NorCalUrban

"Everything we are, everything that is said to us, everything that happens to us is some kind of call from God. In fact, everything that happens is God's call to us either to accept what we should not change or to change what we should not accept so that the Presence of God can flourish where we are... Finding God is a matter of living every minute of life to it's ultimate. - Joan Chittister

"Faith is Action, Based upon Belief, Sustained by Confidence in God's Word and His promise to perform it" -Dr. Gene Scott

The Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a nondenominational megachurch in Longwood, Fla., said he resigned as the coalition's incoming president because its board of directors disagreed with his plan to broaden the organization's agenda. In addition to opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, Hunter, 58, wanted to take on such issues as poverty, global warming and HIV/AIDS."My position is, unless we are caring as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb, we're not carrying out the full message of Jesus," What a travesty! I have not been a great fan of the Christian Coalition mainly because of this issue. Yes, I'm undoubtedly against abortion - but I'm also against a host of issues including poverty, injustice, etc... If so called conservative Christian groups, which at times seem to be more of a mouthpiece for the Republican party than the Gospel, would broaden their embrace of issues then I would be much closer to their ideology. However, as is...

I had to 'google' google to find this article... No wonder they have made so much money! "Buy Google" became the cry of investors Tuesday as its shares surpassed $500 for the first time and kept climbing. Mountain View-based Google closed Tuesday at $509.65, giving the search engine-turned-media heavyweight a market capitalization of $156 billion and making the eight-year-old firm more valuable than Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, Mitsubishi, Chevron and AT&T. An investor who bought 10 shares of stock in the company's August 2004 Dutch auction-style initial public offering would have turned his $850 into $5,040.80, a return of 493 percent on paper in little more than two years. Read the entire article here.

Rick Ruben (founder of American Recordings and producer of all the content that resurrected Johnny Cash's career) wrote these beautiful words in the insert to American V: A Hundred Highways, Cash's first posthumous album. We had a ritual to speak every day since just before June had passed. One of the reasons for the ritual was actually Dr. Gene Scott, the outrageous televangelist who did a show explaining how he cured his own cancer by doing communion every day. His argument for how is worked was thought provoking. I told Johnny about it on the phone one afternoon, and the next time we were together in person we discussed it further. I had never taken communion before, so he had someone find his old communion kit. He hadn't used it in many years but he did that day and Johnny game me my first communion. We spoke about doing it every day, and that's when the ritual began. each day we would speak on the phone and Johnny would perform the communion rite. We would both vis...

The East Palo Alto Credit Union, a byproduct of an innovative partnership among Silicon Valley and Bay Area credit unions, has just announced the appointment of two key financial leaders. Two executives from local credit unions will provide the expertise to complete this project, which is designed to inspire investment in the community. Stu Fisher, the new interim CEO, will finalize charter requirements and help locate a permanent CEO for the East Palo Alto operation. “This project represents everything that is good about the credit union movement ~ by the community, for the community and people helping people toward greater economic empowerment. The East Palo Alto Credit Union will change lives significantly. It’s an honor to be part of such a legacy.” Fisher is known for his work as vice president at Addison Avenue Credit Union, which started as a credit union serving Hewlett Packard and has since branched into the technology arena. It has 25 branches nationwide and $1.8 billion i...

East Palo Alto politics are fascinating to watch. In many ways it's a small young city trying to legitimize and establish itself. EPA was founded only 25 years ago and began with a dream of self determination. It was almost named Nairobi to celebrate it's African American heritage, maybe should have been. At lease I wouldn't always have to explain that no, we are NOT the eastern part of Palo Alto. But I digress... A report was recently issues about one of our local council members. Pete Evans is due to be the next mayor and there is some concerns about him taking the reigns of the city. Mr. Evans has done many things for the city over it's history but at times he takes a somewhat extremist stance on issues. Either way, a recent Mercury News article states: "East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Peter Evans has made racist comments and has attacked the character of some city employees, according to a City Council-commissioned report released this week. Evans, who is African Ame...

The voters spoke! East Palo Alto election night was successful for all the candidates and measures we were supporting. Measure C, the one I was specifically working on passed! It was a tough fight since a competing measure had to be defeated. But in the end, through the hard work of the EPA Fellowship of Faith and Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA) we were successful. A local newspaper article stated: "Mayor Ruben Abrica was celebrating his re-election to the City Council along with the passage of Measure C, a crime prevention initiative. "The results show a willingness by the community to sustain what we're doing to reduce crime," he said Wednesday. Measure C needed two-thirds approval to pass, and squeaked by with 68 percent of the vote. The measure will create a parcel tax for 10 years that will split funds between the Police Department and community groups. The city's measure was in direct competition with Measure D, a similar initiative that would have grant...

Great News! As you know, we have been seeking an interim volunteer CEO to serve NCUD's efforts to bring a community development Credit Union to East Palo Alto. We are now at a place where it’s critical to have someone with the right experience to help us complete and submit the final charter application to the National Credit Union Administration. Once the charter is completed the interim CEO will assist us in communication with the NCUA the search for a permanent CEO. The interim CEO will take the lead on the operations side of the plan with NCUD continuing to be the sponsoring organization and maintaining the community connections. As a result of our request, Stu Fisher from Addison Avenue Credit Union stepped forward to serve in this role. Addison Avenue C.U. began as Hewlett Packard's Credit Union and have branched out to serve the technology sector. They now have 20 branches nationwide with $1.8 billion in assets. Stu brings over 15 years experience in marketing, strategy,...

"Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes — the thinking, willful part of the brain through which people control what they do — were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. The regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active. The women were not in blind trances, and it was unclear which region was driving the behavior. “The amazing thing was how the images supported people’s interpretation of what was happening,” said Dr. Andrew B. Newberg, leader of the study team, which included Donna Morgan, Nancy Wintering and Mark Waldman. “The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them,” he said. Contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice w...

It's been hard to go too far without hearing of the demise of giga church pastor and leader Ted Haggard. I have never been a big fan of the religious right although I am a committed Christ follower and pastor. My first reaction to the Haggard issue was one of pride, of which I had to repent. Then I thought about my life. What if everything I have thought, looked at and even engaged in was brought to light. Who would I embarrass? What skeletons do I have in my personal closet. Maybe not of the sexual kind, but certainly ones of improper justification, pride, gluttony, selfishness.. Yes, I strive for holiness and purity but as the Psalmist and others before me I sometimes trip and have to fall back on the throne of grace. I'm praying for the Haggard family. As U2 once said, grace is the thought that moves the world. -I was impressed at the letter that Haggard wrote over the weekend, and the one his wife wrote. You can view them HERE. I was around in the 80's during the Swag...

"Creditors such as Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank see recent immigrants as a growing market niche, but those who lack Social Security numbers or legal status in the U.S. are often rejected by the three major credit bureaus. A handful of new credit reporting systems already used by 200 real estate brokers, community groups and mortgage counselors nationwide allows them to calculate risk by evaluating a prospective client's utility bills and rent checks." "Gateway states like California and Texas will disproportionately benefit from the housing boom because so manyof their residents are immigrants," said Gary Acosta, the association's co-founder, speaking from the group's annual convention in Las Vegas. "Boosting homeownership among these populations is a positive contribution to the overall fabric of our society and our economy." Read the entire story here.

As many of you know, I've been involved in the campaign for Measure C. Measure C is an East Palo Alto parcel tax that would provide over $1.7 million dollars annually to be split between the police force and local community organizations serving to combat youth violence in our community. The cost for each homeowner is about $2.00 a week. It excludes senior, renters and those with disability. Now - I'm no fan of taxes. But this measure is the City empowering itself to make a change. As for the cost - how much will house values go up if violence is dramatically reduced? It seems like a small investment and a winning idea to me. Photos are from a rally we held in our building last Saturday. It's fun to see the space being used for community functions. One photo is of Mayor Reuben Abrica addressing the crowd, the other is of community leader Stewart Hyland training the folks...