I love this church I've been going here for several months now and it has truly been a blessingread more

My family and I relocated to Gainesville 5 years ago from Arizona. We visited this church a few…read moretimes and felt at home quickly. The people are genuinely caring and friendly. This is a Mission minded church who understand God wants all to be saved. All who come here are just sinners saved by Grace and equal in God's eyes. If you are looking for a Church Family this might be the place God is leading you.

This school employs a preschool teacher who openly invoked harm toward my family, including my…read moreyoung children. I brought this to the administration's attention with evidence and gave them multiple opportunities to respond. They have chosen silence. A school that ignores threats of violence from its own staff cannot be trusted to safeguard children. Parents deserve to know that the leadership here is unwilling to confront unprofessional and dangerous behavior in its classrooms.

GREAT CLASS EXPERIENCE…read more I recently went to the Congregation B'Nai Israel for a college course assignment for my Religion class. Being a practicing Christian my assumptions were that the synagogue​ would be more traditional in the sense of an Orthodox synagouge you'd see in Isreal. To my surprise​, the Synagouge closley resembled a modern church in its architecture​. Furthermore, the views of the synagogue​ were much different than I expected. The views were more liberal minded and very open. Something else I found fascinating was their idea of the Hebrew Bible. As a Christian, I Closely follow my scripture, but this synagouge tended to view scripture as important​​ but at​ the same time an old document that doesn't always apply to our everyday life. I've never met a conservative Jewish group of believers and it was very different from my expectations. In conclusion, this experience gave me an eye-opening​ of how diverse the Jewish​ community is.

This is Husband's church. (Yes, Boyfriend and I got married. And yes, I'm about to Yelp our…read morewedding.) Me, I'm Jewish. I converted shortly after I finished college. And I generally avoid churches. Just not a big fan of them. But Husband is a big fan of them. This is a very important part of his life and who he is. So, off to church I went. Husband has great taste in churches. It's a very inclusive church. You don't even have to be Christian to join. They did a concert on Al-Jazeera. They do protests against hate groups. They are very community oriented and socially concerned. I went to a couple services. They were nice. Some traditional church stuff and some more new stuff. Lots of singing. Nice messages. We were married by the head minister, Shelly. Sweet woman. I met with her while Husband was at work and we planned the wedding, with him on the phone and us at the church. She also helped me set up the room for the ceremony, which was attended by a full 7 people, if you count me, Husband, and Shelly. It was a very nice and personalized service. They have a very beautiful building, all open and airy and nature filled. It's a great group of people, welcoming to everybody.

Every Sunday as I leave the United Church of Gainesville I am glad that I made the effort to go to…read morechurch. Before I moved to Gainesville in 2012 I was a regular church-attending "mainline" Christian for over 60 years. It wasn't until I began attending UCG that my concept of "church" became one of infinite possibilities for: spiritual growth, secular service, social justice, family values, humor and agape. The Sermon on the Mount is alive and well at UCG.

KRISHNA LUNCH REVIEW, Plaza of the Americas, University of Florida:…read more Since I couldn't find an entry for this Gainesville staple, I will create my own! This stuff helped put me through college. 3 dollars a plate (now 4 dollars) of all you can eat Indian food with the option to take some home if you bring a tupperware container! The menu varies depending on the day but has undergone a few revampings since I've been in Gainesville. The fan favorite is always spaghetti Wednesday, but my personal favorite is the curry subji on Thursday. What makes it so amazing is the almond dressing that goes on the salad and, if your like me, the rice, halava, and vegetables. I've gotten the recipe and made it at home before but its not the same. There is something utterly perfect about the dressing and many times I've bought a bottle from them (8 dollars) and eaten it on EVERYTHING in my house. Even cookies. Don't judge me. The atmosphere fits perfectly since you are enjoying such natural vegetarian food outside in the sun. Though on rainy days its hard to find a cramped seat in the Library West hallways. Also interesting is the constant singing and chanting the Krishnas do during the entire lunch, and if your lucky you will be approached by a kind Krishna who wishes to talk to you about their religion. Seriously these guys can bring ANYTHING back to Krishna. "Oh yeah, I just got out of the hardest test in Biology." 'You know who else was tested alot? Krishna." I give it 4 stars though because I have had the chance to go back this semester and its not the same. Its a bit more corporate, if you catch my drift. Before, not having the money was no problem as they would feed you out of religious belief. Now I hear stories of Krishnas getting huffy and lecturing. Also lists of rules giving conduct of how to act in the line? Krishna devotees giving me dirty looks when I ask for extra dressing, as if I'm stealing money out of their organization with each squeeze? The pitiful half squeeze I finally do get while being stared down? Wheres the love? Still, amazing food.

Krishna Lunch is the best food you can find on campus and for the price is absolutely fantastic,…read moreespecially for vegetarians/vegans. The menu varies by the day, but neither of us can recall a day where we had a bad meal. For $4 you get a plate full of vegetables/salad with THE best dressing ever made/some sort of starch (usually rice)/dessert/organic tea. The cups they use are a bit on the small size, but you can always get refills without issue. They non-students (a few older gentlemen) are extremely kind, as are the majority of the student servers. We've known people who've worked both at the campus luncheon and at the big blue house a few blocks away and everything is kept very clean and orderly. They apparently only use completely recyclable dinnerware, but the cups have a vaguely odd smell. This isn't a Krishna Lunch problem though, as we've experienced the same issues at real restaurants that use the same brand. Must be the material that is used. Downside is that if it's raining, you'll have to cram onto the benches under the Library West walkway and if it's hot (hello, it is the swamp!) the shaded areas amongst the trees in Plaza of the Americas are usually taken up. There is generally a drum circle and some singing going on, which is a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon your view point. The lines are long, but move pretty quick since everything is done cafeteria style. Krishna Lunch to us, was the epitome of college/grad school eating, except it was healthy, filling, and left us feeling refreshed, not sick like the fast food fare served at the Hub or in Reitz Union. In response to Chris V.'s review, we never had anyone of the workers talk about Krishna to us other than to say how serving/feeding people is how they worship, but we had an acquaintance who said he was harassed about it. Take it for what you will. Guess it all depends on who's around, but for the most part we have had nothing but good experiences. Besides, it's way cheaper than going across University to grab a sub. :)

Amazing Masjid and great community. I always find peace and rest in my heart when I come to Hoda…read moreCenter