Southern California Conference
PHOTOS: PONO LOPEZ
God’s Voice Matters:
Southern California Adventists Organize Demonstration for Peace and Justice By Lauren Lacson
U
nity. Justice. Community. Peace. That’s what the demonstration on June 3 in Los Angeles was all about—around 300 people gathered to pray, march, and connect. It was the first time one of our Southern
California Conference (SCC) churches organized an event like this. It was a diverse group in every sense of the word: age, gender, ethnicity, and more. One member of the group, Wilma, a member of the Antelope Valley church, had even marched with Martin Luther King Jr. when she was 17. “The conviction of people to be as involved as possible really ran deep throughout the whole crowd,” shared Donavan Childs, associate pastor at University church. Salazar states categorically that Black lives matter.
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Morris Barnes, senior pastor of the Antelope Valley church, and Lawrence Dorsey, senior pastor of the University church, teamed up to bring this idea to life. The midweek event came together in the span of just two days, although from Childs’s perspective, “it was literally overnight. When God’s moving, He makes it happen,” he said. The natural history museum helped to get the word out around the city. USC provided lunch, CHP provided security, the local Honda dealer gave participants water and loaned vehicles for shuttles, LAPD Southwest Division marched with the group and helped block traffic, and much more. “The Lord was in this thing; that’s the only way it could come about the way it did with unity, enthusiasm, and support,” said Dorsey. “The philosophy behind it was
