There are people whose very presence instills a sense of solidity, hope, resilience, and compassion. The Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Bernstine is one of those people. UUCB was honored in the summer of 2023 to have Rev. Bernstine give us a powerful and profound sermon on Climate Change that our dear Smiley Nelson arranged with UUCB and Rev. Bernstine.
Once again he is coming to UUCB, on Sunday, January 19th–at our request on the day before MLK Jr Day AND the Inauguration of a returning president–to be with and talk with us.
The title of his talk is “The Burden of Hope” Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Rev. Bernstine will share his truth, inspire us to understand the burden of hope and to re-connect to our strength, love and vision for a healed world.
Come be uplifted and fortified by Rev. Bernstine’ s wise understanding of hope and human nature that we will carry with us into 2025.
BIO below.
Rev. Dr. Alvin C Bernstine
About the Rev. Dr. Bernstine:
Dr. Bernstine has been privileged to serve as pastor of three wonderful congregations. He served the Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, from 1984 to 1993. While there, he doubled the church’s ministry budget and led the church to purchase and establish the Whiteside-Parks Family Life Center, the first family life center operated by a black church in Nashville. From 1993 to 2006, he served the Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York. He led the Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in the establishment of relevant ministries, a major building restoration project and in the year-long celebration of a century of Christian service, in 2005.
Dr. Bernstine was also given the tremendous honor to have served the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, which represented the primary Christian community in which his migrating family was nurtured. His immediate predecessor, Reverend Dr. Abraham Henry Newman, was used by God to spearhead Pastor Bernstine’ s educational pursuits at Bishop College. Bethlehem has enthusiastically embraced his vision of “Church Through the Roof!” He lead the congregation to develop relevant ministries that impact families in congregation and community: Brothers of Bethlehem, Sisters of Bethlehem, Youth of Bethlehem, Grief shares, Foster Kinship/Parent Training, Celebrate Recovery/Cocaine Anonymous, and one of the most amazing Church School experiences, Christian Empowerment Hour. He provided the vision for the impactful 7:14 Prayer Campaign, a community-led response to the tragic killing of police in Oakland.
He is the founder and instructor of The School of Prophets, a ministry to enhance effective preaching; Visiting Professor of Preaching at American Baptist Seminary of the West (renamed Berkley School of Theology), Faculty Member of Leadership Institute of Allen Temple Baptist Church; the Dean of the Bay Area Academy of Responsible Preaching; Past Moderator of Progressive Baptist Missionary Educational District Association, Clergy Coordinator for CCISCO and Richmond’s Ceasefire/Lifelines to Healing, an anti-gun violence initiative to save the lives of young African American men. He has been a member of the Brotherhood of Elders, a mentoring cohort for at-risk youth, and served a term as a Board Member of Greater Richmond Improvement Programs. A special space for service is Faculty Facilitator for the Foster Kinship Care Program of Contra Costa County College, specializing in Trauma-Informed Care. He has served as Dean for the Richmond Baptist Minister’s Conference, providing relevant preaching skills to Richmond ministers.
In 2011 Dr. Bernstine was honored twice with citations bearing the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. – the City of Richmond cited him with the MLK, Jr., Civic Award, and Morehouse College, Atlanta, inducted him into the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers. In 2013, he was privileged to facilitate the workshop, Preaching for Prophetic Action, at the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference in Dallas, Texas. Pastor Bernstine attended the White House National African American Pastors Convening for Pastors and the White House Working Together for the Common Good on Friday, March 23, 2012. He joined President Obama, Senior White House and Obama Administration officials for a day-long briefing on how the Obama Administration is impacting issues of concern within the African American community, and how to partner with the Obama Administration in moving forward. He has had the tremendous opportunity to participate in the Million Man March and be in attendance for both Inaugurals of President Barak Obama.
As a preacher he continues to receive invitations to preach in some of the nation’s most celebrated pulpits, recently preached at the imminent Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia; Friendship Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina; Third New Hope Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan; Emmanuel Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York; Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, New York; Brookhollow Baptist Church, Houston, Texas; Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, California; and featured preacher for the Pastor’s Division of the National Baptist Congress. He is a staff instructor of the Pastor’s and Minister’s Division of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. On August 1, 2020, he married Reverend Diana Becton, the first woman and first African American to serve as District Attorney of Contra Costa County. Their blended family includes four sons, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. He and Diana visited Ghana and Africa this year (2024), and he recently shared tours of Seoul, Korea, Manila, and the Philippines with special friends.
Dr. Bernstine is an avid swimmer, budding golf player, chess player, and bass guitar student, and he still finds time to enjoy life through travel, family, and spending time with grandchildren. His favorite pastime is reading.
