Ask middle-aged natives of Southern California where they were born and a surprising number will tell you, "Long Beach." When World War II ended many young people were drawn here by ample jobs, the idyllic climate, and a lifestyle that was slightly Bohemian but still respectable. Those were the things that brought my parents here, where they met and married and where I became one of those children born in Long Beach.

Sandwiched tightly between Los Angeles and Orange County, the former oil production and Navy town has a character and identity distinct from its better known neighbors. Don't assume Long Beach is just another stereotypical California beach city with its palm trees, art deco architecture, and glimpses of bikinis alongside business suits—its subtle complexity and unusual contrasts create a community flavor that's worth taking time to discover.

Let me see if I can give some examples. If you arrive in Long Beach by air you'll probably be struck by the enormity of the airfield, whose five runways stretch out over 1,166 acres. But massive LGB was built primarily for Douglas Aircraft (now Boeing Corporation) and the U.S. military and is used today by only four commercial airlines that process passengers through a tiny, quaint old terminal building where Bogart and Bergman would have felt at home. This is Long Beach.

After settling in amid the high rises and modern buildings near the Convention Center, try to make your way east on Ocean Boulevard to the canals and narrow streets of cozy Naples and Belmont Shore. Here you'll find real gondolas sailing and children frolicking almost within view of the third busiest port in the world. This is Long Beach.

The site of a large V.A. hospital and a former Naval base, thousands of U.S. military veterans make their homes here alongside the 32,000 students of the largest campus of the California State University. This is Long Beach.

Larger than Tulsa, Minneapolis, Miami, or St. Louis, Long Beach would be considered a metropolis in its own right if it weren't located in the shadow of the second-largest city in the U.S. The area buzzes with commerce, tourism, and street life, but its neighborhoods are as friendly and comfortable as a favorite pair of jeans. This too is Long Beach.

Many know Long Beach as home to the stately Queen Mary and the annual Toyota Grand Prix, but those who live here are proud to point out that USA Today named it the most ethnically diverse city in the country. This is Long Beach.

Did you see the 192-foot pyramid on your way into town? That's part of the California State University campus and only a few miles from one of our most rustic adobe treasures, Rancho Los Alamitos. This is Long Beach.

Southern California is famous for its love of the automobile, but you're in a place where visitors can reach nearly any local destination on the Passport Shuttle. There are also water taxis, an extensive bus system, and a rapid transit station -- complete with bike storage facilities -- where you can travel all the way to Los Angeles. Yes, this is Long Beach.

Long Beach is a patchwork of cultures, religions, and lifestyles, where Hawaiian shirt-clad seniors hold hands while walking their dog in a blue-collar neighborhood. Where the Cambodian Catholic church is around the corner from al Shareef mosque. Where the street murals celebrate the city's diversity and million dollar yachts sail. Where Congregation Lubavitch meets just across the park from the frisbee golf course.

Intertwined with this eclecticism are the area's UUs, and no introduction to the General Assembly's host city can be complete without reference to our own local history. The Unitarian Church of Long Beach (now the UU Church of Long Beach ), the first Unitarian congregation in the area, was formed in 1913—a remarkably early year by West Coast standards—when a handful of religious seekers gathered to hear the first Unitarian sermon in Long Beach on the first Sunday in April. Other nearby congregations were formed later, including Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes and Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa.

Welcome to the 2004 General Assembly: from Long Beach to the World!

Long Beach, California, is part of the Pacific Southwest District and is home to many UU congregations:

• Unitarian Universalist Church of South County , Mission Viejo, CA
• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach , Laguna Beach, CA
• Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church , Costa Mesa, CA
• Unitarian Universalist Church in Fullerton Fullerton, CA
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Orange County Anaheim, CA
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach Long Beach, CA
• Pacific Unitarian Church Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
• The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica Santa Monica, CA
• First Unitarian Universalist Church of Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA

Billboards all over the Long Beach area are displaying advertisements for "The Uncommon Denomination," inviting people in the Long Beach area who have never experienced Unitarian Universalism to try it, and us, at the Sunday service at GA.

Long Beach, welcome to UUism!