New computer, career, language courses planned at Menlo church New computer, career, language courses planned at Menlo church (September 08, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

While religious institutions are often centers of study, new adult classes planned for a Menlo Park church will have a particularly secular bent.

Career counseling and courses in basic computer skills will soon be offered in the evenings at Mt. Olive A.O.H. (Apostolic Original Holy) Church of God, along with classes in Spanish and English as a second language.

Pastor H.L. Bostic, for one, intends to sign up for one of the new courses. With three Hispanic churches now affiliated with Mt. Olive, she said with a grin, "I need to speak better Spanish."

The church has a computer room and several classrooms, but the adult classes it had offered in past years had petered out. Now the courses are starting up again on September 21, after 7 p.m. open houses on September 15 and 16.

The program will be christened the Dr. H.L.B. Educational and Development Center, after the church's pastor and founder.

Volunteers will teach the classes, including longtime church member Opha Wray, who has a background in telecommunications. She has seen a need for elementary computer skills among many in the community, such as word processing and spreadsheet programs.

That includes church member Stephenie Moore, who has gone from working in a warehouse to doing odd jobs, and hopes boosting her computer skills will help her job prospects.

Eying a computer in the church classroom last week, she said, "I haven't used it much," then smiled in expectation.

The courses are open to everyone in the community, not just church members, Ms. Wray said. Students will pay a small fee.

In time, church officials hope to obtain a portable building on the church site in which to expand the classes, with the help of donations from church members. Ms. Bostic has long included an educational component in the church's mission, offering tutoring and areas for children to do their homework.

The September 15 and 16 open houses will take place at the church at 605 Hamilton Ave. For more information, call 853-0355.

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