A PRAYERFUL START CHURCH HONORS BLACK ACHIEVEMENT.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

Hundreds of worshippers poured into the Brookins Community African Methodist Episcopal Church for a Sunday service of toe-tapping music and lively prayers, kicking off a series of celebrations to mark Black History Month.

Churchgoers packed the pews as the smell of home-cooked food wafted up from a downstairs kitchen, through its open doors and out into the neighborhood outside at Gramercy Place and 49th Street.

Speaking to the congregation, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the monthlong reflection of African-American triumphs is an important way to measure and broadcast the progress the community has made.

``It's important for us to know our history because if you don't know where you come from, you never know where you're going to go,'' Villaraigosa said.

Sunday was the second time Villaraigosa was invited to launch the African-American history month at the church. The goal of the monthlong remembrance is to introduce black history to the wider public.

Sitting before the energetic choir that pulled churchgoers from their seats to clap and sing -- in what the Rev. Fredrick Murph called Christian aerobics -- were Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and City Council members Jan Perry and Herb Wesson.

With the Super Bowl just hours away, Perry spoke of the two black coaches, Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, who led the Chicago Bears and Indiana Colts to the pinnacle game of the year, and what their career success means to African-Americans.

``The main thing for any of them is to win,'' she said of Sunday's game. ``But we already have.''

Recognizing a moment in black history, the church paid tribute to Michelle Robinson Obama, who earned her law degree from Harvard Law School and is married to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. The senator is considering a run for president and has set up an exploratory committee.

Still wearing gloves from serving food, 58-year-old Earl Perkins said he wanted Sunday's message about hope to reach into the nearby community and more churches because it offers stories of strength that anyone can relate to.

``This is all good,'' Perkins said. ``More churches and more denominations should do this.''

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa passes out Bibles during a service in honor of Black History Month at Brookins Community A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles on Sunday, kicking off a series of celebrations.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer