Everyone is invited to Santa Clarita Christian Fellowship to see Pastor Harper, his wife Cecile and congregation of SCCF honor Bishop Henry Hearns, author of “How Odds Even Through Grace,” former Chief of Environmental Planning for Edwards Air Force Base, and the first African American mayor of Lancaster.

The celebration, part of celebrating Black History Month, is Sunday, February 26, 2017, 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services. Bishop Hearns will preach the message of Grace for both services.

Immediately after the services, the congregation will have an opportunity to meet and greet Bishop Hearns, and he will be available to sign copies of his book. Plus the all of the attendees will feast on the American Soul tradition of Fried Chicken and Waffles (baked chicken will be served as well).

Bishop Hearns grew up as a sharecropper on a plantation in Byhalia, Mississippi. His great-grandfather was a slave. As the odds begin to stack, Bishop Hearns overcame his humble beginnings in the cotton fields to earn several college degrees, become an engineer, and retire as the Chief of Environmental Planning from Edwards Air Force Base.

He also retired as a political leader after eighteen years of service, which included two terms as mayor of the city of Lancaster, California. Bishop Hearns was the first and only African American mayor of Lancaster.

He recently retired after serving more than fifty-one years as the Senior Pastor at Living Stone Cathedral of Worship (formerly known as First Missionary Baptist Church) in Sun Village, California, a suburban community in the Antelope Valley.