‘Evil was in that church’: A stranger lurking, shots fired, then heroes rise in Laguna Woods
LOS ANGELES — Behind the pulpit of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, Pastor Billy Chang was in his element.
He had spent two decades pastoring the Laguna Woods congregation before moving to Taiwan two years ago. And on Sunday morning, he was back — joyfully so — as a guest preacher reading the word of God once again in a place that felt like home.
Chang, 67, knew almost all the faces in the pews. They were mostly elderly, mostly Taiwanese. They were like family.
In the crowd was one stranger, but no one gave him much thought. He was an older Asian man with gray hair. He wore a black T-shirt and sat in the back of the sanctuary, reading a newspaper throughout the sermon.
Up front, Chang read from the Book of Isaiah: Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
