Lesbian Pastor Lynice Pinkard Becomes Acting Senior Pastor At Church In Oakland

The number of out LGBT African American theologians playing key roles in mainstream religeous institutions are extremely small and can be counted on one hand and then only on a few digits. Lynice Pinkard was recently named Acting Senior Pastor at the First Congregational Church in Oakland, California. The 46 year old pastor has worked as a therapist with the city and county of San Francisco and was among the first African American ministers to dedicate themselves to the needs of the African American lesbian and gay community.

"We need to utilize our own histories as African-American LGBTs to understand and uncover the more radical parts of Christianity. Remember that Jesus, that Jewish carpenter, was a poor, landless radical/revolutionary. He stood up and fought the powers that be. Today we’d say that he stood up against Homeland Security.

Faith gives people the ability to resist forms of oppression. I’d like Black people of faith to make the connection between the resistance of the early church—of Jesus in particular—with the history of other African-American peoples who have fought on all kinds of liberation fronts.

Resistance to every form of suffering and oppression is a mandate. We must connect our suffering to the suffering that’s happening all over the world and to the environment. We can get power from connecting to coalitions based in what I call collective projects for freedom.”

Congratulations on your acting role at first Congregation and it is clear to me that their faith in your leadership further shows just how progressive our great state of California is and what we can achieve in the future.

Joe