“Up from the ashes” has been Pastor Rodney D. Smith’s mantra since a blaze destroyed the First African Methodist Episcopal Church building at 3701 Telegraph Avenue in February 2023.
That theme was present on Sunday afternoon as the congregation met in the sunny parking lot for a farewell service and deconsecration — a ceremony to decommission a site from spiritual to secular use. The charred, red-tagged building stood in the background as the choir, dressed in all black with orange and gold ribbons pinned to their lapels, sang “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.” The service included other choir selections, skits about the church’s past, a reading of scripture, a praise dance, and brief remarks by church and community leaders.
Parishioners, some of whom have been part of the church for decades and others who have recently joined, made their way to rows of white chairs beneath a canopy. Speakers reminisced about the history of the church, from its early beginnings as the Shiloh A.M.E. Church in 1858, just six years after the city of Oakland was founded, when it doubled as one of the first schools for Black children in Oakland, to its move to Telegraph Avenue in 1954. In recent years, the church was known for serving full breakfasts every Sunday and providing meals to the homeless.
“Babies were dedicated, couples joined in marriage, souls were saved and saints were laid to rest in peace,” said Reverend Rosalynn Brookins. “It was a sanctuary of outreach, love and learning and legacy, as we say to this building, ‘Thank you.’”…