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Rev. Hunter Out as Bethel AME Pastor

Published

13 years ago

February 15, 2013

Oakland Post

Bishop T. Larry Kirkland

Denise and Rev. John Hunter

Pastor J Edgar Boydwas

Members of Bethel AME church in San Francisco walked out on their newly assigned pastor, Rev. John J. Hunter at their 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services on Sunday as he entered the pulpit through the back door after the church rejected him as their pastor.Presiding elder Rev. W. Bartalette Finney Sr. functioned as the pastor until Sunday and notified members that according to the AME discipline, once seated in the pulpit Hunter became the pastor of Bethel AME. Photo by Rudolph Williams.

By Lee
Hubbard
Rev. John Hunter has been removed from his post as head of the Bethel AME Church in San Francisco by Bishop T. Larry Kirkland, presiding prelate of of the Fifth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
In a letter dated Feb. 8, Bishop Kirkland told Rev. Hunter, “I hereby immediately relieve you of the pastoral charge of Bethel AME Church, San Francisco, California. You will have no further contact with the congregation in an official capacity.”
With no pastor at the helm, Presiding Elder Dr. W. Bartalette Finney preached the sermon last Sunday at Bethel.
Kirkland’s letter followed a Jan. 31 Conciliation Committee meeting, held in an attempt to mend relations between Rev. Hunter and members of Bethel. However, as a result of the meeting, attended by Hunter, representatives of Bethel, Presiding Elder Booker T. Guiton and Bishop Kirkland, it was decided that “further efforts will not prove fruitful.”
Bethel AME is now waiting for Bishop Kirkland to assign a new pastor.
Since the beginning of January, members at Bethel AME have been in silent protest against Hunter. Every Sunday, just before he began to preach, almost three fourths of the church walked out and into the adjoining fellowship hall.
News of Hunter’s removal this past Sunday was meet with approval by church members, who described the action as a fitting end to “a bad marriage.”
“There are enough leaders in this congregation to make sure the church will go on,” said Randolph Scott, a Trustee Board member at Bethel.
“The conclusions and action that we took were all within the Book of Discipline of the AME Church. Church members were fully supportive of the actions we took throughout the process,” he said.
Hunter has filed a lawsuit against the Stewards of Bethel and individual members of the church for “assault, battery, and inflic infliction of emotional distress,” which began when he took his assignment as pastor.
Hunters’ appointment to Bethel AME church in October was met with opposition from the beginning due to alleged wrongdoings while he was pastor at First AME church in Los Angeles for eight years.
The allegations against Hunter included misuse of a church credit card, a sexual harassment suit and tax evasion charges that took place while he was at FAME.
On Oct. 28, he was reassigned to Bethel AME church in San Francisco and replaced at FAME in Los Angeles by Bethel AME Pastor J Edgar Boyd.
When Hunter’s appointment to Bethel was announced, a welcoming committee from Bethel that was in Los Angeles sought to meet with him. However, he did not meet with the committee.
The first time Hunter showed up to Bethel to preach, he was met by parishioners who asked him for the “papers” that would certify his assignment to Bethel as its new pastor. He did not have them and left the church.
A few weeks later, he arrived at the church, surprising members when he entered the pulpit. But when he tried to preach, parishioners walked out.
Some members of Bethel raised concerns that Hunter intended to live in Los Angeles and become a commuter pastor, flying to and from San Francisco every weekend to preach, This didn’t sit well with many of Bethel’s members.
Others at Bethel said he was charismatic and liked to tell stories about his upbringing. However, they said, he really did not want to be at Bethel AME and clearly wanted to return to First AME in Los Angeles.
The Judicial Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church – a nine-member body whose president is Patricia Mayberry, the sister of Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry of First AME in Oakland – denied Hunter’s petition to return FAME.
Hunter faces a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against him and his wife Denise, filed by FAME and its new pastor for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud and misrepresentation.infliction of emotional distress,” which began when he took his assignment as pastor.
Hunters’ appointment to Bethel AME church in October was met with opposition from the beginning due to alleged wrongdoings while he was pastor at First AME church in Los Angeles for eight years.
The allegations against Hunter included misuse of a church credit card, a sexual harassment suit and tax evasion charges that took place while he was at FAME.
On Oct. 28, he was reassigned to Bethel AME church in San Francisco and replaced at FAME in Los Angeles by Bethel AME Pastor J Edgar Boyd.
When Hunter’s appointment to Bethel was announced, a welcoming committee from Bethel that was in Los Angeles sought to meet with him. However, he did not meet with the committee.
The first time Hunter showed up to Bethel to preach, he was met by parishioners who asked him for the “papers” that would certify his assignment to Bethel as its new pastor. He did not have them and left the church.
A few weeks later, he arrived at the church, surprising members when he entered the pulpit. But when he tried to preach, parishioners walked out.
Some members of Bethel raised concerns that Hunter intended to live in Los Angeles and become a commuter pastor, flying to and from San Francisco every weekend to preach, This didn’t sit well with many of Bethel’s members.
Others at Bethel said he was charismatic and liked to tell stories about his upbringing. However, they said, he really did not want to be at Bethel AME and clearly wanted to return to First AME in Los Angeles.
The Judicial Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church – a nine-member body whose president is Patricia Mayberry, the sister of Rev. Dr. Harold Mayberry of First AME in Oakland – denied Hunter’s petition to return FAME.
Hunter faces a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against him and his wife Denise, filed by FAME and its new pastor for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud and misrepresentation.

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

12 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.