On the Sunday following the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, Senior Pastor Mauricio Ruiz had more than 250 of his congregation at Elevate Church on Main Street in Newhall.
He knew the country was experiencing division and strife, not just because of what had just happened, but because of the current polarizing state of political discussion.
After he finished saying prayers for the families of both presidential hopefuls at the time — Trump and President Joe Biden, who had not yet dropped out of the presidential race — he began to see the trouble, he said to his fellow clergy leaders at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The SCV Clergy Council, which was one of Capt. Justin Diez’s first goals when he assumed leadership of the station, meets regularly to discuss “wins and losses,” as Ruiz called them, referring to situations they can learn from, as well as opportunities for the community to grow.
“Well, as soon as I got off the stage, someone was able to get past our ushers and made it all the way to the stage, and basically blocked me and started ranting political hate,” Ruiz told the gathering of local pastoral leadership.
However, that’s where hours of dialogue, trainings with his staff and communication with the SCV Clergy Council really made a difference, he told the group.
“What helped security know that there was a situation was when I put my hand over the gentleman who started ranting and started getting a little bit aggressive with me. All I did was put my hand over his back,” he said, explaining a previously discussed cue. “Once security saw that, they came in.”
He also shared the story to point out the value that previous training, availability of walkie-talkies and perhaps most importantly, security cameras played in the situation, especially after false claims were made about the security protocols.
He was able to show the deputies who responded to the disturbance exactly what happened and how his security team, which includes off-duty law enforcement, was able to handle the entire situation, without causing a further incident, in about 20 seconds.
Praising the congregation’s efforts, Diez added, “I think the answer is obvious, but do you think the preparation paid off?” he asked Ruiz, after the story.
“I had peace of mind that we did everything that we possibly could in the physical and natural, and we have prepared a security team to know how to handle a situation like that,” Ruiz said. “And thank God that we had that team there, because … it could have been ugly.”
Diez also wanted to encourage dialogue among members on ways they can help each other, not just in community-building, but through even more tangible results, like state and federal grants.
Diez referred to the quarterly meetings as “force multiplier” for good, adding that it created opportunities for outreach, including Narcan giveaways and informational talks.
Past estimates have put the reach of the leaders at around 20,000 people, among the 60 or so congregations, which range in size from some of the larger groups, like Real Life Church, to smaller neighborhood assemblies.
“They are force multipliers for anything that we need to get out to the people that attend their services,” he added. “And that could be crime stats, that could be public service announcements, it could even be when there is a new protest in Santa Clarita.”
Abdo Jaber, director of the Islamic Center, came to Wednesday’s meeting to share some of those results and help others do the same. He’s been a big supporter of the SCV Clergy Council since Diez established it in 2020, he said.
One of the biggest benefits he can point to is a renewable Homeland Security grant his congregation received twice, which has helped the facility with its fencing, lighting and other security measures.
The first allocation provided the center with $200,000 for its security upgrades. Jaber encouraged others to apply and has made himself available for any questions for those who might want to look into the application process.
“We’re strong supporters of the SCV Clergy Council,” he said.
“It’s a good uniting force to bring us all together in the same room. It enables us to reach out to each other and to support one another,” he said, adding that he wanted to mention the deadline for the grant in the article.
Other practical security matters were discussed in terms of dealing with any type of protest, whether it’s a situation like the Israeli-Palestinian protests outside of City Hall in October or an issue with the congregation.
At the meeting, Pastor Kevin Pisano of Real Life Church mentioned looking within a congregation’s membership in terms of utilizing expertise that already may be at hand.
Pisano, who’s also the church’s director of security and facilities, said members who have law enforcement expertise have helped his church craft policies and procedures that are supported by the church’s insurers.
The members of the group also shared lessons from the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 that prompted city officials to preemptively call for the National Guard as a security measure.
In a time of great community tension, Pastor Joe Beran of Bethlehem SCV saw an opportunity.
“Without sounding too cliche, man, I feel like my first takeaway is that Santa Clarita is a lot more united than it seems at first. And what I mean by that is it’s a time anyway, if you look online, I think that everyone thought that the world was going to come to an end and these things were going to be massive building-destroying riots and things like that,” he said, referring to some of the looting and damage that happened that summer.
His congregation went to the protests with a big banner and welcomed those who were upset to write on it what they would like to see God do in the community.
“Then we would pray with and for people and point them to hope in Jesus,” he added.
Beran also likened some of the modern political discourse to a form of idolatry, in that people often protest and look for saviors in their politicians, as opposed to trying to make a difference in one’s own community, which can have a much more powerful impact, he said.
Ruiz said after four years, the conversations happening because of the SCV Clergy Council started by Diez and Eric Morgenstern, executive chaplain for the Sheriff’s Department, continue to make the SCV a better place to live.
It’s not just crowd control in a crisis – there are discussions on cyberbullying, for example, and other mental health topics that have resulted in educational training opportunities and films to help residents, Ruiz said.
“I think places of worship have a very critical role in in bringing that message to our city, because you know what, when you have, let’s say you know anywhere from 15 to 20,000 people that are attending places of worship, it just makes the community much more stronger in having a voice to promote unity, to promote peace, to promote a sense of, you know, ‘Why can’t we reason together without having to fight with each other?’”
The deadline for any local congregations interested in applying for funds from the $76 million California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program is Sept. 23.
