Pastor’s Column
May 22nd, 2025
My dear church family,
Yesterday I attended a Bible study at Cardinal Point, a senior community near the Posey Tube. It is led by a person from Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Oakland. She asked that I become familiar with the study so that I could substitute teach if she needs to be away some week.
I had a wonderful time meeting the ten residents who attended the study. I met two close friends of Louise Parker. She had lived at Cardinal Point! You may remember that Pat Newkirk lived there also until she moved to Nevada a year ago.
The group is studying the Gospel of Mark. The author of Mark includes many of Jesus’ short, evocative parables in his gospel. One of those is the “Parable of the Mustard Seed” (Mark 4:30-32). The parable ends with these words, “a mustard seed … becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” The birds of the air… who are these? To whom is the mustard shrub offering a home? What do you suppose was Jesus’ message in this parable?
Through FPCA’s ministry to refugees I have become more familiar with an interfaith organization called Interfaith Movement 4 Humanity (IM4H): IM4H Website On the IM4H home page, it states:
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, the Baháʼí faith and many others share a central commitment to the sacredness of every person.
Welcome the refugee.
Treat the stranger as your own.
Compassion knows no borders.
Love has no walls.
Last night I attended First Presbyterian Church of Concord’s showing of the Academy Award winning documentary, No Other Land. This film, which depicts the Israeli government’s efforts to force Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank, was directed by two peace activists, one Israeli and one Palestinian. It is set in the four years prior to the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas. Despite its international acclaim, No Other Land has not found a U.S. distributor, so is shown to small audiences, often in churches.
I have also recently listened to the audio book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama, a book published October 3, 2023 (again, before the attack). Amazon says that the non-fiction book, “offers an indelibly human portrait of the struggle over Israel/Palestine and a new understanding of the tragic history and reality of one of the most contested places on earth.” These, as well as a resolution passed by our own Presbytery last week, and the daily news reports, are widening my understanding of the conflict. However, I am sorely uninformed about the history, and the political ramifications of the ongoing conflict. Therefore, I come before you with great humility as I share with you an opportunity being offered by the interfaith community here in the Bay Area.
IM4H is sponsoring an activity that we, as individuals, may choose to support, called the “Right of Return” Pilgrimage. It is a walk on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, from Alameda to Berkeley, passing right by First Presbyterian Church. This is an opportunity to join people across the globe who are advocating for the people of Gaza to be able to return to their home villages and families, to remain, rebuild, and live with dignity, or migrate if desired.
The walk starts at the Islamic Center on Santa Clara at 9th Street and continues past First Presbyterian Church. The Alameda leg of the walk is 3 ¼ miles but participants can walk any stretch of that or continue on for the entire 22 miles of the pilgrimage. I will be out of town on June 8 so cannot participate, but if you would like to show support by standing on the FPCA steps, the walkers are scheduled to pass by our church between 7:45 - 8:15 that Sunday morning.
Our denomination, the PC(USA) endorses the global movement of which this is a part, and the Rev. Emily Lin, the former pastor at Twin Towers United Methodist Church, is our local contact.
For more information:
Route from Alameda to Berkeley
God is a just and merciful God. Jesus sent his disciples into all the world to preach the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation through his death and resurrection. The parable of the mustard seed may be understood as welcoming all people into homes of safety. May we pray and advocate for homes, both spiritual and physical, for all people.
In humility and great respect,
Pastor Cindy