Hello World,

The devil must have taken over Samuel Pasillas.  The 47-year-old pastor for a Spanish-speaking church in the city of Victorville, California is being accused hiring a hitman to kill his daughter’s boyfriend, according to the Riverside Police Department. The attempted murder took place last October.

On Saturday evening, October 21, 2023, Riverside Police Officers responded to a local hospital regarding a person who just arrived suffering from gunshot wounds from a shooting that occurred around 7:00 p.m. in the Orangecrest neighborhood of Riverside.  The male adult victim said he was driving on Grove Community Drive approaching Plainview Street when another vehicle pulled up alongside him.  Gunfire came from this other vehicle and he was hit several times.  The victim drove himself to the hospital and was treated for his injuries, and officers located evidence of a shooting on Grove Community Drive and Plainview Street.

The Riverside Police Department conducted a investigation and subsequently learned this was a murder-for-hire shooting.  The victim had been dating the daughter of Pastor Pasillas. During their investigation, detectives uncovered evidence the father met with the men he hired and provided them information about the victim, including his location the evening of the shooting.  Detectives also determined these men were paid almost $40,000 by the father and had conducted surveillance on the victim in the weeks leading up to when they shot him.

Earlier this month, detectives served search warrants at homes in Victorville, Long Beach, and Lynwood.  Pastor Pasillas was arrested and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.  He is currently being held on $1 million bond. Juan Manuel Cebreros, a 55 years old from Long Beach, was arrested and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.  He is also being held on a $1 million bond.

This investigation is still ongoing and there are no other details to release at this time.  Anyone with additional information should contact Detective Nic Cantino at (951) 353-7104 or NCantino@RiversideCA.gov.  Those wishing to remain anonymous can email RPDTips@RiversideCA.gov, or download and use the Riverside Police Department’s “Atlas 1” mobile app by utilizing the “Send a Message” feature.  The department’s app can be downloaded here at APPLE or ANDROID.

Isn’t that wild? I wonder why Pastor Pasillas didn’t approve of the man his daughter was dating? I wonder about the ages of the daughter and the man she was dating. I wonder what his daughter thinks and if she is still dating the man. Is Pastor Pasillas married? I wonder what the congregation thinks! So many questions need to be answered, but most of all, thank God the man did not die from his injuries…I imagine that this story will soon be featured 20/20, Dateline or a similar show…

Any thoughts?

The post California Pastor Allegedly Hired Hitman to Kill Daughter’s Boyfriend… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

Christmas is literally hours away at this point so I hope we take time out of our busy schedules to reflect on the meaning of the season which is summed up in this beautiful verse: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

I love to see varied nativity scenes, but I’ve never seen one like what Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont, California is featuring on its grounds! The words “Black Lives Matter” as well as other striking statements are included in its nativity scene. See an excerpt of the story “Church Makes Statement With Black Lives Matter-Themed Nativity Scene: ‘It Was a Natural Choice'” by Kerry Justich on Yahoo.com below.

A church in California is making a statement about racial injustice in America by turning its nativity scene into a display of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The scene that sits just outside of Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont features the Virgin Mary, Joesph and a racially ambiguous baby Jesus in front of a wall of protestors holding up signs reading “I can’t breathe,” “Jesus wept” and “Racism is a pandemic too.” Just above the illustration, a sign reads, “Say their names” with a list of Black Americans who were unjustly murdered, including Emmett Till, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Pam Bunce, who chairs the Creative Peacemaking Committee responsible for the nativity scene at the church, tells Yahoo Life that making socially impactful statements with the display is something that they’ve done at the church for just over a decade.

“Each year we look at social justice issues, and select the theme for that year. Our church property is just a frontage road away from [a busy boulevard], so is highly visible to the community,” she explains. “We believe that, as beautiful as the Christmas story is, it’s only the beginning. We believe that Jesus came to Earth to minister to the marginalized and the oppressed. It’s not a sentimental story. It’s a bold story of commitment and service. Too often that part of the story is left out.” Read the rest HERE.

Also, below is an excerpt of the church’s theological statement, which is posted on the church’s web site, explaining its nativity scene.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young Jewish woman, who lived in a remote part of the Roman Empire. As a Jew, Mary was marginalized with few personal rights and significant obligations to the Roman ruling class. As a woman, Mary was powerless in the face of those who ruled, both the Roman authorities and the Temple leaders who conspired with them…The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in the summer of 2020, along with so many other unjustified killings of unarmed Black Americans, galvanized a wide coalition of Americans to seek equal justice under the law and equal treatment in our society for people of color. We affirm and join the call for justice and equity by the Black Lives Matter movement to ensure that Black lives matter as much as any other life. Our faith in Christ challenges us to stand with Mary in her call for justice for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.

Do you agree with this nontraditional nativity scene?

Any thoughts?

The post Claremont United Methodist Church Highlights ‘Black Lives Matter’ in Nativity Scene… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women! So below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for May ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out   As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

1. “The Ragland family of Jonesboro celebrates one of their own in Meghan Markle” by Stephen Boissy

Excerpt: The Raglands were forced to come to Jonesboro in the early 1800s. Revolutionary War veteran William Ragland won a land lottery as a reward for his service. The property he won was on then frontier land in Georgia. The city of Jonesboro that would serve as the backdrop for Margaret Mitchell’s Tara. He bought slaves forcing them to work the land and also forced his last name on them. Meghan Markle can trace her roots to them. Her side of the family would leave Georgia in the early 1900s, but leaving behind plenty of other family members. See more at: 11alive.com.

2.”How Female Celebrities Used Their Met Gala Outfits to Both Honour and Subvert Religious Norms” by Katie Edwards

Excerpt: Solange Knowles paired her braided golden halo with a black du-rag, pushing back against the notion that heaven is white and reminding onlookers that contemporary African-American sartorial culture is also heavenly. In an interview on the red carpet, Solange stated that she was directly influenced by the Black Madonna and African saints. See more at: independent.co.uk.

3. “Beyoncé And The Intersectionality of Faith” by Sonya Eskridge

Excerpt: By now you have probably heard of the Beyoncé Mass. At first glance, this looks like an entirely blasphemous church service praising Queen Bey, and many people of faith have taken deep offense to the fact that it even exists. Some have outright refused to watch the investigative piece about the service, dismissing whatever value it may have simply because it looks unorthodox on the surface. See more at: madamenoire.com.

4. “Austin Channing Brown: White people are ‘exhausting’” by Emily McFarlan Miller

Excerpt:  “White people can be exhausting.” That’s the first line in Austin Channing Brown’s new book, “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.” Brown, who writes and speaks about justice and racial reconciliation, said she chose those words carefully. “Exhausting” was truer than “frustrating” or any other adjective she tried, and, she said, “In the whole book, I’m trying to be as honest as I can about what it’s like to be a black woman who navigates whiteness on a very regular basis.” Plus, she said, she didn’t intend to write an introduction to racial justice. She wanted to move the conversation forward by sharing her experiences that showed how hard and sometimes dangerous it can be for a black woman navigating white Christian spaces, while also celebrating blackness. See more at: religionnews.com. 

5. “They Were the Only All-Female, All-Black Team in a NASA Science Competition. Then Came the Hackers” by Gianluca Mezzofiore 

Excerpt: Three teenagers came up with an innovative way to clean lead-contaminated drinking water in public schools — an idea so smart it made the finals of NASA’s coveted nationwide high-school science competition. The trio — the only all-female, all-black group in the finals — engineered a filter that purifies drinking water in old public-school buildings by detecting impurities such as chlorine, copper, and bromine.But when NASA opened the contest to online voting, users from 4chan, the image-based online bulletin board, launched a campaign to hack the results, forcing NASA to shut down the voting. See more at: cnn.com. 

6. “From Dating to Marriage, He Had a 5-Prong Plan” by Vincent M. Mallozzi

Excerpt:  “Both Elizabeth and Michael are really gracious, hospitable and friendly people, each with a wacky sense of humor,” Ms. Augustin said. “They are also very much grounded in their Christian faith, which is why I thought they would be perfect for each other. But as it turned out, the timing just wasn’t right for them as both were going through difficult times, so there was absolutely no spark.” See more at nytimes.com. 

7. Tuskegee Names Lily D. McNair as its 8th President by Michael Tullier

Excerpt:  Dr. Lily D. McNair will become Tuskegee University’s eighth president after being unanimously selected by its Board of Trustees. She will serve as the first female president of the institution in its 136-year history. McNair currently is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wagner College in New York City…Since Tuskegee University’s founding in 1881, it has been under the leadership of seven presidents — the first of which was Booker T. Washington, who led the institution from 1881 to 91915. See more at: tuskegee.edu. 

8. “White Woman Who Called Cops on Black BBQ in Oakland is Now a Meme” by Jessica Lipsky 

Excerpt: A woman in Oakland, California, who called the police on two black men barbecuing along Lake Merritt and became the subject of a now-viral video is now proliferating social media as a meme.  The woman hurled several racial epithets at the group and told them they’d soon be going to prison for their Sunday afternoon cookout, Newsweek earlier reported. In the video, the woman said her call had “nothing to do with their race.” The woman spoke with police, who arrived on scene to find both parties complaining of harassment. The officers wrote a report but issued no citations, made no arrests and allowed the barbecue to continue. In response, Oakland residents held a huge cookout on the same site on May 10. See more at: newsweek.com. 

9. “‘I Love Hate Speech’: Sarah Braasch, the White Woman Who Called Police on Black Yale Grad Student for Napping in Dorm, Defends Slavery and Supports Burqa Ban in Writings” by The Grio

Excerpt: “I was placed on the pro-slavery side of the argument. I remember spending many an hour in the local public library poring over Time Life books… And then I had a eureka moment. Some—not many, but some—of the slaves didn’t want to stop being slaves. A small number wanted to remain with their owners or return even after being freed. I knew I had just won the debate. And indeed, I did. I led our team to victory. The pro-slavery contingent defeated the abolitionists because, in a democracy, in the land of the free, who are we to tell people that they can’t be slaves if they want to be? Who are we to tell someone that she has to be free? Who are we to tell someone that she has to be regarded as fully human?” See more at: thegrio.com. 

10. “Black Ministry Students At Duke Say They Face Unequal Treatment And Racism” by Nick Chiles

Excerpt: “One of my classmates was sitting in a class, and she texted me and asked me to come to her class because a student was in her class saying, ‘N****** like you come here and think that you can just change everything. Why don’t you just learn what Jesus is really about?’ ” said Amber Burgin, president of the Black Seminarians Union, who is in her third year at Duke Divinity. “We are in classes trying to pull each other out of class to hear people making inappropriate slurs, like a white student calling someone a jigaboo and then claiming they didn’t know what that means. Or a white classmate calling a black classmate ‘ghetto.’ … I’ve had classmates who have had to take leave; I’ve had classmates who have left the program because they were tired of being treated in such a way.” See more at: npr.org.

If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blogs and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces  .

Any thoughts?

The post The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in May 2018 appeared first on After the Altar Call.