One pretty awesome fruit man

My daughter, Sadie, goes to daycare in the mornings when I'm at work. I'm a teacher in East Oakland, so I drop her off at a family daycare nearby the school. This family has 3 daughters that attend/have attended the school I work at.

A few weeks ago as I was coming to pick up Sadie, a big truck was blocking the driveway to the family daycare. When I went inside to pick up Sadie, I asked about the truck. Sadie's daycare provider explained that the man comes by every Monday or Tuesday to sell fruit to some of the families in the neighborhood. I was intrigued (of course!), so on my way back out to the car, I peeked in the the back of the truck. The man had shelves of vegetables and fruits in baskets in the bed of the truck. He had a hanging scale, and was chatting with a relative of the family that Sadie stays with.

I was so excited about this fruit truck. I loved to imagine the relationship the seller builds with the neighborhood and with the families he interacts with. I became excited thinking about the needs this fruit man was meeting- he was bringing healthy foods to those too old or busy to venture out. I don't much about how this fruit man operates, but I'm assuming he's made a name for himself in the Latino community in East Oakland. This fruit truck is addressing the need to bring healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables into this fairly isolated East Oakland neighborhood- and that's pretty awesome!

How can we do this as a church? What needs do you see in our community? How can we reach out in love to those who are isolated or in need? What are some creative ways (like this fruit truck!) that we can collectively meet those needs? Any thoughts?  

The photo is from this website: http://www.upfromthedirt.com/bulk.html This is the first time I heard of this project- but it sounds neat.

Prayer Walks and Liquor Stores

We had a great prayer walk around Temescal and MLK yesterday morning. Thanks to all of you who come out. We were certainly in a boundary neighborhood. Crossing underneath the freeway at 45th street, we left Michelin rated restaurants and came out right next to a liquor store. The economic and cultural shift was dramatic.

It reminded me of this article from Oakland North about one of the most significant disparities in our city - the ratio of grocery stores and the ratio of liquor stores.

One statistic: "In the flatlands, where the median household income is $32,000, there’s an average of one supermarket per 93,126 residents, according to a 2009 report by the Hope Collaborative, an Oakland-based organization focusing on environmental health and food policy issues. The same report found that in the Oakland Hills, where the median household income is over $58,000, there’s an average of one supermarket per 13,778 residents."

Near our Seminary location there are (or were) three liquor stores. One has been closed down and they are putting the property up for sale. They are installing an industrial kitchen. Anyone want to drop $500,000 and help us start a fresh bakery and grocery down there?

NPR Story featuring MISSSEY

And here's the link for the NPR story about trafficking in Oakland featuring MISSSEY....

Tonight at OCC

Thanks Rebecca for setting up this blog! Awesome. I hope all of you can join in the conversation.

We're turning a corner tonight at OCC. On January 16, OCC will be moving to a more invitational worship service. Between now and then we'll be praying and discussing how we can best invite people in and serve those who come. As a part of this effort, the community understanding team is leading us to see ourselves as agents of blessing of the city.

Tonight we are looking at Mark 6; the feeding of the 5000. In Mark 6, Jesus comes ashore and finds a crowd waiting for him. Although the crowd is unsure of who Jesus is, they are attracted and curious. Jesus responds with compassion - they are like sheep without a shepherd. The disciples don't think they have what it takes to serve the huge crowd that has arrived. But their humble gifts of bread and fish (which come from a kid) are used to fill the needs of everyone present.

It may seem as though we don't have much to offer. But with Jesus as our provider, we have enough. I encourage you to share your thoughts and connections on this blog.

Welcome to the OCC Blog!

The Community Understanding Team has invited you to be an author a private blog!

We wanted you to have a platform to give voice to your experiences in our community. For starters, we hope to hear stories about the inspiration you find in Oakland. How do you see Jesus' love present on your block, in your neighborhood, or in your daily life? We also want to use this space to discuss how we all can best utilize our collective resources to meet the needs of our wider community.

Let the posting begin!

(Note: This blog cannot be found be searching the web. You must have a personal invitation to join the blog. As an author you can create blog posts, and of course, comment! Try it- it's a lot of fun!)

MISSEY

Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth (MISSSEY) advocates and facilitates the empowerment and inner transformation of sexually exploited youth by holistically addressing their specific needs. MISSSEY collaborates to bring about systemic and community change to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and youth through raising awareness, education and policy development.

Vision Statement:
We envision a world where children are protected and free from sexual exploitation

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