Honorary Doctorate, 2007
Rev. Dr. H. James “Jim” Hopkins
Rev. Dr. H. James “Jim” Hopkins is retiring after serving as Senior Pastor at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church since 1989! Rev. Dr. Hopkins earned his Master of Divinity in 1983 and received an honorary doctorate in 2007 from Berkeley School of Theology.
Additionally, he served on BST’s Board of Trustees from 2007 – 2015. For 37 years, Pastor Jim served LABC as a preacher, teacher, and writer, offering pastoral care and leadership. Pastor Jim also serves as Pastor of LABC’s partner church, Oakland First Baptist Church. His dedication to his congregation and the wider community is a core part of his calling. In addition to his pastoral duties, he has held several key leadership positions, including President of the Lakeshore Avenue Business Improvement District, President of the American Baptist Ministers Council of Northern California, Co-Chair of the Faith In Action East Bay Board, Vice President of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, faith leader in the Oakland Ceasefire Partnership, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Before his tenure at LABC, Pastor Jim served as the Associate Pastor of The First Baptist Church of Los Angeles. Please join us in celebrating Pastor Jim’s retirement and his decades of dedicated service and leadership!
Sylvia Lane
We are delighted to share wonderful news that Rev. Sylvia Lane, formerly Britt, (M.Div. ’25), has had an incredibly exciting season both professionally and personally. Sylvia has launched into a thriving ministry career, starting her new full-time position on September 8, 2025, as a Palliative Care Chaplain with Kaiser, and also serving as a Per Diem Chaplain with Sutter Hospitals, in addition to her volunteer role with the SFPD. We are also sending our heartfelt congratulations to Sylvia and her spouse, Londi, on their recent marriage on October 4, 2025! We celebrate both her dedication to compassionate care and this beautiful new chapter in her
Rev. Celinda Miranda, LCSW & PPSC
Celinda was awarded the 2022 Alum of the Year at the sold out 150th Anniversary Banquet in October 2022 with Dr. Cornel West as the featured speaker (video on BST’s YouTube page). Celinda has worked in the bilingual mental health services for 33 years and teaches at San Jose State University. Celinda is an associate minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Jose, California.
Doctor of Ministry, 2017
Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri
Marie is director of Intercultural Ministries for American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) in Pennsylvania and also affiliate faculty at BST. She edited the book Trouble the Water: A Christian Resource for the Work of Racial Justice and authored the article “Reframing tension for transformation: Bridge-crossing | bridge-making | bridge-being“.
Master of Community Leadership, 2019
Chaplain Kwee T.L. Say
On September 6, 2023, Chaplain Say was promoted to Lieutenant in the United States Navy. Chaplain Say is currently serving as a Command Chaplain aboard the USS ROSS (DDG 71). She joined the U.S. Navy in 2018 as a non-active reservist and started her active duty in the Navy in October 2022. She was awarded two Masters’ degrees in 2019 from Berkeley School of Theology, in Divinity and Community Leadership. Chaplain Say came to America in 2004 from Burma (Myanmar) and is the very first Burmese Karen, her ethnic group from Burma, to become a Chaplain in the United States Navy. She is honored to serve with the finest Sailors the nation has to offer aboard Navy Destroyer USS ROSS, her God, and country.
Donald Taylor, Sr. and Bertha Yvette Morrow
Donald and Bertha graduated in 2025 from the Master of Divinity program at Berkeley School of Theology. In addition to earning their degrees, the couple has another reason to celebrate: They were united in holy matrimony on Saturday, September 13, 2025!
Meeting at BST, a friendship that began over Zoom blossomed into relationship, culminating in an engagement on the day prior to their graduation.
As one professor at Commencement exclaimed, “How could this have happened Zoom?!” Their answer is, “With God, all things are possible!” After their wedding, Don and Bertha will launch their new ministry, “Intercultural Prophetic Ministries,” in the Biloxi, Mississippi area, where they reside. They are also continuing to work on a ministerial project already in progress in the Bay Minette, Alabama communities. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they begin this new chapter together.
