Community Congregational Church/UCC of Benicia welcomes a new “Minister in Discernment”, Becks Salentes. Becks, whose formal name is Ma Celerina, is a Filipino-American and a first-generation immigrant. She was born and raised in the Philippines, a land she describes as “a tropical-warm and hospitable country in Southeast Asia.” Becks was raised in a progressive urbanized city located South of Metro Manila and speaks fluent Tagalog, as well as English.
Becks is in her third year in the Master of Divinity Program with the Master of Arts in Social Transformation, and the Certificate of Religion and Sexuality at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. Becks path into ministry was led by her feeling disturbed and curious about the religious use of violence, injustice and attacks against LGBTQ+ people, as well as other forms of oppression.
Becks will be serving CCCUCC as our MID from September 2024 through May 2025. You can hear her preach on the last Sunday of the month during this time. We welcome her into our fellowship.
You can access Beck’s Sermons by clicking this link.
