It seems strange to submit a review for a church, so maybe I'll just say a few words about why this…read moreis such a special place for our family. Coming from attending a church plant for 10 years, we were exhausted and felt like we needed to recharge, have someone else minister to us with good teaching, and just be anonymous in the pews. Well, after calling Christ Church home for 15 years, we can say that 2 out of 3 really isn't bad! Yes, we had the chance to recharge, not by lazing around, but with the care and love of a church family that we love to serve alongside....the teaching has been amazing, gospel centric, and encouraging us to seek and see and meet the needs of those in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and world. Anonymity? Eh, that's overrated....we love meeting newcomers and learning more about our church family, and letting them get to know us. We have leaned on Christ Church family throughout so many ups and downs in our lives, and the compassionate and authentic care we have received have been life giving. Come find out what we are all about....not necessarily the shiny-happy people you may THINK that church is all about, but rather vulnerable, broken people but united in the fullness of hope of the peace that we share in Christ's love and redemptive sacrifice for us....and learning how to live life with one another and for our world! :)

We love Christ Church and are so thankful for their warm welcome to us. We left our prior church of…read more40 years and needed a new "home". So glad that we found are way there. The congregation has many young families with kids, young adults, CAL students, mid life professionals and retirees. Pastors Jonathan St Claire and Andrew Ong are excellent exegetical Bible teachers. It is a place of faith, prayer, worship and community service. They hold to the motto: "in essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity". We are grateful to be a part of this fellowship in Berkeley.

I've been a part of Church Without Walls since 2002…read more What drew me in was the smaller, family feel of the church and the church's heavy involvement with the Berkeley community: volunteering at Rosa Parks, serving Berkeley youth.... It definitely felt like a place I could be accepted for all of who I am, brokenness included.

I started attending Church Without Walls when I was first dating my wife 3 years ago. Within 6…read moremonths of attending sometimes (it's was a long-distance relationship), I already felt stronger connections at CWOW than I did after 7 years at the church in the city where I was living. I really like that CWOW (they pronounce it "C Wow") is very focused on the community. The church is very involved with each other, it feels like family. The church is also involved in many community projects like science fair for the middle school, game night at the men's home, and tutoring at the high school. There is also a very high attendance rate for the mid-week small groups, so it's easier to make connections and build relationships. I feel this church focuses less on my own sin and more on bringing God's Kingdom to Earth; there is a focus on justice and restoration in the community, which is all right up my alley, so to speak. Come join us on Sundays and check it out! :)

I was looking for a new church home in 2013 - Open and Affirming (ONA) to LGBTQ community was a…read moremust! I visited three other ONA churches until finding First Church in Berkeley in March 2013. The Sanctuary was beautiful and full of great natural light. The Ministers (4 total) rotated leading the service and preaching Sundays, so boredom was never an issue. Each Minister was friendly, charismatic, and humorous. Each had a different preaching style and their sermons were thought provoking and pertinent to the times. The music was fantastic! Traditional pipe organ hymns, folk music with guitars, a very talented church choir, soloists singing opera and spirituals; youth choir, guest musicians and choirs. As a single person with minimal family ties in the Bay Area, I felt welcomed my talents valued and friendship offered. I joined as an official member into this spirit-lead, loving and imperfect progressive community in September 2013. Five years in, I am still enthralled by our many talented Ministers and church staff - some have left and new leaders have arrived but the sense of welcome and genuine care-giving to allow each our us to be our true imperfect selves before God and others without judgment has not changed. You are welcome here: questioning God's existence, agnostic, atheist, other religious traditions, never been to church, wounded by other religious traditions - You are welcome here! Plenty of activities to feed your progressive soul at First Church: Justice and Service events; Adult education programs; Child, Youth and Families events; Young Adult Events; Progressive Christian events. Come Join the fun and make new friends!

GOD was watching over me as usual. During a concert on Thursday I was harassed and threatened by…read morethe parking attendant who stated if I didn't move out of a handicap parking spot I was legally parked in, that he would pull me out of church and tow my truck. He said if I gave him $10 , I would be able to stay. He allowed people who were not disabled to park just because they were a part of the program being performed.

The pastor who usually does the service Rev. Dr. Charlene Han Powell is out on sabbatical…read more Today was mother's day may 10, and the other pastor Rev. Drew Paton did not talk about mother's day at all. What??? All he did was talk about justice and inequality in the U.S. We have enough politics to deal with outside the church and CNN/fox news. This is stressful listening to him. ON the one Mother's day, not a mention of it.He is so repetitive. That was lame. I left when church was over went to service at another church that celebrated mother's day and women. What church does not celebrate Mother's day???

First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, Ca. is an amazingly hospitable and phenomenal place of…read moreworship. They were kind, good-natured, and genuine. This is definitely a plus after a rough week when one may need a Sunday morning pick-me-up. The church was very clean, the ambiance was amazing, and everyone that I encountered had great effervescent energy. The pastoral staff was gracious and offered such a valuable contribution to the space. The guest speaker/author, Ben McBride spoke an uplifting and encouraging word. His book "Troubling the Water: The urgent work of radical belonging" was offered into the space and breathes a wonderful message for folks to consider adopting as healthy practice in their lives. If looking for a place while in town on a Sunday, First Pres. might be your spot!

If you're looking for a room of people who all agree with each other, then All Souls is not for…read moreyou. If you're looking for ultra-traditional Anglican liturgy, then All Souls is not for you. If you're looking for a church service that looks like a rock concert full of beautiful hipsters, then All Souls is not for you. But if you're looking for a safe, open, LGBT+ affirming space to explore questions of faith and spirituality...then All Souls just might be for you. And if you're looking for a cross between a Catholic mass run by hippies, an awkward but warm family reunion complete with screaming children, and a support group for people recovering from their religious upbringings...then All Souls is *definitely* for you.

All Souls church is a very special and truly inclusive community, where everyone is welcomed and…read morevalued. Since I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, I have received great spiritual support and, above all, emotional support. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a church in the Bay Area.

I am only reviewing their fourth Friday Interfaith labyrinth evenings, I have not been to any of…read moretheir other services because I live so far away. My spiritual director suggested I try this out after I lamented about the local "Taize" prayer services that used Taize music but got various key components wrong, most notably they would sing each song for a very short period of time ruining the entire point of Taize--meditation through a small repeated melody. I can't meditate if you cut the meditation short for the sake of variety. At Taize, songs would last 4 to 5 minutes each whereas in the Bay people attempt to have a Taize service with 2 minute songs. This is not a traditional Taize service but it holds to the core tenants of Taize--namely meditation through music. They choose songs that are very easy to understand and sing without having to look at the words and then they repeat them long enough for me to actually sink into a meditation. I also really like their song choices--very easy to interpret however you want. Sometimes people will call something interfaith and then not actually deliver something open to other faiths, I feel this one does a good job of using lyrics that don't lean in one direction or the other. The songs are clearly and prayerfully sung. The musicians are all excellent at what they do. I do not feel as though I am the only one singing along or that it's a concert but rather, they enhance and pave the way for prayer. I love it. It's perfect. There's someone in the outer room who keeps an eye on your stuff, you can go in with or without shoes on. Everyone is encouraged to pray in ways that work for them. I can't say enough good things about their labyrinth evenings.

What can I say about this community... it has been a major part of healing my own "church burn" as…read moreI have rediscovered my connection to the Divine. What I love, perhaps more than anything else, about this community is that we practice what we preach: we do not require you to believe ANYTHING in order to walk in our doors and worship with us. We do not "check your baptism card" before offering you communion. We do what Jesus did: we open the door as widely as we can, and we really do mean it when we say that ALL people are welcome at our table. For me personally, it has been a blessing beyond words to know that I am allowed to be me at Grace North. I can hold my own personal beliefs regarding the role of Jesus as my Savior while leaving room for everyone else's beliefs without any expectation of uniformity. Another thing that really moves my soul is that the Sunday liturgy is based on Episcopal Rite II -- so anyone from an Episcopal or Catholic background will find comfort and familiarity in the liturgy while being bolstered by radical inclusion, extravagant welcome, and unconditional hospitality. BRING YOUR PETS. And the music is fantastic too! To be absolutely clear: Grace North is an ONA (Open & Affirming) congregation of the UCC which specifically welcomes LGBTQI worshippers. We also place a particular emphasis on the most "Other-ed" groups in the LGBTQI alphabet soup: people who are gender-fluid, gender-queer, transgender, non-binary, and all other gender identities. Grace North Church: where healing happens

This is a beautiful community of believers, loving, worshipful, Holy Spirit inspired, in the Word…read more The facility is transformed into a modern setting and services feature videos, contemporary music and fervent prayers. Pastor Ginger's preaching is anointed. God has given her a conversational style. All are welcome here to seek God and God's healing power and the fellowship of others also seeking and praising the One True Loving Source of all Love and Goodness. This is a community smaller in number in-person and growing on-line. Website hosts archive of previous services, so you can always catch what you missed live.

I have been going to the Bridge Berkeley since I was in elementary school. Love the people and…read moreeverything we stand for. Just started live worship again and I am excited to be the one leading it! Hope to see you guys there in person, or for our online service. Just search us up on google to find our website, and come join our family

This has been our home church since we moved here for grad school in 2014. The church is 4 years…read moreold started by a young pastor- David Escalante and his wife (Children's Ministry Leader) Corynne. This is a non- denominational Christian Church that has about 20-30 members consisting of Berkeley students and residents. There is a community small group on Friday nights at the pastor's home. They provide coffee at church services every Sunday. Dave is very Christ- driven and has developed so much as a pastor. His teachings come verse-by- verse directly from the Bible. He cares for all church members and their home is always open to all. My husband helps with the he worship ministry and I help with Children's Church on occasion. Like anything else, it isn't really about the building but about the people. Everyone is very welcoming and supportive at this church. Ultimately, being Christian is about a true and genuine daily walk with Christ and this church is a great way to really move into getting to know Him better through the relationships with people and the teachings from the Word. If you are on the fence about coming to church or if you are new to the area, definitely come and give it a shot. :) Small perks: There's a parking lot, free coffee, fellowship, Kid's Church

Great Bible-based teaching. The people there are very friendly and welcoming. The prayer meetings…read moreare really good, and really developed into a sense family during my time there. The pastor is a solid student of the Bible and does a great job with his sermons each week. Also, they really like coffee, so if you're into that, you don't have to worry about bad church coffee when you attend!

Incident at Way Christian Church on University Avenue…read more I had a deeply disturbing experience at this location. The way some staff and volunteers treated people seeking assistance was disrespectful, unprofessional, and lacking basic human decency. People should be treated with dignity, regardless of their circumstances. During my visit, I felt that my mother and I were being physically intimidated. An older man and another individual behaved aggressively toward us, and we genuinely feared the situation could escalate into a physical confrontation. This made us feel unsafe, especially considering my mother is elderly. Based on our experience, I do not believe this is a safe environment for seniors or other vulnerable individuals. I hope the appropriate county or state agencies investigate complaints about this location, review its operations, and speak with other members of the public who may have had similar experiences. Everyone deserves to receive assistance in a safe, respectful, and dignified environment. The guy with this plate number was involved too.

It took me a long time to find a church that wanted more than just your name. I never had a church…read morewith a congregation that wanted to greet you with loving arms and a smile on their face. A church that will always give you the opportunity to join the choir, be a greater, join the brown bag committee. If you come to the Way Church feeling lonely and blue, I guarantee you, you'll leave with a smile on your face, knowing several new church members and a desire to come back next Sunday!!!