If you are looking for an inclusive, Catholic community that encourages spiritual development and…read moreliving the faith, I hope you will visit St. Charles Borromeo in Livermore. I live in another city and my partner lives on the other side of Livermore from St. Charles. We like going to mass every Sunday together. However, after receiving a less than warm welcome at another church we decided to see if there was a Catholic church nearby that really lived up to the "all are welcome" that many churches promise but not all live up to. I grew up Catholic in a big, "very Catholic" family and find much to appreciate in the community, rituals, spiritual practices and deep theology of the Church. As a gay man, though, I have more than a few friends who ask me why I still go to church when many (especially Christian and Catholic) churches have a history of preaching outright against gay people--not realizing that LGBTQ men, women and young adults are in their parishes (or their parents, friends and relatives are). That can make me very apprehensive when checking out a new church, hesitant and never sure if my full self (and my partner) will be welcomed into the community or not. Right from our first Sunday visit, it was very clear that St. Charles is a welcoming and caring place that puts work into making sure the parish is alive with the loving spirit of Christ and His mission. Thoughtful and well executed music ministry; lively, inspiring and provocative homilies; and friendly parishioners that take the time to say hello or introduce their name. As it says on their parish website: "Our vision statement says that we will welcome all who enter and value the individual. Because we embrace and live this vision, our parishioners cover the entire Christian spectrum from conservative Catholics to what may only be described as progressive, Vatican II Catholics. We even have a surprising number of parishioners who are not even Catholics! We welcome all who enter. We respect all Catholic traditions, though some do it in their own way. We may be a diverse group, but we are united by our faith." Because I don't live in town, I have not had the opportunity to be part of the many other ministries, services, prayer/faith formation or other enriching spiritual and service opportunities the parish staff and volunteers develop. From what I've seen so far, I believe their Pastor when he thanks everyone for coming, proclaiming that their prayer and community are only made more rich by "every member of the Body of Christ who joins" them. Whenever we are in town we make sure our Sunday schedule allows to attend mass at St. Charles.

Our family absolutely loves this church and the people here. It is charismatic, warm, friendly, and…read morethe music is awesome! Fr. Mark is a great pastor and we are blessed to have someone who is so passionate and joyful. This parish has a great youth group, and lots of activities to support your spiritual journey. Lots of opportunities to get to know fellow parishioners in small faith families, events, and through the weekly chatter after mass.

Worst experience I've had at a church in a long time. The first 30 minutes consisted of everyone's…read moregenerosity and the levels of generosity. $$$$$$$$$$$$$ I took my family there to get fed the word of God not finanance101

These people preaches God's, word but doesn't live by his way of life. God, wouldn't ever put…read moresomeone one the streets. Those donations they get aren't being used correctly, they put my mother on the street before trying to get her proper help need after help her out they got tired of funding her hotel room and put her back to the streets. God, wouldn't have ever done those things Vanessa!

The music at the 4pm and 6pm masses is sooooo good. The band members are mostly teenagers under the…read moredirection of an adult who is incredibly passionate and talented. I love that the music is contemporary but still incorporate some classic Catholic songs. Full band including percussion, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, vocals. Everyone in my family, my teenagers, my 10-year-olds, my wife and I love the music. The homilies are great too especially if they are given by Fr. Gerald or Fr. Mark. The only reason why I didn't give five stars is because the church itself is very tired and a little dreary. I think they are going under renovations for the church hall but I hope they eventually renovate the inside of the church itself.

Enjoy going to this more relaxed Catholic Church. There is a nice blend of ages and people.read more

This school is terrible I do not recommend going here. The management is terrible and the staff do…read morenot do anything about it.

My son has been a student of Stratford since preschool and is now attending the middle school. We…read moreare so pleased with the curriculum and the teachers. The support that they provide the kids is truly wonderful and it's very obvious that the teachers want the students to not only succeed but also enjoy their time while in school. The schools offers after school programs like chess, grammar refreshers, sports as well as study hall to help with homework. We are so happy that we chose to stay with Stratford over going with our local public school in Danville. We look forward to our son continuing his education at Stratford God willing.

Thank God for access to the Latin mass!!! Sundays at 8 am…read more The traditions that were unbroken for over 1500 yrs until broken by Vatican 2 are still moving and inspiring. Go and see yourself.

I just realized I never wrote a review for the church I got married at. First I will say that I am…read morenot registered in their parish. I don't even live in the area. There are a lot of churches that will NOT let you even get married at their church unless you are registered with their parish. And if you want to, some make you go through hoops. In some cases like Olga from St Augustine's, they discourage you and push you away even when you are willing to do what it takes. So yes, I do know from experience obviously. I came to St. Michael's letting them know I was not registered in their parish nor was I even from the area. It was no problem! You have to take the marriage prep classes, but we did not have to take it there. We were allowed to take it in the parish we reside in over in San Jose. Now how convenient is that. So that went smoothly as well. We paid the usual fees, booked the usual dates, and well the rest is history. Now for those curious, this church will NOT let you select your own music. You cannot use any recorded music of any kind for walking down or exiting. This is usually the case with most churches, BUT I have personally been to a catholic wedding in one church that did allow recorded music. But if it is important to you to play a certain track, forget about it. This was in 2013, so maybe something has changed since then, but chances are you still can't. You are given a list of songs you can use. The wedding coordinator for the church will assist you through this process and also during the rehearsal. I forgot the name of our coordinator but she is stern, and she can be intimidating, with an all business approach, but you can tell after sometime with her she means well. The church itself is beautiful. Not super grand, but not plain. I would put it above average in terms of traditonal church stylings. Has lovely high ceilings with arches. There is plenty of parking, and the area is just always clean and quiet. There is an area towards the back of the church that your photographer can go up to for great coverage. Fr. Bob was the priest who married us and I was initially going into our interview with him intimidated but he was super nice. During the ceremony he wasn't boring. I really do wish he was still at this church so we can come and visit. He is no longer at this church. So overall, great church, had a perfect experience on my wedding, and would not hesitate to recommend it. Now I'm torn whether or not we go here to attend mass to bring back some memories, or go to the new church where Fr. Bob is at.

Al Hamdullah MCC is a beautiful place to worship the brothers and Sisters are very warm and…read morefriendly people it hands down very wonderful and warm experience to learn and worship. I'm so grateful the Muslim community at MCC Plesenton. May bless and protect all of the Muslim place of worship. Inshallah

A very bad experience with the operations person who really misled me on the information that was…read moresolicited to me from this center. When I tried to get more information, he was very rude and disrespectful.

Without question, engaging Scott was the most valuable educational investment I made to support my…read morechild. It's not cheap, but the outcome is extraordinary. The impact Scott had on my son went well beyond college essay preparation/production. Pre-Scott, my son could barely write a coherent sentence and through the magic of Scott's teaching methodology and in a relatively short timeframe, the improvement was dramatic. The counsel, candid discussions, and direction Scott provided paid huge dividends in the classroom and in daily written communication (emails, texts). My son became a more confident writer and student which of course, carried over to everyday life. As he heads-off to college in the fall (UCLA), I'm forever grateful to Scott for the life-changing role he played in preparing my son for the next chapter and beyond.

Scott worked with my daughter during her senior year to help with her college applications and…read moreessays. He guided us through the entire process and went above and beyond on the deadline days. Scott helped my daughter think through her experiences and interests and figure out how to apply them to all the different application prompts and questions. He was dependable and present in all of their sessions to make sure the work got done. My daughter really struggles with deadlines and time management and Scott was really patient and gave a lot of good advice and guidance. In the end she was admitted to her top choice. We were very happy to work with Scott and would be happy to work with him again in the future.

my son's tutor, Caleb, has been absolutely amazing. We can't recommend him highly enough.read more

Caleb was very effective at helping with test prep. Setting things up was easy, thanks to effective…read moreand clear administration. Booking virtual session times was easy. There was advice, test information, and lots of practice working sample test problems. Highly recommend Alexander Tutoring!