Faith & Clergy

Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson Humbly Accepts the Call To Become Senior Pastor at Allen Temple Baptist

Published

5 years ago

April 29, 2019

I was 12 years old when I shared with my mother that I was sick of going to church all day and that I didn’t understand why we had to do it. As an African American single mother who hailed from Louisiana and who had raised her three older children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, I am certain the declaration of her late-in-life precocious daughter was one that caused alarm.

Deaconess Easter Mae Green was known for reminding all of us that “as for her and her house, we WILL serve the Lord.” It was then that we began visiting various Oakland churches and found ourselves in the balcony of a church to which she had previously belonged.

The pastor, small in stature but giant in presence, mounted the pulpit that almost touched the ceiling and began preaching slowly and powerfully on verses found in Matthew 28:18-20.

He spoke of the church’s mission and the Christian’s responsibility to go out and make disciples. He spoke of helping people who were less fortunate and standing up for those who could not defend themselves.

For the first time, in my 12-year-old mind church had a reason, a divine reason. Our gatherings were not to be just about singing and having a good time in the Lord. But rather there was a purpose and a mandate with a measurable objective.

The doors of the church were opened that Sunday and before I realized it I was walking from the balcony and then down the aisle.

My mother followed, never questioning or chastising my decision. That day we both became members of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr.

I spent many Sundays in that balcony listening to some of the nation’s greatest theological voices. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would ever stand in that same pulpit or one day Pastor that same church. But divine purpose and mission is powerful. It can change the trajectory of our lives.

On April 7, 2019, my life came full circle as the members of the church where I had served as assistant pastor for the last nine years, voted to elect me as their Senior Pastor – the first woman in its 100-year history during the church’s centennial year.

I am deeply humbled by their choice and awed by their courage. Many of the members have known me and remember me in the days of youth and have watched me grow over the years. They encouraged me throughout high school. They prayed for me when I left the church briefly in college at U.C. Berkeley. They supported me when I went away to Howard University School of Divinity and while I served in ministry in Wash.., DC. They welcomed me with open arms when the needs of my mother (now 89 years old) brought me back home. While times have changed, the mission that I heard preached at the age of 12 remains the same.

We are still called to serve the least, the lost, and the left out. We are still called to lift our voice on behalf of the voiceless and stand in the gap for those unprotected. We are still called to speak to truth to power and to use what Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggemann calls our “Prophetic Imagination” to cast a vision of God’s kingdom in dry and desolate places.

We are still called to let our light shine in deep East Oakland and seek the welfare of our city by fighting for equity in the distribution of services, job opportunities, a living wage, affordable housing, an end to homelessness and violence-free streets.

We are still called to empower and equip future generations for the fight.

This mission still ignites me as it did that girl in the balcony many years ago. I am eternally grateful to God, Dr. Smith Sr., Dr. Smith Jr., the women in ministry I witnessed serving with excellence and the great people of Allen Temple for taking a chance on one of their own.

May God continue to use us and bless us as we endeavor to transform our community, our nation and our world, one life at a time.

I call the name of Bishop Ernestine Cleveland Reems who left her denomination to answer the call to Pastor and in doing so opened the door of possibilities for countless women like me.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson

Senior Pastor-Elect

Allen Temple Baptist Church

8501 International Blvd.

Oakland, Ca 94621

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson

Posts by Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson

Community

Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture.

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland’s ‘Green the Church,’ Others, Host a Climate Revival

On April 20, Oakland’s Green The Church California (GTC) and the Center For Food, Faith and Justice will celebrate Earth Day and present a Climate Revival event titled “Growing Healthy Communities From Soil To The Soul” at McGee Avenue Baptist Church at 1640 Stuart St, Berkeley, CA. The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

The revival will take place at McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley on April 20. Courtesy image.

Growing Healthy Communities from Soil to the Soul in Berkeley

By Y’Anad Burrell

The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

The keynote speaker is Rev. Danté R. Quick, PhD, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J. Quick is well known in the Bay Area, having served for more than 10 years as pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, CA.

Green The Church, founded in 2010 by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr., and headquartered in Oakland, helps galvanize Black churches and their local communities and leaders to address issues critical to populations historically disengaged from conversations around pollution and health, climate change, and sustainability and energy efficiency.

The organization collaborates with major environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, and is committed to “creation justice”—care and justice for God’s people and the planet—and building the Beloved Community.

Environmental justice has long been a pressing concern for communities of color who bear the brunt of pollution and ecological degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. Recognizing this urgency, Black churches across the country are taking action.

With deep roots in the African American community and its commitment to social justice, the Black Church has become an essential advocate for sustainable practices and policies.

Over the past 14 years, in a powerful collaboration with significant environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, GTC has created a cadre of Black churches engaging in the environmental justice, climate, and sustainability movement.

GTC presently works with more than 1,000 pastors and congregations across the U.S., and groups in the Bahamas, Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK, showing that we can make a difference together.

The partnership between environmental justice advocates and the Black Church extends beyond individual congregations. Green The Church provides resources and support for faith communities seeking to address climate change and promote environmental justice.

Through collaboration, initiatives such as energy efficiency programs, solar installations, and environmental education have been implemented in Black churches nationwide. These efforts reduce the carbon footprint and save money on energy bills, benefiting the congregations and their communities.

The involvement of the Black Church in the fight against climate change is not just a participation, it’s a powerful message that galvanizes action across communities.

By integrating environmental justice into their ministry, Black churches are demonstrating that addressing climate change is not only a matter of science but also of social and moral responsibility, inspiring change at a grassroots level.

For more information, go to: www.greenthechurch.org.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

ICAC to Host Benefit Concert Jan. 20 to Keep Safe Car Park for Unhoused Open

It was chilly Monday evening at the reopening of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County’s (ICAC) Safe Car Park Program in West Oakland – a stark reminder of just how cold the night would be for those in the community without shelter. The safe car park has been temporarily closed due to lack of funding, and ICAC needs money to bridge the gap during these cold months until additional financial support from the city kicks in several months from now. To help bridge that gap, ICAC is sponsoring a concert at the Oakland Temple Hill Auditorium at 4780 Lincoln Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. The whole Bay Area community is invited to join this cause.

Published

3 months ago

January 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Lena Byrd Miles will perform at a concert to help keep the Safe Car Park open this winter. Courtesy photo.

By Debbie Bromley

Special to The Post

The safe car park has been temporarily closed due to lack of funding, and ICAC needs money to bridge the gap during these cold months until additional financial support from the city kicks in several months from now.

To help bridge that gap, ICAC is sponsoring a concert at the Oakland Temple Hill Auditorium at 4780 Lincoln Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. The whole Bay Area community is invited to join this cause.

This special evening of top-notch entertainment will feature Billboard artist Lena Byrd Miles, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and Destined2Dance.

Attendance will help support the ICAC in their charitable efforts in the community, especially their work to improve community health and safety and to feed and care for those in need of food and shelter.

Tickets are $20-35 and are available online at TempleHill.org.

At the Safe Car event on Monday, Miles stepped to the mic to share a song with the poignant lyrics, “If I can help somebody, as I travel along, if I can help somebody, with a word or song…my living shall not be in vain.”

Miles said she is honored to lend her gift to this effort. “We are to do as much as we can to help the needy and God repays us. And as we give to them it’s as if we are giving unto the Lord.”

As the cars began to roll in for the night, warmth began to emerge from all the service being rendered, making the chilly evening more bearable.

The portable trailer from WeHope was standing ready to offer showers, laundry facilities and a caseworker.

Paul Bains, CEO of Project WeHope and pastor of St. Samuel Church of God in Christ commented, “WE ALL help make this happen, as it truly does take a village to positively impact a community!”

LaMel A. Smith, director of the nonprofit Helping Others Win was also on hand. Smith helps provide a food distribution service at the site that serves about 3,000 people per week.

Dr. Kenneth Anderson William, pastor of Temple Baptist Church, added, “It was with joy to see families living in their cars return back to a Safe Car parking site. Safe car parking is needed in every city to provide resources for more sites.”

Dr. Michelle Myles Chambers, assistant pastor of West Side Missionary Baptist Church and director of the San Francisco Foundation’s FAITHS program, has been there from the beginning. “The San Francisco Foundation was excited to be on the ground floor with ICAC,” she said. “We’re all in on housing and fully support innovative supportive housing models.”

ICAC is grateful to the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the Kapor Center for funding support, along with The San Francisco Foundation for supporting the reopening.

Other supporters attending were Natalie Walker of WeHope, Lena Byrd Miles’ manager Tina Carter, representatives from the office of Oakland City Council members Rebecca Kaplan and Nikki Fortunato Bas, and CBS News reporter Itay Hod.

As Dr. Ken Chambers, founding president of the ICAC and pastor of West Side M.B.C. and often reminds us, “Working together works!”

Attending a concert is an easy way to show support for these efforts.

Debbie Bromley is the Oakland Temple Hill communication co-director of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.