Bay Area

S.F. Mayor London Breed Urges Religious Congregations to Do Their Part to Deter COVID-19

Published

6 years ago

April 12, 2020

At her Wednesday press conference updating the public on COVID-19, San Francisco Mayor London Breed took a moment to wistfully recall the Easter Sundays of her childhood: the new church outfits, the egg hunts, good food and family gatherings.

But the first mayor in the U.S. to issue shelter-in-place orders for a metropolis of nearly 900,000 people, an action that is credited for the city’s comparatively low infection rate and resulting illness and death rates, emphasized that now was not time to be complacent and this included staying home from Easter services, Passover observances and later in the month, Ramadan.

Addressing churches and their members, Breed said “I know how hard it’s going to be to stay home and not go to church.”

“There are other ways to celebrate,” she said, such as online services. “Pastors and priests can also reach out to members by telephone” and instruct lay people to connect with the isolated, needy and vulnerable.

Mayor Breed went on to reference a church in Mt. Vernon, Wash., where a choir practiced on March 10, 2020. Even though they practiced safe distancing, at least 28 of the 45 members became sick with COVID-19 and two died.

“I am asking leaders of the religious community to impress on your members to stay at home,” she said.

Compared to national hot spots like New York and New Orleans, San Francisco’s statistics are encouraging: As of Wednesday, 5,994 people had been tested and of those, 676 had the virus and 10 people have died.

After the mayor cleaned the lectern with a sanitary wipe, San Francisco Interfaith Council President Michael Pappas came to the podium and confessed that he had feared resistance at first but as far as he knew all of the city’s “800 congregations of faith” were complying with the order and praised Breed’s leadership. The S.F.I.C. has been reaching out by telephone to congregants who are the most vulnerable and providing links to services on their web site.

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. Amos Brown, is complying with the order.

Brown thinks that Third Baptist is only doing what it has done since its founding in 1852, which is to provide help for African Americans who suffered and continue to suffer under white supremacy. H.E.L.P., Brown said is simple, practical and aspirational. ‘H’ stands for hope as opposed to fear and damnation, ‘E’ for enlightenment, including the value of science and history, especially the history of previous plagues and pandemics. ‘L’ is for love, which commands “us to love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves,” which, in practical terms, exhorts us to ‘P’ act with the power to change a situation, in this case to behave responsibly in preventing the spread of the virus based on fact.

Third Baptist had already had remote viewing for church services available before the order, and now all of them are online. Technology allows members to continue their tithes and contributions via credit card.

A contemporary of Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Brown was one of the 3% of churches that supported the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. at the time and promoted service to the community. Many other churches, he said, are on the fire-and-brimstone tip, encouraging salvation for the individual.

Brown would not have members needlessly sacrifice themselves to come to worship, though volunteers continue to provide food for their vulnerable seniors.

But he is worried about the people he sees flouting the shelter-in-place order sharing bottles outside nearby liquor stores and young people who don’t seem to understand that they can pass the disease on to their elders without even being aware they are infected.

Across the bay in East Oakland, the renowned Allen Temple Baptist Church, where U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee is a member, immediately complied with Alameda County’s shutdown order on March 17, 2020, closing their East Oakland campus but continuing to provide online Sunday worship, Bible study and Sunday school.

The church is also a veritable one-stop shop with a web page providing advice for young people, sources for food and directions for financial and psychological help.

And if that weren’t enough, one of the members is selling face coverings to comply with the recent Centers for Disease Control directive to cover one’s face when out and about.

But in the Bible Belt across the South where many states either don’t have or were slow to implement shelter-in-place orders, many Christians, especially Black Christians, may be more inclined to trust God and Jesus than other authorities like the government or scientists.

And they have good reason: Still in the living memory of Black Southerners is the Tuskegee experiment where Black men were infected with syphilis instead of the health injection they believed they were receiving. And, even now, government is failing the Black residents of Wisconsin, largely Democratic, who, despite a shelter-in-place order were denied a delay in the election date or absentee ballots and forced by the U.S. Supreme Court to go to polling places to vote on April 7, 2020, potentially endangering their health and spreading the virus.

Resistance to the order is not even so far from home. In Lodi, near California’s state capital, Pastor Jon Duncan of Cross Culture Christian Center continued to hold services despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive. “First amendment rights are not suspended by the virus,” he said.

But his landlord, Bethel Open Bible Church, changed the locks and prevented Duncan from holding Palm Sunday services there.

Across the country in Hartford, Conn., Pastor Derrick C. Holloway, Jr. of First Calvary Church had no problem with the order, which was that no more than 10 people could gather in one place. The doors to the church home for his small flock of 48 were locked on Palm Sunday so they gathered on the doorstep, maintaining the appropriate distance of six feet apart.

They were observed by a reporter, Mark Pazniokas, who happened to ride by on his bicycle. The music and the pastor’s voice was arresting for passers-by on foot and in cars, whose occupants parked at a safe distance to listen. “May I have a palm frond, please” asked a woman in one car who was wearing a surgical mask. One was given to her.

Their actions showed they accepted the science but at the same time hungered for tradition, a hunger for prayer in a group setting and its assurances. So they did what so many Black people of faith have done in times of trouble, from the slave ship to the brush arbor, to the storefront churches and regal cathedrals, they took the time to pray.

Mark Pazniokas of the Connecticut Times-Mirror contributed to this report.

Wanda Ravernell

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Activism

Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

3 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.

Oakland Post

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Activism

First 5 Alameda County Distributes Over $8 Million in First Wave of Critical Relief Funds for Historically Underpaid Caregivers

“Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers are lifelines for so many children and families in Alameda County,” said Kristin Spanos, CEO, First 5 Alameda County. “Yet, they often go unrecognized and undercompensated for their labor and ability to give individualized, culturally connected care. At First 5, we support the conditions that allow families to thrive, and getting this money into the hands of these caregivers and families at a time of heightened financial stress for parents is part of that commitment.”

Published

3 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Costco. Courtesy image.

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers Can Now Opt Into $4,000 Grants to Help Bolster Economic Stability and Strengthen Early Learning Experiences

By Post Staff

Today, First 5 Alameda County announced the distribution of $4,000 relief grants to more than 2,000 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers, totaling over $8 million in the first round of funding. Over the full course of the funding initiative, First 5 Alameda County anticipates supporting over 3,000 FFN caregivers, who collectively care for an estimated 5,200 children across Alameda County. These grants are only a portion of the estimated $190 million being invested into expanding our early childcare system through direct caregiver relief to upcoming facilities, shelter, and long-term sustainability investments for providers fromMeasure C in its first year. This investment builds on the early rollout of Measure C and reflects a comprehensive, system-wide strategy to strengthen Alameda County’s early childhood ecosystem so families can rely on sustainable, accessible care,

These important caregivers provide child care in Alameda County to their relatives, friends, and neighbors. While public benefits continue to decrease for families, and inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, these grants provide direct economic support for FFN caregivers, whose wages have historically been very low or nonexistent, and very few of whom receive benefits. As families continue to face growing financial pressures, especially during the winter and holiday season, these grants will help these caregivers with living expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies, and food.

The funding for these relief grants comes from Measure C, a local voter-approved sales tax in Alameda County that invests in young children, their families, communities, providers, and caregivers. Within the first year of First 5’s 5-Year Plan for Measure C, in addition to the relief grants to informal FFN caregivers, other significant investments will benefit licensed child care providers. These investments include over $40 million in Early Care and Education (ECE) Emergency Grants, which have already flowed to nearly 800 center-based and family child care providers. As part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, preparations are also underway to distribute facilities grants early next year for child care providers who need to make urgent repairs or improvements, and to launch the Emergency Revolving Fund in Spring 2026 to support licensed child care providers in Alameda County who are at risk of closure.

The FFN Relief Grants recognize and support the essential work that an estimated 3,000 FFN caregivers provide to 5,200 children in Alameda County. There is still an opportunity to receive funds for FFN caregivers who have not yet received them.

In partnership with First 5 Alameda County, Child Care Payment Agencies play a critical role in identifying eligible caregivers and leading coordinated outreach efforts to ensure FFN caregivers are informed of and able to access these relief funds.FFN caregivers are eligible for the grant if they receive a child care payment from an Alameda County Child Care Payment Agency, 4Cs of Alameda County, BANANAS, Hively, and Davis Street, and are currently caring for a child 12 years old or younger in Alameda County. Additionally, FFN caregivers who provided care for a child 12 years or younger at any time since April 1, 2025, but are no longer doing so, are also eligible for the funds. Eligible caregivers are being contacted by their Child Care Payment Agency on a rolling basis, beginning with those who provided care between April and July 2025.

“This money is coming to me at a critical time of heightened economic strain,” said Jill Morton, a caregiver in Oakland, California. “Since I am a non-licensed childcare provider, I didn’t think I was eligible for this financial support. I was relieved that this money can help pay my rent, purchase learning materials for the children as well as enhance childcare, buy groceries and take care of grandchildren.”

Eligible FFN caregivers who provided care at any time between April 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, who haven’t yet opted into the process, are encouraged to check their mail and email for an eligibility letter. Those who have cared for a child after this period should expect to receive communications from their child care payment agency in the coming months. FFN caregivers with questions may also contact the agency they work with to receive child care payments, or the First 5 Alameda help desk, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, at 510-227-6964. The help desk will be closed 12/25/25 – 1/1/26. Additional grant payments will be made on a rolling basis as opt-ins are received by the four child care payment agencies in Alameda County.

Beginning in the second year of Measure C implementation, FFN caregivers who care for a child from birth to age five and receive an Alameda County subsidized voucher will get an additional $500 per month. This amounts to an annual increase of about $6,000 per child receiving a subsidy. Together with more Measure C funding expected to flow back into the community as part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, investments will continue to become available in the coming year for addressing the needs of childcare providers in Alameda County.

About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County builds the local childhood systems and supports needed to ensure our county’s youngest children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and life.

Our Mission

In partnership with the community, we support a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves the lives of children from birth to age five and their families.

Our Vision

Every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential.

Learn more at www.first5alameda.org.