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!
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.
Rev. Dr. Shane B. Scott
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, Rev. Dr. Scott formally began as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to this position, for 12 years Rev. Dr. Scott served as Senior Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, in Watts (Los Angeles), California. A native of Franklin, Louisiana, and raised in Richmond, California, Dr. Scott graduated from Berkeley School of Theology in 2008 with a Master of Divinity degree. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and a Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary in New York City, New York. Dr. Scott also holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Rev. Dorothy Taliaferro Staples
Rev. Staples received her Master of Divinity Degree in 2005 and is celebrating her 20th graduation anniversary from Berkeley School of Theology. Rev. Staples was present at the February virtual alumni gathering, “Hope in Spiritual Care”, for the alumni graduation anniversaries segment where she acknowledged one of her influential professors, Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., professor of Preaching and African American Spirituality. Upon graduation, Rev. Staples was the recipient of the L. Doward McBain Preaching prize for outstanding preacher in the graduating class of 2005. Rev. Staples completed her pastoral education at Sequoia Hospital, now Dignity Health, and then was Chaplain for ten years with the Veterans Affairs. She was also a faculty member of the Leadership Institute at Allen Temple Baptist Church. Rev. Staples thoroughly enjoyed the 1:1 spiritual care aspect that chaplaincy offered.
