Word of Encouragement Community Church

In Honor of Father’s Day, An Open Thank You Letter!

Rev. Dr. Najuma Pollard, Contributing WriterJune 12, 2019

Father’s Day in the Black community is often met with understandable tension from many sides. We are always grieving the profoundly missing element of men/fathers that make our families and communities whole. With all the technological advancements of the day, we have yet to resolve the tension and fully heal; and the glaring statistics are always glaring back at us as we seek and fight for change. Nevertheless, we still have so much to be thankful for and I wanted to share this “Open Thank You Letter” for this coming Father’s Day. To all the men who show-up unapologetically, courageously,

Crenshaw & Around Religion

Pastor Najuma Smith Pollard on Maintaining Faith in the Midst of Grief

Cora Jackson-Fossett, Religion EditorApril 24, 2019

Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard shares her response to her son’s death by violence Surviving the death of a loved one is rarely easy. When that loved one is killed by the hands of another, the burden can be nearly unbearable. The Rev. Dr. D. Najuma Smith-Pollard, pastor of Word of Encouragement Community Church in Los Angeles, experienced that agonizing pain in October 2019 when her son Daniel, was shot down in Las Vegas. In the following edited interview with the Sentinel, she recalls the tragedy and shares how her faith continues to help her deal with life as a wife,

Religion

Word of Encouragement Marks 4th Year of Ministry

Cora Jackson-Fossett, Religion EditorApril 11, 2018

Founding Pastor Najuma Smith-Pollard and WOE congregation plan breakfast celebration In 2014, after four years of much prayer and preparation, the Rev. Dr. D. Najuma Smith-Pollard founded Word of Encouragement Community Church (WOECC) in Los Angeles. At the time, she told the Sentinel, “The new assignment has been a passion brewing in my heart since 2010. But, I was clear then that I needed to remain steadfast where I was and wait on the timing of the Lord.” When God gave the sign, Smith-Pollard launched WOECC and now, she and the congregation will mark their 4th year of Christian and

Religion

Religion and homelessness intersect at USC Roundtable

Sentinel News ServiceNovember 1, 2017

Religion and homelessness intersected on October 18 at a high-level roundtable hosted by the University of Southern California. More than 50 religious and civic leaders, including Archbishop José H. Gómez and L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, gathered to share ideas regarding the homelessness crisis and how their communities can provide practical aid. The event was hosted by USC’s Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, Center for Religion and Culture, Office of Religious Life, Initiative to Eliminate Homelessness and the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “In the Catholic faith, we have the commandment to loving God and loving one another,”

Religion

The Voice of Our Fathers!

Rev. Dr. D. Najuma Smith-PollardJune 17, 2015

Proverbs 4:1 – “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.” When I was a child, I was a bonified ‘Daddy’s Girl.’ Even though I did not grow up with my father in the home, Richard W. Smith was regularly in my life. In my eyes, he was a hero and no man could compare to him. One very vivid childhood memory, was at about the age of 12, Dad took me to see the movie ‘Tap,’ with Gregory Hines. It was a very happy and exciting day, me and my Daddy, out on a date.