Shalom of Oakland

Goodsearch.com is a search engine that will share half of their proceeds with the non-profit organization of your choice.  Shalom of Oakland recently registered, so if you choose to use goodsearch and choose "Shalom of Oakland" we'll get about one cent per search.  So far today I have generated  21 cents for Shalom all by myself...amazing.
It's a creative idea and I hope that it actually works for them and for the non-profits who are giving it a shot.  So many churches, non-profits, schools, etc. are in the middle of a very trying financial season and need to find creative ways of finding new streams of revenue.

If you're interested in understanding more about East Oakland and reading a fast paced piece of fiction, my new friend Harry Louis Williams has recently written a great book called Straight Outta East Oakland.  Harry is a wonderful man, and I hope to stay in contact with him and learn from him.  Check it out on Amazon here.

We are currently grieving the untimely death of Oscar Grant on January 1 at the Fruitvale BART, our local station.  We pray for his four year old daughter that is left behind, for her to experience love and safety.  We mourn with his family and friends.  We are also grieving the acts of vandalism that occurred downtown after a recent peaceful protest.  We mourn with the store owners who had windows broken and individuals who had their cars destroyed.  May God help us learn to live together in love.