A California pastor was ambushed and beaten this week by a former congregant.
Rudy Trujillo, who pastors Faith Center in San Fernando, was reportedly attacked outside his car in between meetings. He was beaten to the point of hospitalization and underwent surgery Thursday afternoon.
“Friends, family, and saints. While we understand, even share your anger, we must never forget that what we preach, especially pastor Rudy Trujillo, is that we are to forgive and have mercy upon those who trespass against us,” Faith Center wrote in a Facebook post.
The assailant was reportedly a former congregant whom Trujillo had not seen since the congregant left the church several years ago.
Despite the violence inflicted upon the pastor, Faith Center is determined to follow in Jesus’ footsteps:
We never imagined this would be easy, and after today, we know it will not. As Christians, we are committed to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus teaches us to love even those who hate us and violently attack us. He taught us to forgive those who wrong us. This does not mean we condone or tolerate hatred and violence. Not at all! But precisely because we condemn hatred and violence as evil, we refuse to hate those who hate us, nor retaliate with violence against those who violently attack us. We believe love is more powerful than hatred and forgiveness is more powerful than violence. As people who have received mercy from God, we extend mercy to others—even those who have hurt us. And we entrust justice into the hands of God.
We need your prayers and actions to be supportive of our deepest-held convictions; that is, that we must forgive our brother. We must obey Jesus and love and pray and have mercy upon our enemies, especially when times are the darkest and we prefer to stop following the path of the cross. For it is only by following Jesus that God can work all things for his good.
Trujillo is a gang-interventionist case manager with Communities in Schools for the Mayor of Los Angeles Gang Reduction Youth Development. He was also appointed commissioner for the City of San Fernando Transportation & Safety and currently is the chair, according to his website. {eoa}
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