When I was younger I came here as a child and into my teenage years as I was raised catholic. (I…read morehave then since converted to Judaism). Overall this church is really nice, large and well kept up, both inside and out. The priests at the time were all really nice and always very caring (they have now since change priests). As the years went on, things started to change within the church and there were certain people that left. They were too many rules and people felt that they were being control. It was also rumored that there had been some funny business within the priests group which of course is disturbing in any religious setting for anyone to hear of. Which is why my family stopped coming here and they started attending another church around our area. The church does have a large hall for parties or weddings, complete with a stage, kitchen, bathrooms, tables & chairs and large sitting/dance area. There is a parking lot across the street from the church that can be used but other than that parking can be found on the street. Such a shame that such a beautiful place doesn't get as much attention after what happened.

I have attended Sunday and weekday morning church services at St. Ambrose Church. I am pleased to…read moresay that this church pretty much still has the same exteriors and interiors that I had remembered (barely) as a child. Which is more than I can say for some of the churches here in the SF Bay Area. What I do wish there was space for the statue of the founder of the Salesian order, St. John Bosco. This parish is run by the Salesian order, headed by two Salesian priests from India and one in residence. They are very nice and very friendly priests. The Mother likes how one of them delivers his homilies: he starts by telling you what he is going to tell you; he tells you what he is going to tell you and then he summarizes what he has just told you. I have to agree, I quite like his homily style--works for me very much. What has changed is the congregation. I am used to quiet before and after the service so I can pray. It was a bit of a shock to come in and the church is a social hall. Okay, so much for quiet prayer and reflection. I am very used to going to church as if I was on my way to the library. The congregation is very spirited and very friendly. On one of my very first visits, one of the members was way too inappropriately friendly: this person practically accosted me while I was looking at the stained glass windows of the apostles and saints. I do not want to go into the gorey details about what happened. This person was way too friendly (in such an inappropriate way) for my tastes which is one of the reasons why I will stay an occasional visitor to St. Ambrose. I had the pleasure of travelling with one of the priests at this church on a pilgrimage to France/Italy last summer in celebrating his 25 years as a Salesian priest. This priest is one of the main reasons why I will still visit St. Ambrose when I can. (I just have to be prepared to avoid a certain member of the congregation or two by running the other way as fast as I can.)

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.

Love this church - it was like a second home to me for 5 years. Though I live elsewhere now, I…read morestill listen to their sermons from time to time. * The Berkeley location has about ~200 adults on a given Sunday, which is a great size for getting to know people, but having some anonymity when you need it. * Sermons are bible-centered and intellectual, but well-organized and applicable. The pastors are well-prepared. They are also very sensitive to non-Christians in the audience. * The community is warm and welcoming, but also respectful of your space/privacy. It's a multi-generational community with a lot of young families in particular. * Worship is a mix of hymns, contemporary music, and in-house songs. It is led by passionate, professionally skilled musicians. * Aside from Sunday service, there are plenty of ways to get involved through mid-week small groups and a wide variety of local outreach opportunities.

I've been attending Church Without Walls Berkeley since 2008. I fell in love with the church…read morebecause of its focus on community, service, justice, and love, all centered around Jesus. It's a come-just-as-you-are type of church and is great for those exploring faith as well. I especially love that you can get involved and integrate ministries that you have in your heart. Throughout the week, you can get involved with a lifegroup (small group) that happens to get to know people even better and share in growing your faith together.

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.

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!!!

Amazing church filled with the Holy Spirit. Beautiful and nice people. I like the preaching of the…read morePastor and and the community is filled with love.

Long-time member. There are no complaints on what all other positive reviews have said here and…read moreagree. A few areas to improve on though: the lead pastors have for years been ultra transparent about their church and personal lives on the pulpit. So we as their congregation have followed along and supported where we could in their times of need. However, in saying so, their times of need on funding the church and also their lifestyles have been fairly frequent and often. Then when things are going well, and they are sharing about traveling the world on mission or learning trips and going to exclusive sporting events or being invited to experiences that we as a congregation can only listen on and not experience ourselves... the church leadership can seem well, self-serving. Polish the weekly sermons to where only relevant messages of salvation and deliverance and direction are shared. The over share on their family finances, the houses they've lost and bought, the trips and travel and amenities they enjoy after asking their congregation to tithe deeply and frequently they should DEFINITELY edit out. As what comes through feels like we're funding a lifestyle and not a house of the Lord. This review's intention is built entirely on giving the truth in a loving manner to the pastors. Please fix this so you can continue to grow in a healthy way and not lose parishioners who are tired of the asking and the complaining from the front of the church.

Arlington Community Church was the site of the recent primary and general elections. One of the…read morelocal inspectors thought this place would be more appropriate than the community center and some other nearby locales. It is larger and much more community-friendly. The staff who work here are very, very nice. One of the caretakers brewed a carafe of coffee for us poll workers assigned to this precinct. Alas, some of the long time residents are still used to going to their usual polling places. Some were even surprised these past elections to be going to a new polling place. Well, when they get their sample ballots in the mail, look at the enclosed card that gives the address of the polling place. Many make the mistake of not looking at the enclosed card and just show up at the location they assume is the correct location to cast their vote. Well, the county election office cannot please everyone, especially creatures of habit. C'est la vie. I still have yet to attend a church service here. I have walked around during breaks to check out the church itself. It is very cozy. I here there is a choir. For me, that would be worth checking the church and its congregation out alone. I love church choirs. Some of the poll workers are members of this church, which is pretty cool. Thank you to the staff of Arlington Community Church for your kind hospitality and for making us feel welcome. Hope to work here again for the next election. And to attend a church service and hear the choir sing their praises. Cheers and Ciao!

I'm not a regular church goer, but I like to go on special occasions. This church is very…read morewelcoming and friendly. The programs they give you make the service very easy to follow so that you never feel like you don't know what you're supposed to be doing. It's not a big church, but small and cozy. They do a very nice job on Christmas Eve - really makes you feel like Christmas is here and reminds you what it's all about. I especially like the music - some churches don't sing Christmas carols, but this one does! They also have a nice choir with some excellent soloists. Very impressive for a small church. They are part of the United Church of Christ, which is a very open and progressive church. EVERYONE is welcome! http://youtu.be/KRcv9u9x3z8 Tip: Don't forget to bring some cash for the offering. It does cost money to decorate, print the programs and keep the lights on.

Best experience to be had within organized religion. I came…read moreback to the Methodist church just a year ago, after a long absence. Found the sweetest folks, when I ducked out after my first visit there the pastor's wife ran down the street after me to give me a hug. I'll never forget that! There are many young families with beautiful children. Also found an abundance of music, old songs of my childhood that are very moving but the best is the small group who sing for 15 mins before the service. You can stay each Sunday for an abundant lunch. The diverse congregation means you have wonderful ethnic dishes to try. The pastor is a treasure, such joyful energy! He lead a small group of us thru a study session last winter that was meaningful and inspiring. For a small church they seem to be involved in a surprising number of community activities. You will find a place to become active as soon as you are ready. I haven't missed a Sunday this past year, it is necessary to "recharge the batteries" in my very busy life. judy from berkeley

Nice community church. Small diverse congregation that cares about each other & the community…read more Pastor's funny & caring. Coffee hour afterwards is always a full on banquet potluck typically featuring home-cooked Korean eats. Building's lovely but old, in need of some deferred maintenance, but that's part of the charm, right ;)

Vibrant nondenominational church with a nice welcoming vibe…read more I love the stained glass with the names of so many historical influencers. It must have been difficult choosing the folks to populate the wall. The inside of the church is more intimate than other churches. I really like this place.

Just received the most outrageous and abusive treatment from "Tristan" after we entered the church,…read morewhich was open. Appeared to have woken him up, he barged out and accused of trespassing (myself and an elderly man I was walking with), said he didn't like our energy, and that we should know better than to enter a church without permission , (like churches everywhere do not allow the public to enter). Absolutely the rudest person I've ever met at Northbrae, which I've supported over the years in various way. BTW, yelp says you are open at this time. If you don't want people coming in then lock the door, and hire someone else to be the face of the center.

I love this church and I highly recommend you check it out!…read more I'm a deacon at this church, and here's some background info about us: Christ Central's East Bay campus is the 2nd campus established by Christ Central Presbyterian Church in the Bay Area. The first campus is in Daly City. We opened our East Bay campus in Berkeley in September 2021, and this campus has about 100 people made up of various life stages (infants, children, college students, singles, married couples with and without children, etc.). Some info about Sunday worship services: Service starts at 9:30 AM and goes for about an hour. There's no dedicated parking lot, but there is ample street parking because metered parking on nearby Solano Ave is free on Sundays. When you arrive, you'll want to find someone in a blue welcome t-shirt, who can answer any questions you have and help you get plugged into the church. Then you can enjoy worship service, which includes praise songs, prayer, bible reading, and a sermon from one of our pastors. We have a fantastic children's ministry, directed by professional educators. We have a children's check-in station to ensure that your child is appropriately cared for during Sunday school. Your children can join you for praise, and then you can help them find an appropriate Sunday school class once the cue is given by the pastor. You can ask someone wearing a green children's ministry t-shirt for guidance on where to go. If you have an infant and want privacy, there is a cry room in the sanctuary. We have coffee, bagels, and donuts available before and after service. You can enjoy refreshments while finding out more about our church and how you can get involved in our communities. In particular, an important aspect of our church is our mid-week community groups. We have multiple groups spread out in different locations throughout the Bay Area and different days of the week. Since it is hard to get to know 100 people, community groups are important so that you can meet a smaller number of people and get to know them personally while also growing in faith. We currently have a couple campus pastors dedicated to serving our East Bay campus with counseling, spiritual guidance, etc. Thousand Oaks Baptist Church graciously enables us to use their facilities on Sunday mornings. Christ Central is a member of the Korean American Presbyterian Church denomination. It is also part of a network of Christ Central churches in Southern California and Virginia. This network of churches is known for reformed theology, biblical teaching, Christ-centered community groups, and being part of the Presbyterian denomination. You can learn more about our mission statement, core values, etc., staff, etc. at our website at https://www.christcentralsf.com/ We encourage you to check out our church, and may God bless you as you find a spiritual home!

If you're looking for a church to check out, look no further! Christ Central has a good mix of…read morecollege, young professionals and you families that will make you feel at home right away! If you're looking for solid beliefs, warm community and good fellowship come on over!