Southern California Conference

God’s Voice Matters: Southern California Adventists Organize Demonstration for Peace and Justice

Unity. 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

By Lauren Lacson

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.

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

to have an Adventist Christian demonstration that promoted peace and justice,” Childs explained. The march began at the steps of the University church and ended at the California African American museum, where various Adventist leaders and other clergy, plus leaders from around the city and the community, addressed the people.

The moment he became aware of the event, SCC President Velino Salazar committed himself to participate. “As conference president, I think that we need to walk the talk,” he said. “What would Jesus do in this 21st century? Always He was focused on the needs of the people and justice. That’s why, as conference president, I need to follow the model of Jesus Christ when we encounter oppression, discrimination, and injustice.”

Participants wore custom shirts with “seek justice” printed on the front, based on Isaiah 1:17, and “Adventists for Black Lives Matter” on the back. The shirts represented another miracle; they were meant for a prayer walk two days later, but production was accelerated just in time for the Los Angeles demonstration. Many carried signs: “God’s voice matters.”

Reflecting on the event, many participants spoke about this as an important first step. “I consider that we as a church need to have more interest in social issues without losing

(Right) Billy Brockway, captain III, LAPD Southwest Division (left) and Barnes (right) lead the march side by side. (Below) The group gathered at the California African American museum for a rally and statements from various leaders.

the essence of the gospel within the context and frame of the three angels’ messages,” Salazar said.

“It was tremendous; it was something to experience,” Royal Harrison, SCC Greater Los Angeles region director, said of the event. “We’ve got to be more community involved if we’re going to make an impact for the kingdom.” The theme of community involvement was consistent among comments from the participants and leaders. As Barnes put it, “If the church is not the voice of the community, no one else will be.”

This event was just a start. At the rally, Donavan and Dorsey promised attendees that future open forums would be presented by the church, encouraging conversation with the community. “I think it’s important for us as Christians to understand that

this is part of representing the gospel,” Donavan noted. “It’s part of having a missional existence. I hope the long-term impact is that we actualize that term: to be in the world but not of the world.”

Speaking about how our commitment to the truth relates to injustice, Greg Hoenes, SCC West Region director, said, “Humility has to always be the lens through which we see the truth.”

Virgil Childs, Pacific Union Conference regional ministries director, closed the event with prayer. Of our collective response to injustice, he said, “It is an ecumenical response to what’s wrong and to protest—not just against what’s wrong, but to protest for what’s right.”

ONE House Brings Annual Gathering to the Living Room

By Araya Moss

The venue was set, the keynote speaker was confirmed, the flyers had arrived, the workshops were chosen, and the team was finalizing last-minute details in preparation for the annual ONE House gathering scheduled for May 2. But as Iki Taimi, Southern California Conference (SCC) Senior Youth and Young Adult (SYYA) director, was reminded, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV).

“The day I ordered the flyers, COVID-19 hit,” recalled Taimi, “and it changed everything.”

The SYYA team had to quickly decide if they would cancel the event or move forward in a different direction. “Even though we could have postponed this event,” said Sarah Grover, SYYA team member and associate pastor of Lancaster church, “there seemed to be an overall consensus with the planning team that we need to still gather in some way to support our senior youth and young adults.”

The team shifted gears to begin planning for a new event. According to event managers Pono Lopez, pastor of Long Beach church, and Kevin Camato, pastor of Upper Room Fellowship, inspiration came from a combination of living room concerts that had become popular during stay-at-home orders and TED Talks. Thus, Living Room Sessions—a week-long online gathering—was created.

“I just put my trust in God and the team, and we went for it,” said Taimi. “We hoped to create a sense of relevancy on issues that people were dealing with.”

The team spent five weeks planning via Zoom meetings, three to four times a week. The result was a crossregional week of prayer, learning, and discussion. “The collaboration between churches, ministries, leaders, church members, and pastors was incredibly evident throughout the whole week,” added Grover.

Every night during the last week of May, viewers tuned into watch on YouTube or Facebook from the comfort of their homes. Monday, for example, included praise music from Kalēo and San Fernando Spanish churches and New Life church plant. Lawrence Dorsey II, pastor of Altadena church, gave the devotional message, and Caitlin Lopez led the workshop about ableism and the church. Afterward, there was a live Q&A with Caitlin in which viewers could send questions in real time. Each night followed this format, which even included raffle prizes.

The event concluded Sabbath with a dynamic afternoon of worship featuring uplifting music from different churches, personal messages from different members across SCC about what they are currently persisting through, and cross-conference performances of “It Is Well” and “Waymaker.” In his sermon, Pastor Sam Leonor spoke about how suffering can lead to hope. After the sermon, all were

A family from Canoga Park church was one of three worship groups who provided music on Tuesday. (Top left) Dr. Ruth Cho spoke about maintaining close-quarter relationships during the pandemic on Sunday.

invited to a live Q&A discussion with Leonor, lead by SYYA team members Isaac Nevarez, pastor of Pomona Valley Spanish company, Donavan Childs, associate pastor of University church, and Grover.

“Many people have shared thanks and appreciation and were excited to see our conference unifying across regions,” said Camato. “This event exceeded our initial expectations and excited us for future possibilities.”

For Pono Lopez, the next steps are threefold: “To engage with youth and young adults with relevant content, to add to the conference’s goal of building bridges between our diverse regions, and to build a model to help other churches produce good digital evangelism.”

*All Living Room Session videos can be found at www.youtube.com/onehousesocal.

“Amid all this confusion and separation, the SCC, Olympic Korean church, and I wanted to tell the world that God is working in us and calling us to continue His ministry,” said Lee. “We did not want to stop or cancel what God is calling us to do, even in these times of COVID-19.”

The planning for this unique ceremony included several weeks of spiritual discussions and technical support from conference leadership, followed by several more weeks of recording the different segments of the ceremony. SCC executive officers and Olympic Korean church pastoral staff pre-recorded their sections of the program 10 days before the ordination date. The pastoral staff worked together to shoot and edit the entire video. At the time of recording, churches had been closed for about 70 days.

One special element of the virtual ceremony was that friends and family of Lee sent in congratulatory messages. One friend noted that

(Far left) The performance from Glendale Korean and Olympic Korean churches was a result of three weeks of rehearsals and recordings from each member’s home. (Above) SCC executive officers and Olympic Korean church pastoral staff “lay hands” on Enoch Lee from a distance.

Enoch Lee Is Ordained to the Gospel Ministry—Virtually

On June 7, Enoch Lee, pastor of Olympic Korean church, became the first pastor in the Southern California Conference (SCC) to be ordained to the gospel ministry in a virtual setting. Though the pandemic has disrupted our way of life, Lee felt it was important to have an online ceremony.

By Araya Moss

throughout his ministry, Lee has been a bridge between first- and second-generation Koreans. Because of his empathy, Lee has been able to meet the needs of both generations. Another special moment was when members from Glendale Korean church, where Lee previously pastored, and Olympic Korean church formed a virtual choir to sing “Why Have You Chosen Me?”

The ordination began with John H. Cress, SCC executive secretary, explaining the nature of this virtual ordination from the pulpit of Olympic Korean church. Instead of sending out a hard copy of the program, it was shown on camera against a nature backdrop.

Velino A. Salazar, SCC president, spoke on the theme of being called and the honor of being chosen by God. “God has chosen both men and women—and has sent them from one place to another,” said Salazar. “Sometimes these journeys are not as they understand or expect them to be, but God is always with them on their journey.”

The ministerial charge was given by James Lee, SCC executive vice president. Samuel Lee, SCC AsianPacific region director, gave the ordination prayer, during which those on the stage “laid hands” on Enoch Lee and his wife, Jae Lee, from a distance—it was similar to an air hug. Next, Cress presented Enoch Lee with his new credential, certificate, and a Bible.

In his response, Enoch Lee acknowledged how grateful he is to be called into this ministry, adding that we are all called to serve in different ways. “I have been called to service in gospel ministry as a pastor,” he said. “But whoever you are, whatever you do, it doesn’t matter what kind of talent you have received. You are all gospel workers just like me.”

*The virtual ordination is available to view on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ eRxOivVwC3U.