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Fun story.
Grace Community Church is in Sun Valley and I grew up down the street. When I was in my teens, a group of friends and I used to show up in their parking lots on our bikes and do annoying teenager stuff like blast Motley Crue, play basketball, and ride our bikes through the halls. Invariably, some church member would arrive and start trying to preach to us, which we’d mock, and while we thought it was fun, they clearly didn’t. We were punks and I’m sure they hated us, but it is what it is.
However, instead of telling us to leave, one day they grabbed my friend Freddie and dragged him inside one of their office buildings. In solidarity, I insisted I join him while my brother went for help. Suddenly, their “deacon” showed up and revealed that he was an LAPD cop (I later saw him pictured in a Darryl Gates book as a high ranking captain, if that tells you something)
This cop informed us that he had witnesses (including one of the guys who nabbed Fred) that would testify that we had broken into the rooms and stole things. My dad showed up a few minutes later (again, we lived just down the street and you could walk there in 5 minutes) and demanded to know who these alleged witnesses were and what we stole and when. The guy who had nabbed my friend walked by the office and my dad asked him if he saw anything. I look back at Cop Deacon and he quickly shook his head at the guy. I caught it. Then they guy says “oh, I can’t talk right now and runs away.” My dad challenges the whole thing as bullshit.
Realizing his whole production was crumbling as my dad was pointing out that I came back voluntarily and how they couldn’t even point to a single thing we’d stolen or any witness and that they were just mad at us for riding bikes and being annoying, the Cop Deacon said we’d only be welcome back if we converted to Christianity and went to services.
This is my experience with this piece of shit church. And cops, for that matter. It’s no wonder I dislike both. They are fascists who think nothing of abusing power. This doesn’t surprise me in the least.
