credential. In addition, Father John had been mentored by Russian Orthodox monks, abbots, archpriests, and bishops toward his late vocation and ordination into the Orthodox priesthood in the year 2000. The Tomasis have three grown children, Lydia, Giorgio, and John Herman.
Perhaps what Father John is known best for is his ever-vigilant love of prayer. Even while teaching full time at Palisades Charter High School (for over 25 years), Father John never let his offerings of prayers and Orthodox services take second fiddle. To this day, 7:00 a.m. weekday Divine Liturgies are provided at the church two to three times a week, along with Saturday Liturgies and vigils, and the regular Sunday Divine Liturgies at 10:00 a.m. The small child John Tomasi who embraced the richness of prayers and tradition so many years ago, as a priest still thrills at the beauty of the Orthodox Church and the profound age-old sacraments and prayer services that continue year after year, century after century.