Pastor Johnny Kashung
The service will be held at 4:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Alameda, led by fellow BST alum Rev. Karen Yee (’97), pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship in Castro Valley, California. This upcoming celebration follows the recognition of Johnny’s call by an ordination council of ABC-Central Pacific Coast region last fall which was convened by BST Board Chair Rev. Katie Choy-Wong (’80) and Board Secretary Rev. Steve Bils.
Beyond his pastoral leadership, Johnny continues his academic journey at BST as a current Doctor of Ministry student. Please join us in cheering him on as he begins this new chapter of ministry; we look forward to seeing his leadership continue to flourish!
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, 2011
Doctor of Ministry, 2024
Rev. Dr. Michael A. Smith
Michael has been Pastor of the McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley California for 18 years. In 2014, he became the founding Executive Director of The Center for Food, Faith & Justice which serves as a faith-based non-profit arm of the church as a lead organization dedicated to the issues of environmental and food justice, health equity and economic development. His DMin dissertation topic was The Black Earth Theology Project: Toward Reconciliation and Care of God’s Creation.
