We’ve Got POWER!

Hey Good Table Mates,

Without any notice at all, PG&E showed up onsite on Wednesday morning, Sept. 4th, pulled the cable and energized our systems! And we all danced through the building singing “let there be light” and there was light. And it is GOOD!

So, we now are working to finish installations, stand for inspections, hire additional staff, gain our occupancy permits and open all our operations later this month or in early October. 

It has been a very long haul since we purchased the site on April 25, 2019 and we are so grateful for the community’s patience and support. You have weeded, hauled, hammered, demo-d and done so much work to bring this dream to fruition for all of us. Thank you also to those of you who donated things and money to our yard sale last Saturday. It was another great day for meeting with our neighbors, even though it was pretty hot!

We’ll have more information about everything - including an actual date for opening soon, so stay tuned!

July 02, 2025

I wish I could tell you when The Good Table Cafe will open, but snags with PG&E make it impossible to predict . . . •sigh• In the meantime, here’s a little spiritual touchstone for the holiday weekend. 

The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions: Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinion? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up, trusting our fellow citizens to join us in our determined pursuit—a living democracy?

– Terry Tempest Williams

Several years ago, during our Sunday community conversation about what it means to be a citizen, Betty Coates (a former Rosie the Riveter whose memory is a blessing) told us that her mother lost her U.S. citizenship when she married her Swedish father. Further research has shown that this happened due to an ugly law known as the Expatriation Act of 1907. This act primarily dealt with the status of Americans living abroad, but section 3 dealt a blow to American women who married "aliens". It was not superseded until the 1940's. Also, it did not apply to married men, so it was also sexist, but then again women couldn't vote at the time either. Betty's mother and father later became naturalized citizens together and when the judge asked her mother where she was born and she said "San Jose", he asked her no more questions.

For those of us born in this nation, we often take the fact of our citizenship - and rights to due process and voting - for granted. Cynicism, ignorance, and despair have caused many of us - and sadly especially young people - to fail to exercise our responsibilities as citizens to be informed, participate, and vote. The general feeling of "I can't make a difference" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and this lack of engagement may ultimately destroy our democracy all together.

My own belief is that having an active and rich spiritual life makes it much easier to participate in the body politic. For when we are secure in our sense of the divine at work, it's a lot easier to put up with the muck of human machinations. And as citizens of heaven, we have hope that transcends the basest of political schemes.

I am also mindful that other parts of the great (and dysfunctional) Christian family are quite happy to limit citizenship in heaven too. And even deign to "take it away" from those they have decided are unworthy. Fortunately, God is God, and people are just people, and we can rest assured and claim the promise from Romans 8:38-39: "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

How does your spirituality affect your citizenship? in heaven? on earth? 

Our Juneteenth Celebration was such a fun time that we even ran out of tortillas! Thanks to everyone who came out and to Emanuel Canes Catering and our own Cafe Director Angelia Canes for providing fantastic food. Big thanks also to our Sherwood Forest neighbor Carlisle who brought his healing “One Love” drums, and to Leonard Sherman and Melanie Mentzel and their band who played an eclectic set that kept us dancing as the sun went down. It was the first of many great gatherings we will have on our big patios! Thanks also for your donations. If you didn’t get to attend, but want to help the cafe get open, we’d also appreciate our support. Just click our donate button.

We’ll be gathering again this Saturday, June 29 from 12-3p for our regular last Saturday of the month Community Work + Fun day. Wear your work clothes, sturdy shoes and come help us weed the beds and do various jobs around our site. Or just stop by for a tour! We’re also going to set up a casual crop swap table if you have excess fruit and veggies from your garden that you’d like to swap with other gardeners.

On Juneteenth, you may have noticed that many of our furnishings are “hand me downs” or “scrounged” items. We’re calling this the development of an “El Sobrante Style”, as in let’s upcycle leftover chairs, stoves, etc.! Wanna help? I’ve attached our current “scrounge or buy cheap” list of things we still need. If you want to find or donate some of these things, do send a pic to Melinda first because we do have some parameters to satisfy and no room to store extra stuff that we can’t use!

Shopping/Scrounging for The Good Table

Big stuff

• 7 ft. Sofa, dark and durable, preferably browns and modern

• Modern or live edge coffee table

• Bar stools 5 to work with 34” bar under windows usually 24” high

• Patio tables 2-top or 4-top durable, not wrought iron or heavy -10

• Stacking chairs - 60 Black or Gray, do not need arms. Bonus for compact stacking. Sled type usually stacks higher. Also need chair dollies.

• Employee lockers - small size.

Appliances

• Commercial blenders with noise shields 2

• Batch coffee brewer 110 preferably must fit Curtis 1.5 gallon urn

• Tool box table (we have specs with butcher block top)

Small stuff

• 3-compartment Japanese condiment dishes small - 10

• Espresso cups - 48 do not need to match, but must be dishwasher safe

• Demitasse spoons 50 (stainless, dishwasher safe)

• Milk carafes/thermos pitchers for milk and 1/2 and 1/2

• Mixing spoons, ice tea spoons 50 (stainless, dishwasher safe)

• Drip tray

• Food safety containers for frozen fruit 10

• Small Chef Knife and knife glove guard

• Good quality bread knife

• Grinder brush

• Coffee grounds container

• 6-8 qt Cambros with lids

• Knock box for espresso machine

• Shot glasses for espresso with 2 oz measurement 50

• Medium steam pitchers for milk

• Large spoons

• Pitcher thermometers

• Red sanitizer buckets

The Good Table Cafe & Nursery News

by Melinda V. McLain

Everything is really coming along! The building is completely painted. The plumbing and electrical are going in and the front parking lot is being regraded and readied for paving and striping. Our outer construction fencing is down too - making everything look very different and open. Every day more and more kitchen equipment is coming in. We have flooring in the gathering space, offices and conference room. We have sinks going in. We have toilets in all the bathrooms - they don't have seats yet, but having the toilets is a good start!

We will be gathering for the first service of The Good Table UCC in El Sobrante on Sunday, June 8th at 10:30am.

Our Juneteenth Celebration will be from 4-7 on Thursday June 19th, with Mexican and Filipino specialties served on our great big patios. Come hang out, celebrate, eat amazing food and if you like, you can also see all the progress on a tour of the building.

We are calling all volunteers for our next workday on Saturday June 28th - this is a pivotal day for both The Good Table and Planting Justice to prepare for the last stages of opening in July. We hope to see you then!

So the big news here is that we are moving the Cafe Opening to mid to late July. We gamed out what has to happen for PG&E to get the power on and realized we couldn't get everything permitted by Juneteenth as planned.

So with increasing anticipation, we’re looking forward to enjoying an array of delectable, locally made savory and sweet foods and amazing coffee prepared on our Modbar AV espresso machine which we inherited out of a storage closet from Salesforce because they no longer needed it.

We’ll also have our drip coffee urns available on the honor system so if you just need a quick good cup, bring your own mug, pour yourself some coffee, throw a contribution in the slot and you're on your way. Read on to check out a preview of the cafe menu from our Cafe Director extraordinaire, Angelia Canes.

Whatever date we open will be the same date that Planting Justice is opening the Nursery and Farm Store, so the celebration will be doubly fantastic! Come and buy California native and organic edible plants for your garden. It's going to be an impressive collection, plus in the farm store you can find your one-stop source for creating an edible food forest in your very own yard.

Mochi donut tasting with Melinda, Carol Huang of Miss Mochi, Alex, Angelia, and Bonnie

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Spiritual Touchstone - Just Mercy

by Melinda V. McLain
Pastor for The Good Table UCC and President of The Good Table Cafe

“True hospitality is marked by an open response to the dignity of each and every person. Henri Nouwen has described it as receiving the stranger on their own terms, and asserts that it can be offered only by those who ‘have found the center of their lives in their own hearts.’ ”

— Kathleen Norris in Dakota: A Spiritual Geography

When the good folks of Mira Vista UCC, now The Good Table UCC first began imagining a new sort of spiritual community after selling their original campus in El Cerrito and some years of “camping” with Christ Lutheran, they identified three primary areas for service they did best: food, justice, and the arts.

For over 75 years, this congregation has been engaged in justice work, preferably with sleeves rolled up and skin in the game. Whether working with other congregations to found The Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) or working with disaster recovery in New Orleans or ReBuild East Bay close to home, the community has always been actively engaged in economic, racial, and social justice.

For over 30 years, the congregation has been formally open and affirming of LGTBQ+ persons. The Good Table UCC is the fiscal sponsor for El Sobrante Pride, which will be held this year in La Moine (Cheese) Park on Sunday, September 28th. Happy Pride Month! We plan to celebrate all year!

Whether it is music, visual art, quilting, knitting, poetry, dance or drama, many Good Table mates find that participating in the arts and/or crafts to be a primary source of inspiration and spiritual practice for connecting with the holy. A number of years ago, Pastor Melinda led a series on spirituality and the arts and it became quite clear that beauty and creativity in conversation with the Divine is not limited to just “churchy” things either. We love it all!

The bridge that links justice and mercy for us is radical hospitality. This is the sort of welcome table where everyone has a seat and all have dignity. It is not a table for the poor set and controlled by the rich, but is instead a table where all pay-what-they-can whether it is less than the cost of the food, beverages, classes, or concerts or pay-it-forward because being financially blessed provides the opportunity to be a blessing for others.

Pay-what-you-can is not a new idea. It has also been called “sliding scale”, “passing the hat”, “suggested donation”, or a “free will offering” and nonprofits and churches all over the country (and world) have operated this way for centuries. Being able to automate this into “point-of-sale” is perhaps unique because it asks every person who comes to the cafe to honestly think about what they can pay, whether that is the suggested price or more or less.

Integrating pay-what-you-can into point-of-sale provides anonymity for both givers and recipients and eliminates the distinctions between them. This levels the field and provides dignity for all guests, and social benefits to all.

The Good Table UCC has always been willing to take risks and making the decision to found The Good Table Cafe and its pay-what-you-can coffeeshop and services could be labeled risky or brilliant. What is clear is that when you say that God loves everyone without exception, that also means that everyone deserves a seat at the table. Come on in and join us in creating such a place here.

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Meet Your Tablemate - Angelia Canes

by Rhonda Purcell
Communications Manager

Angelia Canes is the Director of The Good Table Cafe, which is opening its doors to the community in July. She and I recently sat down to talk about all the great things happening there. Angelia brings a depth of experience, exuberance and a warm hug to this evolving community space. Read on for highlights from our conversation about food for the soul!

Can you tell us something about yourself so we can get acquainted?

My name is Angelia Canes, born and raised in Oakland. I am a Mom of two, 35. I've been doing coffee and beverage and food for about 15 years, opening up coffee shops. My passion has always been there. Born and raised in the community, my background also is very big, Mexican Filipino, and I bring hospitality wherever I go. So it's not just my passion, it's who I am. And I'm here to bring that to The Good Table Cafe.

What made you get involved at The Good Table?

I was always about community and knowing that I had neighbors that had my back or I could knock on someone's door and ask for a missing ingredient or just like, hey, we have a cookout tomorrow. I'll bring a plate. So seeing that The Good Table was bringing that here... Sold! What... I get to do what I love AND bring my hospitality AND bring my culture back AND I can meet more of the community!

I knew that the next step would be finally meeting everyone in person. When I did, it was almost like we were trauma bonding and throwing out like where the struggles we came from or where we are now sitting at this table and I felt community.

And I didn't know, I didn't know any of these people and I sat there in front of them and we ended our conversation interview with a hug... Not just like a hey, thank you. It was an actual Whole Hug, held you, I see you, I hear you and I knew I could belong here. And so I said Yes.

So what's going on with opening the Cafe?

Last week we finalized two of our special vendors. We have Miss Mochi who is going to be doing Japanese style savory pastries and a lot of different items like Spam Musubi, if you're familiar with that, with rice and seaweed but the way they do the rice is purple rice so it's healthier.

And we have Starter Bakery that we also finalized and they will be providing sweets in the morning, croissants, kouign-amanns, you name it. A lot of the pastries around the Bay Area tend to start with Starter.

On top of that there's a bunch of tea menus that are coming up. Just got in touch with Hella Tea and they have amazing tea and I am happy that they're Oakland based.

We're doing natural sodas made with delicious fruit add-in's from the PJ farm that will hopefully get kids into healthy sodas and provide a refreshing caffeine-free treat for everyone.

It's hard to find anywhere in El Sobrante where you can bring your kids and grandparents at the same time. We will know we've done it right when folks of all ages come in to the cafe.

We're going to do grab and go sandwiches and salads from El Cerrito Natural Grocery, PJ pops (Planting Justice) for the kids and frozen treats for everyone, yogurt parfaits, PJ’s signature “Kale not Jail” smoothie with fresh fruit, and lots of small breakfast/lunch stuff like bagels, cream cheese, breads, hummus, toasts, and in the morning: breakfast burritos!

What do you want to see happen when it's all up and running?

When those doors open, I want to see the community that I reached out to. I want to see the beautiful faces of many different people and from age ranges, from infants to... a thousand.

And I want to see everyone walking in with bright eyes and an amazing glow because they feel like at this cafe, they're at home.

What would you love to overhear somebody on your staff saying about working at The Good Table Cafe?

I would love for them to say that they had an amazing day at work.

I would love the staff to say that if they came into work not happy, or not ready to go, they were able to see that I'm embracing whatever type of day that they're having. Then they have an amazing day, and go home 10 times lighter than they did coming in.

I also want to make sure that we are not only developing our baristas, I want to make sure that they know that I am also ready to grow and learn. Teach me what you know. Let me learn the things that you do. We don't have titles that are higher and lower here. We work together as a team.

JULY is coming! Come enjoy some food please! We will have amazing food. We will have local vendors. We will have all the people ready, lined up to have a great time! It's going to be like a backyard barbecue with the whole family reunion coming.

Juneteenth! Celebration and Reflection

by Rhonda Purcell, Communications Manager

Juneteenth is a wonderful opportunity for both celebration and reflection. I am really looking forward to all the great fun we'll have at The Good Table! We will be eating amazing food from our Mexican & Filipino neighbors, and celebrating people coming together in our community. El Sobrante is a good place to bring your differences to the conversation, and reflect on how we can keep moving forward together.

When I was assigned this article, I asked an African American friend what they thought about Juneteenth. They remembered Will Sims, the young musician who was killed near a bar down the street and the response from many people in our community who offered support for his family and organized Not In Our Town El Sobrante.

They said some people in the community celebrate the belated emancipation of Africans and other enslaved peoples in Texas, and some don't. For many, the holiday is not a substitute for reparations that were promised but never delivered, or for current injustices that are not addressed.

I appreciated the considerate way that they delivered this perspective, and wondered about the range of perspectives

that people may have in our community. I live down the street from The Good Table now, and grew up nearby in Pinole. I was lucky as a child because on our street, we all originally hailed from different parts of the globe. What we had in common was a value for kindness and acceptance. It was a good place to grow up.

My simple understanding of what is possible with diversity exploded many years ago when I attended a workshop that was provided for all employees at California College of the Arts. It was a transformative experience! Without saying too much in advance, the moderators let us know we would be diving into the many, many ways we all identify ourselves (and are identified by others).

They asked us to stand in a designated spot in the room based on how we identify. In the beginning, the groups were fairly large. When you stood with many people, it was a pleasant opportunity to socialize and bond. But the divisions kept getting more nuanced. When there were many people in one group, and few in another, it started to feel uncomfortable for everyone, and potentially frightening when you stood in the group with few.

Now that everyone in the room had stood in the small group at some point, we could start talking. We talked about noticing when someone might feel marginalized, and finding ways to invite them to the table and provide support. It is not simple or easy. I am still on that journey of discovery and inclusion.

I hope we can all find partnerships in overcoming obstacles and seeking justice and equality. Below are some resources I would like to share that might be relevant for your journey. If you have additional resources you would like to add, please email me!: rhonda@the-good-table.org

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What are the Live Edge Readers reading now?

How We Learn to be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith by Mariann Edgar Budde

Live Edge Readers is our spiritual book group that meets via zoom on Wednesdays from 2:30-4. Our interests vary widely and members zoom in from near and far. Please email Pastor Melinda for Zoom credentials.

On Wed. June 4, we began discussing How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith by Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop for the Episcopal diocese of Washington, DC. Here’s some more information about the book.

On January 21, 2025, many Americans were introduced to Bishop Mariann Budde thanks to what The New York Times called “an extraordinary act of public resistance.” During her prayer service for Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration, Bishop Budde addressed the president directly, imploring him “to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” from those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community to immigrants and refugees.

But for Bishop Budde, this moment was the culmination of a lifetime spent thinking about those pivot points when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave, she teaches us that being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.

Here, Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments, from the most visible and dramatic (the decision to go), to the internal and personal (the decision to stay), to brave choices made with an eye toward the future (the decision to start), those born of suffering (the decision to accept that which we did not choose), and those that come unexpectedly (the decision to step up to the plate). Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel According to Luke, she seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive.

With Bishop Budde’s wisdom, readers will learn to live and to respond according to their true beliefs and in ways that align with their best selves. How We Learn to Be Brave provides much-needed fortitude and insight to anyone searching for answers in uncertain times.

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Worth Noting

• Sun, Jun 8 The Good Table UCC Sunday Gathering, 10:30a and Planting Justice El Sobrante Farmer's Market, 10a-2p

• Thurs, Jun 19 Juneteenth Celebration, 4-7p (Suggested donation: $20 or donate-what-you-can)

• Last Saturday Community Work + Fun Day, 12-3p (Jun 28, Jul 26, Aug 30)

• Opening Day TBD mid-July The Good Table Cafe and Planting Justice Nursery

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Regular Ways to Connect

Join The Good Table UCC spiritual community for our Sunday Gathering with music, prayer and preaching at 10:30a in person at our beautiful new space at 5166 Sobrante Avenue or via zoom everywhere. We celebrate Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month and all are genuinely welcome among us. Melinda's sermons can also be found on our YouTube channel.

Wednesdays, 2:30-4pm - How do we find our true self? What are the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity? Is there something that is real beyond the limits of our perception? These are just some of the questions that our Live Edge Readers have explored while reading and pondering together. If you are interested, kindly send an email to Pastor Melinda to get added to the list: info@the-good-table.org

Thursdays, 6 pm - Interfaith Meditation via Zoom. There is an old Zen saying, “Everyone should meditate for 20 minutes each day unless you’re really busy, and then you should meditate for an hour.” We sit in chairs in silence for about 45 minutes and no previous experience with meditation is required. 

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, April 13th, 12n in person at 780 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito and online via zoom.

We have been invited to participate in a Lutheran Maundy Thursday meal and service, April 17th at 6:30p at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran in Berkeley. RSVP's required. Click here.

We are also invited to a multi-church Good Friday service at Orinda Community Church (UCC) at 4:00pm on April 18. Punctuated by modern words, sacred texts, music, and pastoral reflections, we will consider the final words spoken by Jesus as we seek strength, courage, and hope for these tumultuous days as we partner with God to expand their Realm of Love on this earth as it is in heaven.

There will be another UCC Good Friday service at First Church, Berkeley at 7p that will include two choral selections: "Don't You Know, Mary" and "The Crucifixion" from Margaret Bonds' powerful Simon Bore the Cross, which tells the story of Good Friday while also focusing on the narrative importance of SImon of Cyrene, who was traditionally thought to be Black. The links above are to a performance that the FCCB Festival Chorus (a mixture of community singers and our chancel choir) did in late January. 

I will be participating in both Good Friday services and look forward to celebrating Easter and the Feast of the Resurrection on Sunday, April 20th at 12n. 

May love of the Holy One surround and strengthen us for the living of these days!

Click HERE to view the entire Newsletter!!

Nancy Lemon and Roger Ridgway

Community Work + Fun Days @5166 Sobrante Ave are held each last Saturdays, 12-3p (Mar. 29 and May 24).
Wear sturdy shoes and clothing and bring work gloves and gardening tools. Or just stop by for a tour!

Our workday on Sat. April 26th will be from 10a-1p in preparation for the Good Table UCC’s 75th celebration!

The Country’s First Only QTBIPOC and Woman-Vended Market

The Planting Justice Farmers Market in El Sobrante is the only strictly QTBIPOC and woman vended market in the country. The farmers market is located directly in front of our exciting new project, The Good Table (a pay what you can plant nursery-cafe-bakery-community space-live music venue-farm & garden store, that will open early next year). We DO NOT charge stall fees and offer all the equipment necessary to have a functioning market booth. The Planting Justice Farmers Market mission is to uplift small businesses while bringing food to a community that has never had a farmers market before. Come enjoy live music, organic farms and delicious food every Sunday at 5166 Sobrante Avenue in El Sobrante, CA. All of our vendors use organic methods of farming and they all accept EBT.

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Key Details

• Every Sunday 10am - 2pm, open year round

• We accept EBT

• Address: 5166 Sobrante Ave, El Sobrante, CA 94803

• Directions via Google

PARKING: Ample parking is available at The El Sobrante Christian High school at 5070 Appian Way, El Sobrante CA 94803. Only 100 feet away from the farmers market!

HOW TO BECOME A VENDOR: We would love to have you join our market! If you’re interested in becoming a vendor at our farmers market please read the attached market handbook and submit a vendor application, which is located on the last page. There is no fee to apply and no stall fees ever. We offer an equipment support program that can loan new vendors a canopy and weights. Planting Justice is about to kick off our Mobile Farmers Market program, so for all potential agricultural vendors, we have an outlet for produce you do not sell by the end of the market. Either by donation or purchase, Planting Justice can then take what you don’t sell at the market and distribute it to folks who struggle to have access and are able to afford organic food. If you have any questions about what is necessary to become a vendor please email our market manager Sam at sam@plantingjustice.org 

Sermon Title: “Overwhelmed by Joy”
Text: Luke 1: 46-55
The Good Table United Church of Christ
December 15, 2024
Rev. Dr. Melinda V. McLain

Correction: Day of The Week is Saturday, Not Thursday as the last email announced!

Planting Justice is so excited to host our First Annual Holiday Night Market,
and you’re invited to celebrate with us!

Date: Saturday, December 21st
Time: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: 5166 Sobrante Avenue, El Sobrante, CA

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What to Expect

25+ Vendors: Shop from QTBIPOC and women-owned farms, food businesses, artists, and crafters.
Santa Appearance: A special visit from Santa!
Free Hot Apple Cider to keep you warm.
Live Music to fill the night with joy.
Movie Screening to wrap up the evening.
Tree Lighting to brighten the season.
Moment of Silence: Standing in solidarity with those suffering in Palestine.

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Why You Should Come

This market is about building community and uplifting small businesses. Just like at our weekly farmers’ markets (Sundays, 10 AM – 2 PM at 5166 Sobrante Ave), vendors keep 100% of their proceeds—no fine print, no fees.

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Spread the Word!

Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to join us for this magical evening of shopping, music, and community connection. Let’s celebrate the season together while supporting local, independent creators and small businesses.