| Berkeley Parents Network |
| Home | Members | Post a Msg | Reviews | Advice | Subscribe | Help/FAQ | What's New |
Looking for recommendations for a Christian church in the East Bay with a diverse membership, including a mix of blacks and whites. Would like a moderate church (i.e., NOT fundamentalist in ideology) with an active, vibrant congregation and a good children's program for our mixed family. Any suggestions are appreciated. jj
Recommendations received:
hi. i am looking for a spiritual home for my family that will feel like home for all (3) of us. yes, i have been reading previous posts about various churches & synagogues (including albany united methodist, epworth um, st. paul lutheran, & unity church). we've gone to a few places, including the unitarian universalist church in kensington (the one with the impolite acronym) & unity, and will be hitting albany um next. unfortunately, so far we haven't really FELT it, ya know what i mean?
before i go on, let me just introduce myself & my family: we are an interracial & interfaith (african american/lutheran & white/jewish) lesbian couple raising a teenage girl (also african american). we've been together 9 years & moved here from the east coast (i'm sure that by now some people will have recognized us!). we used to go to glide in sf and that was fantastic, almost too good to be true, but way, way too big. we like methodist churches, but really, denomination is the least of our concerns.
our most important consideration is that the place be lgbtq- friendly. can't walk through the door if it's not. since that is not hard to come by in the bay area, our REAL CONCERN is that it be racially/culturally mixed, specifically african american & white.
IDEALLY, it would also have a great range of ages, with a ''cool'' teen program, lots of community events and a warm, caring congregation, be socially conscious, have great, stirring (gospel or gospel-ish) music, a charismatic spiritual leader and a lovely physical setting (think: committment ceremony), be large enough to offer true diversity yet small enough to feel like family, be open to exploring/sharing different religions, have lots of interracial families & lgbtq families, not be too ''preachy'' and be located in el cerrito.
okay, okay, i know you're saying ''yeah, right,'' but please, PLEASE tell me i'm not crazy to expect at least some of this under one roof!
we're open to suggestions (other than the churches already mentioned) that DEFINITELY include SIGNIFICANT racial diversity, openness to lesbian families & caring atmosphere. we're also open to any suggestions about meeting other interracial lesbian families (any & all cultures, though again, african american is particularly sought, as it seems harder to find an african american community we feel comfortable with in the bay area).
thanks for taking the time to read this long post. :)
Recommendations received:
Last updated: Jun 14, 2006
Copyright © 1996-2008 Berkeley Parents Network