Courtesy of Carla Crudup
Held on September 30, 2025, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm, the Amazing Grace & Resource Fair event was a raging success, and the Christian Fellowship Congregational Church was bulging at the seams that evening with pastors, congregations, law enforcement and various community members. The Amazing Grace Subcommittee was established to address the high substance overdose death rate amongst certain populations within the County of San Diego. Presently, the highest overdose death rate is within the African American population. Both our Hispanic and Native American communities have an elevated overdose death rate.
The Subcommittee first established a “Train the Trainer” event amongst pastors only on July 30th, 2025. Thereafter, the pastors shared their experience with their respective congregations on September 14th.
The seriousness of this crisis is a high priority amongst the Substance Use and Overdose Prevention Taskforce (SUOPT). Therefore, there were many County of San Diego leaders, law enforcement, community pastors, and leaders in attendance. Some of the San Diego County leaders included District Attorney Summer Stephan, Public Health Officer Dr. Seyone Thihalolipavan, and many others.
The host pastor, Rev. Dr. Art Cribbs, Jr., was the first speaker, and retired concert pianist Chaplain David Hollowell performed. Other speakers included Tim Ware, Amazing Grace Chair Carla Crudup, George Rowles, Pastor Charles Wilson, and others. Amazing Grace Committee Members Dr. R. Lee Brown, GODRadio1.com President, Dr. Leonard Thompson, and Vice President Dr. Michelle Thompson were present.
The goal of this event is, through prayer, education, awareness, and training, to positively impact the substance overdose crisis in San Diego County.
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