I would not recommend this school based on its high turnover and student records never being…read moreaccurate.

Let me put it like this, if the Graduate Theological Union played the Chicago Association of…read moreTheological Schools in Football the GTU would so kick their butts, with the love of God, of course ;-) Oh wait a minute, we would have to leave the library to play . . . no dice. The GTU has a great mix of theological schools: Christian, Unitarian, Jewish and give folks an opportunity to experience a breadth of thought and discourse. Plus they turn out fantastically thoughtful, smart, hip, sassy and wise graduates/yahoos like me ;-)

A truly lovely Church with warm and welcoming members. Also being around the Priest Father Edward…read moreeven briefly you can feel his sincerity. There are many non-Russians who feel right at home here, embraced by the Russian community's hospitality and beauty of their culture. If you're seeking to experience ancient, authentic Christianity, this is the place to be.

This was my first Orthodox Church experience. Although I was a lil nervous about not knowing the…read morecustoms, they welcomed me warmly. It's like a little glimpse of heaven in there, the choir were like angels and the icons told the greatest story ever told. Rev. Edward Henderson's patristic spirit is refreshing and I thank God for him and his church!

It's difficult for me to write this review because I grew up at CFC--nay, attended it even before I…read morewas born, while still inside my mommy's womb! So, as with anything that has been dealt with for almost all of one's life, being at CFC has not been without its shares of ups and downs. Some of my happiest and most precious memories were while I was here, as well as some of the most painful and depressing. In spite of it all, CFC still remains dear to me and I will probably always consider it my home church. The church is medium-sized and most of its staff are bilingual, with an English congregation and a Chinese congregation. I was a part of the English congregation so I'll only write about what I know concerning this side of CFC. Being located so close to UC Berkeley, it attracts a lot of college students and as expected, has a great college ministry and fellowship group, known as Crossroads. There is a youth group called Agape (for junior high and high school kids), and a young adult group called Livingstones. Since most of the older attendees are on the Chinese side, there is a fellowship group for families (the Chinese group also has fellowships for all ages, I just forget their names). Even though each congregation has its own head pastor and a youth pastor, the congregation also elects a group of deacons every couple of years to help lead the church. Theologically, it is considered a nondenominational Evangelical Protestant church. Pastor Ken is a closet Arminianist and Dispensationalist--and I say 'closet' because he doesn't parade this viewpoint and because when I attended Crossroads, an overwhelming number of us were Reformed. The youth pastor (who has since moved on to becoming a pastor in Walnut Creek) when I attended Agape started out as a Dispensationalist, I think, but then became Reformed. Or it might have been the other way around. Regardless of these slight theological differences, the teaching here is Biblically sound. The leaders of CFC take the Word very seriously. Most people are encouraged to read the NASB version because its translation is closest to the original syntactical structure. There is great spiritual teaching here that will appeal to the intellectually inclined (no surprise, given its location in an academic mecca), with Sunday school classes offered every semester (sort of like a mini-seminary school!), and Bible studies emphasizing exegesis. The sermons reflect this attitude as well, so those who are looking to hear fiery, heart-stirring messages each and every Sunday may be disappointed with the focus on intellectual and spiritual understanding. You'll find that other Berkeley churches focus more on outreach ministry and social justice, so if that is a direction God is leading you towards, I recommend checking out First Presbyterian. CFC is more of a place that is looking to equip and train future church leaders in a church setting. Several people have gone onto seminary school and have either planted new churches, or are serving as pastors at other places. If you are looking to develop your skills in apologetics and would feel more comfortable in an English-Chinese church, CFC would be worth checking out.

I came to the English worship service here last week since I was visiting my parents who attend the…read moreMandarin speaking worship service. With this being the summer and also with a guest speaker (Pastor Eddie Cheng -- who used to be youth pastor here, I think), I am not sure if the Sunday I visited is representative of what most Sundays are like here. I felt like this was one of the few instances over the past year where I have felt like I could truly worship God even though the worship team and powerpoint slides seemed quite simple compared to other churches I've visited in the last year -- sometimes simpler is easier to focus. The sermon (delivered by a guest speaker) also gave me new insight into the book of Ruth that I didn't have before -- although I found the application itself to be a little weak. Overall the congregation itself did not seem the most welcoming but one or two individuals did introduce themselves to me, but maybe this is normal for churches in this part of the US compared to churches in Texas. If I were to ever move to the East Bay area, I would consider coming here again -- and not just because my parents attend the Mandarin speaking side.

Great Tibetan Buddhist place to relax meditate and find yourself…read more Excellent teachers.

First off, let me say that this is NOT an actual temple or monastary. That does not take away from…read morethe fact that this is a beautiful & peaceful place that you can learn from. Ive been in an odd situation so out of semi desperation I took the liberty in making my stay into a "mini retreat". The workshop I took was a half day (10-1) intro to meditation, chanting & kum nye at $45 w/ accommodations of an overnight stay being another $45. If you stay overnight you get free access to to the morning meditation & kum nye session of the next day. The instructor Ken was a very light, open minded person who had a very peaceful vibe to him. While he did mention some overall basic tools towards meditation I found that I had gathered more information/knowledge on my own through reading books and articles online. I think the longest we sat was 15 mins w/ generally a couple of 10 min intervals. I did enjoy the chanting & the kum nye. Although chanting wasn't necessarily new to me kum nye was a whole new experience. Quite different from other yogas I had partaken in. It seemed that there was more focus on the entire body, paying attention to "smaller" details that other yogas (at least from my experience) tend to overlook. This definitely helped me to relax more and get into a deeper practice. Around 11:30 we took a 20 min break for tea and snacks. I thought this was a nice touch, but with such a short workshop I felt the break was a little too long. After our workshop we were served food in their dining room. Although there are signs everywhere in that room thanking people for respecting their requests to keep meals silent, I guess our instructor said it was okay to have "light talking". I still personally chose to eat my meal in silence. This of course is for people to become more mindful of their food/eating habits. If you wish to talk there is a separate room w/ a gorgeous view in which you can do so. After that I went to my room which had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL view. I cannot believe I had paid only $45 for the room considering that is generally motel prices. However i used that room to justify my overall purchase of $90 since i didnt think the workshop was worth the $45. It was on the very top of the "new house" (there are two buildings) w/ a view of both the bay & golden gate bridge, absolutely breathtaking during sunset! Their meditation garden is also very beautiful & peaceful. They had a large prayer wheel which spins 24/7 as w/ the rest of the prayer wheels that border the back of the main house. I found it peculiar that all of the prayer wheels were mechanical since it seems to defeat the purpose; however, as mentioned earlier this is not a temple. One of my favorite things about this place though was the library. They had quite a few number of books which can be overwhelming but I stuck with reading "The Way of the Bodhisattva" for hours and even almost finished it. The only odd thing was that they requested for people to leave the books in the library & said that if you wanted to take them to your room you should buy it in the main house (they have a little gift shop but i suggest you go to an actual Tibetan store/ amazon instead). Luckily the library is VERY comfortable so i preffered reading in there anyways. The library is in the new house, which you actually need to have a key to get in so I don't believe it is open to the public. Maybe if you offer a donation they'll let you in. That is another thing I'm not so sure about. With workshops being $45+ what are the needs for donations? There is no mention as to giving back to the actual Tibetan community or anything so this was something I was skeptical of..I should have asked so it's nothing I'll hold against them. They do not serve dinner Saturdays but there are options close by and downtown is about a 20 minute walk (maybe a good time to practice walking meditation). Even though they arr closed to the public they give you keys so you don't have to worry about getting locked out. This place is not wheel chair accessible. If you have bad knees or whatever there are quite a few set of stairs throughout the place. They have free chanting session and dharma talks Sunday evenings! You can also do a drop in for their Sunday morning meditation and kum nye for a decent price. If you stay overnight it is suggested that you wash your sheets. Quarters are needed and it's a dollar for both the washer and dryer (8 quarters needed, they have change in the main building). You are allowed to use their kitchen in the main house to cook meals. They have a small fridge & an electric kettle in the new house. While I did really enjoy my stay, if I had honestly had more time, not only planning but for retreat in general and had better means of transportation I would prefer to go to an actual temple. Also temples will often offer free meditation classes. But if you just need a quick getaway or are planning last minute I think this is a good alternative

Didn't think I'd be reviewing a church on yelp, but St. Marks made me HAVE to review them…read more As many of us know, finding a place to study during dead/finals wee at Cal can be IMPOSSIBLE! I found out through a friend that St. Marks has a study hall open for Cal students. I didn't know what to expect, but I was desperate to find a place to study, so I walked down the street and checked it out. I was instantly impressed as I walked in and was greeted by a kind man who asked for my Cal ID card and then directed me upstairs to the parish hall. The whole stage was lined with a buffet of snacks, pizza, coffee, teas and water. Did I mention that there's free WiFi!!??? Best thing ever. Campus wifi sucks and even this was better! I can't imagine how/why people don't know about this. I kind of hope they don't find out either because this is such a nice study area. I've gotten so much done and am almost ready to ace my finals! I sure hope they put this on again next dead week. I'd definitely even pay to study here. The people of St. Marks are doing such a wonderful thing for us stressed out Cal students! Thank God (literally) for them and what they do. This space is very calm and quiet and it's the perfect place to study. Thank you St. Marks!!!!!!!!!

The traditional symbol of St. Mark is the Lion, and living up to the spirit of the Lion is a…read morechallenge that the St. Mark's community takes seriously.. The St. Mark's community celebrates God's inclusive love and welcomes you wherever you are on your spiritual journey. Founded in 1877, St. Mark's is built on a tradition of meaningful worship, service to others, and lively intellectual discussion about the purpose of our lives. St. Mark's is a part of the Berkeley community, and deeply involved in service to the homeless and to each other.

For more information, please visit our website at www.tccsfbayarea.org…read more The Thai Cultural Center's mission is to instill pride in Thai culture among Thai-American youth, to build self-confidence, camaraderie and leadership skills through performance and to introduce Thai performing arts and music to audiences in California. The Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area (TCC) is located at Wat Mongkolratanaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Berkeley, CA, and offers music and dance lessons to Thai and Southeast Asian youth. Students attend Sunday afternoon lessons and more intensive classes during the summer session. All instructors are volunteers who are either permanently settled in the Bay Area or visiting summer and year-long teachers from the Rajabhat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Phraya in Bangkok. Though lessons have been taking place at Wat Mongkol since 1988, TCC was officially founded in 1989 by the center's current director, Plearnjai Kundhikanjana. As the Thai and Southeast Asian communities significantly grew in the 1970's, she recognized the need for more formal instruction. During the center's early years, TCC collaborated with Chulalongkorn University to host summer and yearlong instructors. In 1994, through Thailand's Ministry of Education, the center partnered with the Rajaphat Institute at Ban Somdej Chao Praya, which began sending its performing arts students and graduates as visiting instructors at TCC. The center performs for a variety of cultural shows, fundraisers, Thai Buddhist holidays, festivals, and private functions throughout the Bay Area, including events at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco City Hall, the California Culinary Academy Greystone Campus and the Chinatown New Year's Street Festival. The center has also produced a number of Thai classical dramas; each performed in the Bay Area to benefit the Thai Temple and in Thailand to fundraise for the Crown Princess's Orphanage Foundation.