When Marian and Glenn Bramble moved into Transfiguration parish in 1941, they made the parish near Exposition Park south of downtown Los Angeles their home for the next 66 years.

Today, at 91, Marian still attends Mass at her parish and was present when the parish recently honored its "Diamonds in the Mist," as it celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration on the first Sunday of August. Those "diamonds," parishioners 75 years of age and older, were thanked by Father Richard Martini, pastor, for their many contributions to Transfiguration Parish.

"God can use anyone," Father Martini told his assembly. And just as God's Son was transfigured and served his people in his earthly life, many parishioners have transformed as they have participated in the life of their parish through their service.

Leading the list are the "diamonds," many of whom Father Martini singled out by name, making special notice of Marian Bramble, whose impact (with her late husband, the brother of the late Msgr. Keith Bramble) is still felt and remembered at Transfiguration.

Fellow "diamond" Ella Pruden-Jackson, a spry 86-year-old, is one of many longtime parishioners who attributes her parish membership to Marian and Glenn Bramble. During the 1950s Leimert Park became an integrated community. Wanting to help their new African American neighbors, the Brambles hosted block parties to welcome them into the neighborhood and into their parish.

"Transfiguration Parish is very important to me," says Ella, who graduated from USC in 1945 and taught in the L.A. Unified School District for 34 years. "It's an extension of my family - gathering together so we can support each other in spirit, even if we don't voice it."

Called to come up and sit around the altar during Mass for their celebration, Ella sat next to Phoebe Lebeau, a parishioner for 42 years. Phoebe, whose deceased husband had been a member for 50 years, calls her parish simply "wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."

Now, as Father Martini has told his people, it is time for the next generations to step up and become even more involved, even though many of the current "Diamonds in the Mist" are still serving as ushers, Eucharistic ministers, lectors and heads of parish organizations. They have kept alive the feeling of family and belonging, especially at liturgies with choral music directed by Oscar Pratt, long time parishioner and former school principal. Howlett Smith, blind from an early age, and a parishioner since the early 1980s, plays piano and organ each Sunday morning. Mechell Yerema, an alumna of Transfiguration School and former faculty member, has returned to become school principal this year.

"Liturgy and family are the key values that have survived in this parish," says Father Martini. "Folks have learned that there is no place where God is not - and they celebrate it here."