Community
“From Charity to Justice” – Allen Temple Holds International Missions Conference
Seeking to address the challenges that face both Black youth and young adults in the U.S. and in South Africa, Allen Temple Baptist Church Global Ministries of Oakland will host an International Missions Conference.
The conference, called “From Clarity Justice: the Changing Paradigm of Mission,” will take place Saturday, Feb. 7 staring at 9 a.m.at Allen Temple, located at 8501 International Blvd. in Oakland.
The conference is designed to encourage cultural exchange, service learning and collaboration on developing programs, and ministries in other countries where the church currently engages in mission outreach.
The Global Ministry of the church has provided outreach to children in South Africa for the past seven years, particularly to children in a nursery in Soweto, South Africa, where some of the children are infected with HIV/AIDS.
The nursery is run by the WW Brown Memorial Baptist Church. The Global Ministry purchases cribs, beds and supplies. In 2011, the Global Ministry was able to take several young people from East Oakland to South Africa.
The youth participated in workshops where they discussed challenges that American and South African youth mutually face and started conversations about solutions.
In 2014, the young people of South Africa took part in a competition to develop community service projects to meet challenges in their communities. The grand prize was a trip to the United States.
Nombuso Phiri, a young woman who attends WW Brown Memorial Baptist Church, was chair of the Youth Ministry of the church and won the contest with her community design called “The Skill Transfer Project.”
Phiri says her church is located in the middle of Slum Village in a township called Kliptown.
Attending church with residents, she says, “I see their dreams of getting out of poverty through education shattered because it’s the very thing they can’t afford.”
She says it was her education at a university and the opportunity to work for a large corporation that gave her skills and experiences, which she hopes she and others like her can pass on.
Her project will identify students in the 12th grade who come from low-income homes and help them with prerequisites for college or university entrance. Students would serve as mentors and offer access to skills, which young people would otherwise have pay to for in school.
Phiri’s trip to the U.S. gives her a chance to further develop her winning design. With resources provided by Allen Temple, the project is already being implemented in South Africa.
On her visit here, she will have the opportunity to learn about the community, church ministries and city projects in Oakland that may help her.
At the conference, Phiri will be part of a panel, along with some of the youth from Global Ministries in East Oakland, many of whom have traveled to South Africa.
The guest speaker will be Dr. David Goatley, executive secretary and treasurer of Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission, an international Christian agency that helps churches extend their ministries to help improve the quality of life in marginalized communities around the world.
He will facilitate a conversation on the projects via Skype between youth here in Oakland and in South Africa.
Registration is $10 and free to students. There will be music and a luncheon. For information or to register, contact Theohous Reagans at theophous@gmail.com or go to Eventbrite.com.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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