Transaction Net Ultimate Resources:
Spirituality and Religious Practice

Christian

• One of the most revered religious institutions of San Francisco is the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, located in the heart of the Tenderloin district. Led by Revered Cecil Williams and his wife Janice Mirikitani, Glide offers a far-reaching spectrum of services to the community in addition to their multi-racial religious services. The Glide-Goodlett HIV/AIDS Project offers counseling, group sessions, and HIV testing, while the Computers and You project teaches computer literacy to low-income adults and youth.

• A slick e-zine of the Grace Cathedral, The Spire is a thought-provoking, inclusive spiritual journal.

• Old St. Mary's Church is a beautiful, historic building with a traditional Roman Catholic parish.

• Local and visiting Catholics can get more San Francisco-related information from the SF Bay Catholic Page.

• The Pacific School of Religion is committed to educating men and women for ministry and other forms of religious leadership and to be a center and resource for Christian thought in an interfaith and pluralistic context. The school offers various degree programs.

• Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco ministers primarily to the city's queer communities, but everyone is welcome.

Islamic

• The International Association of Sufism is based just north of San Francisco, in San Rafael, CA. (Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam.) Browse their site for more information and to order books or videos.

• The Muslim Community Association of San Francisco Bay Area (MCA) is one of the largest Islamic Centers in North America, consisting of two facilities in Silicon Valley. The second facility includes an Islamic school for children.

• In the East Bay, the Arab World and Islamic Resources is a non-profit dedicated to the awareness of Arab and Islamic culture.

Jewish

• The Jewish Bulletin of Northern California is a wonderful online resource to everything Jewish happening in the Bay Area. Their Resource guide is available in printed form, in addition to being available online. Included in Resource is a section on Religious Life and Congregations in the SF Bay Area.

• Northern California's largest Jewish education program is Lehrhaus Judaica. Classes are offered on a quarter-basis and include courses all over the Bay Area.

• Unlike in Los Angeles or New York, the Jewish population is not as visible in San Francisco. This is particularly true of the Orthodox Jewish population, which has a more visible home in the Palo Alto area. This Palo Alto Orthodox Jewish Resources page includes information about congregations, services, Kosher restaurants, and more.

• While most San Francisco based synagogues and congregations do not have web pages, Palo Alto's Etz Chayim (liberal reform) and K'hillat Keddem (Reconstructionist, community-led) have new pages devoted to explaining their purpose and focus.

Unitarian

• Since 1850, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco has been a progressive voice within the City. Members include liberal Christians or Jews; others are humanists or agnostics. The church also serves as a home to many other social service and spiritually-oriented events throughout the year.

Buddhist

The renowned San Francisco Zen Center is actually spread across three uniquely beautiful locations: The City Center/Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara, and Green Gulch. SFZC has been around since 1959, and follows the Soto Zen path of meditation (zazen) and spiritual practice which was popularized in the U.S. by Shunryu Suzuki-roshi.
• The San Francisco Buddhist Center serves as the focus of a growing spiritual community (sangha) in the Mission District. The center runs a full program of courses, drop-in classes and retreats, and provides a place to celebrate the main Buddhist festivals.

• Empty Gate Zen Center in Berkeley was founded in 1977 and is part of the Kwan Um School of Zen, a form of Zen which has its roots in Korea.

• San Francisco is home to a unique organization, the Gay Buddhist Fellowship. Check out their ongoing events calendar.

• For a comprehensive guide to finding a place to practice Zen meditation in the Bay Area, check out Zendo.com.

Bah'áí

• San Francisco is also home to a substantial Bah'áí community. In just over 100 years, the Bah'áí Faith has grown from an obscure movement in the Middle East to the second-most widespread of the independent world religions.

Pagan

The home page of the Northern California Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess is full of information about resources of significance to earth-loving pagans from all walks of life.