A summer Sabbath worship hour at the Hawthorne church drew Chief of Police Michael Heffner, some of his fellow officers and other officials in the justice system. The occasion was a "Police Recognition Day," announced on the church's prominent sign facing the busy traffic flow passing by.

In a sermon on the importance of remaining true to one's personal vision, Pastor Keith Hassinger related the story of Daniel, a government official who chose not to compromise the vision God gave him. When individuals plotted against him, setting him up for execution for praying openly, "Daniel rose and prayed at his window anyway," Hassinger said. "In so doing, he influenced the influential."

Representatives attended from the city, state assembly, Senate and Department of Justice, presenting citations to the police chief and commending the department for its role in the community. Reporters from a local daily paper and cable channel covered the event, which was followed by a reception.

The event was the latest of a number of community-directed events conducted by the Hawthorne church community services department. Leonor Gomez, director, explained the rationale for the latest event. "Many of our church members have come from other countries," she said. "In some areas, because of corruption, the police are not trusted. In Hawthorne, the church has had very good relations with the local police department, and we wanted to express our appreciation."

"Local police have been helpful at the church's community events," Gomez added. "We will again invite their help when we have another college fair in October," she said. "This time, they will be part of the fair itself," she said, "recruiting for their department. One young man in our congregation has already talked with a policeman about becoming a law-enforcement officer."