The Commitment of the Community Church, adopted in the 1950’s, describes our continuing commitment to grow our faith.

We come together from varied religious backgrounds to search for a vital experience of God, and to build our own personal creeds from the reality of that experience.

Starting with ourselves as we are, where we are, we seek to grow in accordance with our discovery of God's purpose for us.

We accept the commitment to live in this world as God's children and as brothers and sisters with each other, bound together by the challenge of Jesus: "Follow me."

Each year the Christian Life Team plans programs to help us grow in faith, to increase our understanding, and undo our prejudices.

Through Worship
Through Sunday worship and special services throughout the year, we seek to glorify God through reading and interpretation of the Scriptures, visual art, special music, and drama.

The church year begins in Advent with the “Greening” of the church with wreaths, garland, and five Christmas trees. Every Christmas Eve excited, wiggly children build the crèche and recreate the Bethlehem scene of Jesus’ birth. During Lent we slow down a bit to draw a holy comma in our busy lives. Beginning with Ash Wednesday and for the next six weeks we set aside more time for silent prayer and meditation as we journey toward Easter. In 2008 the scene at the front of the church changed gradually from a barren desert on the first Sunday of Lent to a garden at Easter.

During the summer, the sunday service becomes more informal, the choir takes a break, and we enter what is called “ordinary time.” With the return of fall we look forward to some of our favorite services: Labor Day Sunday, when a lay member of the congregation preaches on the connection between faith and work in his/her life, and World Communion Sunday when we celebrate our Christian connection to people throughout the earth with breads from around the world. This November we are planning something new: a Day of Remembrance. We will celebrate the lives of family members and friends who have died by sharing their mementoes and telling their stories.


Through Study and Reflection
Study groups, lecture series, retreats, and/or workshops are offered every year. The topics have varied widely from workshops on poetry writing and lace banner-making to community forums on stem cell research and capital punishment. To learn about upcoming programs, see the home page for upcoming events or click on the link to our newsletter "Of Good Report."

Every Sunday our pastor Pam Shortridge leads an informal discussion class to dig deeper into the Scripture texts that will be read during the worship service. Called “Unexpected” because what we discover together is often far removed from what we learned in Sunday school or read in a magazine. The class is especially for those who are curious about the Bible, but have no time or inclination to read it on their own. You are welcome to drop in. There is never any homework, and no advance preparation is ever necessary,

In the midst of the winter season of reflection, we take a break and get away for an adult faith retreat. Some themes from past years: “Faith Unmasked,” “Many Paths to Prayer” and “God in Between.” The 2009 retreat will be on February 20-21 at Enchanted Hills Camp in the coastal hills above Napa Valley.

During Lent we offer a book study or film series. In 2008 we discussed John Dominic Crossan’s provocative book, God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now. In 2007 we sponsored a film series, which included Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

Persons In Care
The Community Church supports Arn and James as they prepare for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Arn Lou Mutia completed his studies at San Francisco Theological Seminary in May 2008. He says, “I hope to create a ministry that builds bridges among our churches, encompassing regional boundaries and race, and advocating for strong, vibrant justice and peace programs.”

Baptized and confirmed in the Community Church, James Christie just finished his first year at Yale Divinity School, will spend the summer in Istanbul researching how Christians there live out their faith in a predominantly Muslim land, and will begin work as a minister-in-training in a local church in New York in the fall.