(Photo : Christianity Daily) Churches in the Inland Empire area gathered at Covenant United Methodist Church in Pomona on the morning of Easter Sunday.
Numerous Korean churches in various regions of Southern California gathered to worship and pray together during the early hours of Easter Sunday.
About 10 joint early morning worship services took place on Sunday, including in Los Angeles, Buena Park, Torrance, Walnut, Pomona, Granada Hills, Camarillo, Phelan, Lancaster, and San Diego, among other regions.
Most, if not all, of these joint services included a message on Easter, special singing or worship dance performances, and a time of prayer for the respective communities, for the nation, for the Korean peninsula, and for the next generation.
This year in particular, many of the services included a time of prayer for the upcoming presidential elections in South Korea, and for a stablization in the nation's political sphere.
(Photo : ) The joint worship service in the Rowland Heights area took place at First Southern Baptist Church in Walnut, CA.
"Christians should pursue change in their lives as they hold on to the hope of the resurrection - from a life that was centered on self, to one that is centered on God," Rev. Seung Hee Ko, the senior pastor of Beautiful Church in Rowland Heights, said during his sermon at the joint worship service which took place at Walnut.
At the Los Angeles joint service in particular, a council of churches released a statement in which the churches urged Christians to refrain from individualism, selfishness, materialism, inconsistency, polarization, legalism, and unethical decisions, among others, and called for repentance.
Those gathered at the Los Angeles service also prayed in particular for the immigrant community, and reconciliation among different ethnic groups.
Korean churches throughout Southern California have observed a tradition in gathering for joint worship services each year on the dawn of Easter, many of which are organized by church councils or associations.