Various city officials and esteemed members of the faith community joined in a citywide Day of Prayer and Reflection at First AME Church in South Los Angeles on Jan. 20. Facilitated by Pastor Robert Shaw, this community gathering was dedicated to honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to valuing justice, peace, and equality.
As a united community, the members of the clergy, including Executive Pastor Ann Champion Shaw and Pastors Eddie Anderson, Rene Molina, Pierre Codio, Patricia Fargas-Strong, and James McKnight, joined by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmembers Curren Price and Heather Hutt, and Legislative Deputy Maurice Johnson, led an empowering service of prayer in honor of the victims and survivors of the L.A. Wildfires and voiced their commitments to helping rebuild the City of Angels and affected neighborhoods.
Pastor Robert Shaw opened the service by recognizing our city officials and staff who attended the service, and additional members of the clergy from neighboring places of worship, followed by introductions of the pastors who would be leading the prayers. Rev. Ann Champion Shaw opened with a prayer, calling for strength to be sent to our city and state officials.
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Pastor Eddie Anderson from McCarthy Memorial Christian Church spoke about the importance of remembering Dr. King in times of crisis and honoring the lessons that Dr. King teaches us. One of those lessons being that young individuals can, and have, supported communities in crisis.
A second lesson we can take from Dr. King according to Pastor Anderson, is to be courageous and always do what is right. Pastor Anderson said, “So we cannot get caught up in the politics. We must do what [our] conscience tells us is right in this moment, to make sure that all of us find wholeness.”
Pastor Rene Molina from Restoration Los Angeles Church, encourages the community to unite and provide support to one another. He said, “No matter what administration comes in, our core tenets have been battle tested for thousands of years- of justice, of love, and humility. Those are nonnegotiable.”
Speaking to the importance of restoring the neighborhoods that were burned in the fires, Pastor Pierre Codio from House of Refuge Church referenced the key messages found in the Book of Nehemiah. He touched on the significance of leading by example, of unity, and restoration.
According to Pastor Codio, although the city of L.A. was “paralyzed” by the news of the fast-spreading fires and minimal containment -especially individuals who were displaced- many communities came together as one.
He said, “Churches here in South LA, churches all over the county, places all over the land, even folks that were displaced all came together… because the people have a mind to work!”
From Mt. Salem Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Patricia Fargas-Strong thanked our city’s first responders, especially our firefighters who are the “backbone of our emergency services” for their selflessness and bravery in fighting these fires.
“To all the first responders, we salute you. We salute your bravery, your sacrifice, we salute your service that it will not go unnoticed. Thank you, first responders, for being there when we need you the most.”
Pastor James McKnight, from the Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship shared, “What a joy it is to witness what is happening in this room. Council President Harris-Dawson, his team, and council members, came together with a vision to properly commemorate Dr. King’s legacy in these difficult times.” Pastor McKnight also shared that through faith and with collective efforts, communities can uplift each other.
Pastor McKnight invited Mayor Bass to join him and the rest of the speakers in the pulpit where she shared that their collective prayers and support have given her the “strength to carry through, to lead this city!”
Mayor Bass added, “Fighting and struggling is in our DNA. Today on King Day, what a day to be here, a day when we as a city have experienced pain and grief and tragedy, but we know how to fight, we know how to come back. We’ve had our communities destroyed before. This is why we have survived and thrived today, because we know how to go through these tough times together…and we’re not going to allow anybody to divide us.”
Presumably prompted by the recent criticism regarding her response over the L.A. Wildfires and public opinion calling her leadership into question, Mayor Bass stated, “Those of you who have known me for decades, know that I would never, ever abandon my city, and I would never, ever abandon my people, regardless of how things are described. That I will not allow finger pointing, that I will not allow division. I will not allow anything to prevent us from coming together, rebuilding our city, and continuing to thrive. But I can’t do that without you.”
After Mayor Bass shared her heartfelt message to the congregation, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson gave a few closing remarks, including, “It’s our time to restore the city. It’s our time to bring us into an even brighter future, and its our time to stay together. And I cannot think of a better person, in this moment, for the spotlight to be on…[than] our own Mayor Karen Bass.”
He also shared that a number of city and council officials were lending a hand to the impacted neighborhoods in Altadena at the time of this service.
