“We are clear that this is not us versus them. In this divided and shattered country, there is only a ‘we.’ “
Some ministers keep a low profile, tend to their churches and try to avoid controversy. That is not how Rev. Heidi Worthen-Gamble does it. A former Parish Associate Minister at Culver City Presbyterian Church and a Culver City resident, she was honored as a ‘Giant of Justice’ by the Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) at a gathering at the Maya Hotel in Long Beach on May 28, 2026, for her work with a protest called the Godmothers of the Disappeared.
This weekly protest, inspired by the historic Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protest against the regime in Argentina, reflects a vision of loving mothers calling for the return of their missing children.
Worthen-Gamble addressed the crowd, saying “We are the Godmothers of the Disappeared. We gather every Tuesday at noon in front of the Federal Building, wearing pink scarves and holding daisies – symbols of peace, resistance and remembrance. We come to pray, sing and testify, and demand the release of those being disappeared by our government, and urge ICE agents and other officials to stop participating in persecuting our community.”
Compassion does not stop at the victims. but includes the victimizers. The Reverend spoke about “… citizens and even soldiers – we are all someone’s child, and our lives are deeply interconnected.”
A group of thirty people stood on the stage behind her, wearing pink scarves, and holding daisies, all of them regular participants in the protest; many more join in weekly, but not all were able to attend the Thursday awards ceremony.
She also praised the teachings and the history of the organization, calling the work “A testament to the strength of Rev. Jim Lawson, the founder of CLUE. These practices of non-violent resistance are things we can try out and try on. As we do this very thing each week, this is just one way of doing non-violent resistance.”
The more than three hundred people who gathered to applaud the work of organizers and activists listened to Worthen-Gamble as she focused on Lawson’s legacy, quoting his words, “It is important to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world.”
Worthen-Gamble currently serves 50 churches in the Los Angeles area through her work with the denomination’s regional office. She has an open invitation for people to come join her every Tuesday at noon in front of the Federal Building.
Judith Martin-Straw
