Moving to Online Worship Only: COVID-19 Protocol Updates
Following the City of Berkeley recommendations, we are limiting mass gatherings and large community events until we see the direction of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to slow transmission of the virus. Global precedent suggests that we are at a critical time for containment, to slow or “flatten” the curve of community spread and hopefully avoid a healthcare system overload. The way …
Inside in the Chill
So many sweet kids during the Blue Fire meeting in our sweet pop-up Sunday school classroom.
Personal News & Sabbatical Reflections from Rev. Kit
It has been a blessing to practice what I preach in the realm of sacred rest and renewal these past two months. Our church has a generous policy of offering ordained pastors several months of sabbatical leave after 5 years of consecutive service, which I had been planning to divide in two parts, first in January and February, followed by …
Women’s Voices Retreat Postponed to July
Because of the health and safety concerns around the ongoing and dynamic spread of the coronavirus, this weekend’s (March 13-14) Women’s Voices Retreat at the Ralston White Retreat Center in Mill Valley has been postponed. If you’re interested in attending the retreat (July 3-4 or July 10-11), please participate in a Doodle poll (here’s the link: https://doodle.com/poll/ggk5k5gyvn33bcq2) to let us know your availability. …
Pot Luck Dinner and Goldberg Variations
A summit of the keyboard literature, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations have become infamous for their breadth of invention, monumental structure, and technical demands. Celebrate Bach’s 335th birthday with a performance of the Goldberg Variations, which start and end with the same simple aria but showcase the emotional depth and intellectual breadth of the composer in the thirty variations between. 6pm meet …
Leadership Retreat
Are you interested in stepping more deeply into leadership at church, or already in the midst of it and crave more grounding? Do you feel awkward praying at the beginning or end of church meetings? Or need more ideas for intimacy-building icebreakers? Do you hate church conflict and want to learn better and healthier ways of managing difficult conversations, or …
Coronavirus Protocol
Beloved, as coronavirus reaches our borders with the first recorded case in Berkeley, we are readying to respond so that our touchy-feely community doesn’t become a disease vector! We also want to make sure we are taking good care of our most vulnerable and isolated members. Most importantly: if you feel unwell, stay home from church and watch worship on …
RIP Medical Debt East Bay Campaign officially launched!
Our 9-church East Bay UCC consortium has already raised over $14,000 toward our goal of erasing ALL the medical debt available for purchase in Alameda and Contra Costa counties–$13,000 of it has come from First Church Berkeley alone! This is $1.4m of debt forgiven already, in the first week of our campaign! Every dollar you donate forgives $100 of your …