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Oct 2007
My husband and I are lapsed Catholics and we are looking to join a church with our 4-year old to give
her a religious base. We would like to find a church community that is tolerant, all inclusive, has
community outreach and has a program for youngsters. While we would like to stay with the Catholic
church or something close to it, I don't really know if can find the qualities we are looking for.
Does anyone have an suggestions for churches in Oakland or Berkeley that we can try out?
anon
It's wonderful that you're giving this some thought. I too was a lapsed Catholic
for many years, until my father's death brought me to a new way of thinking. We
attend Newman Center Holy Spirit Parish, the Newman center of the Cal community.
The 9:30 mass is very family friendly, both in the main sanctuary, as well as in
the ''little church'', which is a pre-school program which takes place during the
mass. There is a wonderful group leader for this program who is also a
Kindergarten teacher. She relies on parent volunteers to handle different Sundays
(basically, that means bringing a simple craft project idea or a book to share).
If you would like to try out the preschool program there, be prepared to stay with
your child the entire time for the first couple of Sundays. It helps him/her ease
into the experience. I find the 9:30 mass experience to be rejuvenating and
thought-provoking. The priests give engaging homilies, and the congregation does
not shy away from voicing their opinions (respectfully) about controversial issues within the church.
The congregation seems diverse regarding race, background, and sexual preference
(including same-sex couples with children). There is also a program specifically
for lapsed Catholics who are thinking about coming back to the church. Come some
Sunday at 9:30 and go upstairs afterwards for coffee and donuts, just to check out
the vibe. Good luck in your searching!
Catholic searcher
Our Church is not in Oakland or Berkeley but, it is a very welcoming Parish and
may be a good fit ... St. John the Baptist in El Cerrito. Definitely come and visit
us the Family Mass is at 9:30 which is when I go with my Family. There is a Sunday
School Class that is held during the 9:30 Mass for Pre-K and Kindergarten. Grades
1 through 9 meet from 10:45am to noon. My Daughter did this two years in a row and
will now be joining us at Mass since she is in Kindergarten there and receiving
theology in a daily basis. Now, it's my Son's turn and he is thrilled! Pam
Vincent is the Director of this Program and she is great!
I have to give a plug for my parish, St. Mary Magdalen. The church is on
Berryman between Milvia and Henry. The family-oriented mass is 9:30. During
the school year we have a Children's Liturgy for preschool through fourth
grade during the readings/homily with the kids rejoining their families for
the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There is a separate CCD program for
kindergarten and up. The parish has a peace and justice committee that
sponsors dinner for the poor on the first and fourth Sunday of the month.
There is a coffee hour (donuts) after mass that is fun for the kids and the
grownups. We also have a playgroup that meets on Thursday mornings. I have
been in the parish for eight years and have met many very nice people.
I would also recommend the Holy Spirit Parish (Newman Center) at Dwight and
College. They have a great children's program and I have always found the
preachers to be terrific. We don't go there because that I wanted my kids to
go to Catholic school and the School of the Madeleine is excellent. Luckily,
the parish has been great also.
I would suggest visiting a few different parishes to see what works for your
family. I think that you will find that most Catholic parishes in this area
are pretty liberal.
Good luck.
joan
St Alban's Episcopal Church
(which is located directly on the Albany-Berkeley
border just off Solano, at Curtis and Washington) would probably meet your
needs. My husband was raised Catholic and I was not, and we went to St
Alban's as a kind of middle ground. It's a small church with great music, a
nice community feeling, and blossoming youth programs, including a Godly Play
session for 4-7 year olds.
Lori
Feb 2007
After being raised Catholic and then not attending church for about 10 years, I am
excited to become part of a church community again and especially excited about
exposing my two young children to religion. I have attended mass at a few churches and
have decided that I'd like to join the parish of either St. Theresa or Corpus Christi,
both in Oakland. I am also making plans to have my children baptized at this time.
Can members of BPN and parishioners of these churches give me any insight into why you
may have chosen to become part of one community over the other?
Thank you for any thoughts you may have on these churches.
Back to religion
I attended both parishes when I was picking a church and ended up at
St. Augustine Church in
Rockridge. It's warm, friendly, with great music and a fabulous pastor and associate pastor.
We have lots of young children and a good children's liturgy program. Check it out before you
choose.
Jackie
We recently moved to the bay area and tried several churches, including Corpus Christi. We really love St. Mary Magdelene in Berkeley,
it's got a great and very active church community, as well as a great children's program. We
also really like the new pastor Father David and always look forward to his homily. We have
to drive a ways to get to St. MM but it's definitely worth it.
anon
I'm new to St. Theresa's, but I'm very encouraged by 4 things:
1. their women's group (WINGS - Women in God's Spirit), is very friendly/welcoming,
organized by theme throughout the year, and has a speaker, prayer, small group discussion,
and ... childcare (for the daytime WINGS)! WINGS is a good mix of 30 somethings
with small children and wonderful grandmothers with life experience to share.
2. the 9am family mass' Kinderchurch (Pre-K & K, like Sunday School), is age appropriate,
caring, organized, with crafts, story, song, prayer - my nervous, clingy little guy now
forgets to say, ''Bye, Mom!'' - since he enjoys it so much.
3. the general friendliness of everyone I've met 4. it seems to be a well-off parish, in
terms of family income. However, according to the fast fundraising for a new school building
campaign, it appears the parishoners put their money where their mouth is in terms of giving
& tithing.
Take it with a grain of salt - I'm still new there - but I can't wait to get more involved.
It seems a good fit for our family.
A good way to meet people, too, is to take your kids to the church/school playground for the
15 minutes they open it up right after the 9am mass.
happy to be home
May 2006
Hi everyone:
I am originally from Argentina, a mainly but not only Catholic
country. So, eventhough I consider myself an agnostic now and
I don't agree with religious institutions I am culturally
Catholic and I would like to pass that 'culture' to my son. I
feel torn, though, because in general I find the religion's
principles to be too conservative. Basically, what I need, is a
very liberal church, if there is one...:) And, if possible, do
you know of a church that is old enough that looks like the
century-old European ones?
Thanks a lot.
Non-traditional Catholic
Recommended:
Corpus Christi Oakland
Our Lady of Lourdes Oakland (3 reviews)
St. Mary Magdalen N. Berkeley
More advice:
I believe Newman Center in Berkeley is fairly liberal.
We attend the Church of the Assumption in San Leandro. While I
would not call it liberal, we are lucky to have finally been
sent a priest who is inclusive with both adults and children.
Our experience at our son's recent first communion was great.
Another church in town is St. Leanders. The few times I have
been there, it seems quite lively. I believe they have mass in
Spanish. The church is old but the pews have been turned
sideways in an attempt to make it more modern. The place to
avoid is Margaret Mary in Oakland - they still have mass in
Latin and from what I hear its quite dogmatic. Good Luck
Returned to the Church
I am a practicing Catholic in Berkeley. In my experience, most
of the Catholic churches in Berkeley are pretty liberal.
When I was younger (before kids) I really enjoyed mass at the
Newman Center at Dwight and College. That is the most liberal
church I have ever attended.
I am currently a member of St. Mary Magdalen parish, at
Berryman and Henry, and I love it. I have three kids and there
is a very family friendly congregation. We go to 9:30 mass,
which is the mass that most of the families with small children
attend.
As far as the physical church, St Joseph the Worker on Addison
is a beautiful church. They have a mass in Spanish at 11:00
a.m. and a very diverse community.
Good luck
Joan
I understand your concerns about the institutional Catholic
church. I was raised Catholic but drifted for many of the
reasons you cite. When I moved to San Francisco, I literally
bumped into a wonderful Dominican church and I became very
active in its young adults group. Not only did I return to the
Catholic church, I returned as an adult who had questions and
struggles and some anger too- and found that I was welcome. I
still have issues with some Catholic teachings- as do many of
my Catholic friends- but it is my spiritual home, and I feel
nurtured and fed by the Sacraments, the community and the
exceptional lay folks and clergy I have found in many
different parishes over the years. I also should mention that
there are many teachings of the Church that are in fact,
exceptionally progressive - for instance, the social justice
teachings on immigration issues. If you are interested in a
welcoming community with a brilliant, thoughtful and
progressive pastor and the architecture you mention, check out
St Dominics in San Francisco - their website is
www.stdominics.org.
You need not go as far as SF to find a progressive Catholic
church, luckily. If you check the BPN files, you'll see
recommendations for several churches in Berkeley/Oakland that
sound wonderful. (St Augustine and St Columba sound great- I
have never been there but hope someone from there weighs in
with more info). It also mentions Holy Spirit Parish/Newman
Hall which I have attended - it is affiliated with UC, is
Paulist (a very progressive order and community) - but probably
not the architecture you are looking for. Their website is
www.calnewman.org.
When we moved to the East Bay and became parents, we discovered
another Dominican Church called St Mary Magdalene in North
Berkeley. (note: the Dominicans are an order of the church
known for, among other things, great ''preaching'', i.e.
thoughtful homililes!). Their website is www.marymagdalen.org.
We have found it to be a very warm and welcoming community. We
go to the 9:30 on Sunday a.m. and hang out in the back with
other parents of small (semi-noisy!) kids. During the ''liturgy
of the word'' (the first half of the mass) they often have
a ''children's dismissal'' where you can go with your little one
down to the parish hall and they have a more age-appropriate
telling of the gospel, some artwork etc.
If you just feel alone in your struggles, you might want to
check out a light-hearted but smart website (again, run by
Paulists)which has a very contemporary flavor, great articles,
forums for actual disagreements among Catholics etc. It's
www.bustedhalo.com
Many Catholic churches also have a wonderful, welcoming, lay-
run program called ''Landings'' for returning Catholics who have
questions, concerns etc.
Wherever your path leads you, I sincerely hope that you find a
growth-filled spiritual home for you and your family. Even when
our kids are being squirmy or fussy, even when we are late or
cranky or work has been nuts, we find that mass provides the
one guaranteed time of the week where my husband and I share an
authentic moment of catching each other's eye and acknowledging
the amazing blessings that we have in our children and each
other. It is something that truly sustains me during the wild
ups and downs of parenting!
Trish
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