Countercultural SF Churches

We have talked a fair amount about Zen Buddhism in this class as very much a part of the Beat way of thinking, so I was interested in learning about other religious centers in San Francisco that would compliment nonconformists like the Beats and Hippies. I stumbled across an article that talks about the Liturgy of the Divine Feminine at Herchurch. I had never heard of or seen it, though the article says the big purple church is “one of the highest commercial addresses in the city, [sitting] at the intersection of Portola Drive and Woodside Avenue.” It sounded like a lot of fun and extremely San Franciscan, so I thought I’d share some of the article with you. Here’s a little description of the church:

           

“Among the roughly 50 adults in the sanctuary, fewer than 10 are men. The 90-minute service is structured much like the traditional Catholic services of my youth, except that this one includes soft acoustic folk music, a prayer with a Tibetan bowl and bell, and an ecstatic call-and-response in an indigenous language that sounds like a Pentecostal channeling the Spirit — or, if you prefer, scat. I pick up some maracas and join in. The homily that follows includes a rousing defense of the selfie stick as a point of entry to divine grace.”

It’s great to hear about place that is so open-minded and accepting and modern. I think it’s especially important because it— and the Metropolitan Community Church, which the article also talks about— provide a place for LGBTQ people who are not accepted at a lot of traditional churches. In my mind, religion should be something that gives you a sense of hope and support, and encourages the loving and aiding of all people; so these seem to be places that embody that ideal. I’m sure there are many other churches—in San Francisco and beyond—that are countercultural and unique and accepting like this, and I’d love to hear about them if you know of some.

I thought this was a great, positive quote:

"The community is very here and now," he says. "It's not, 'Be good so you can get into heaven,' where heaven's the goal and life is sort of an obstacle you have to get through. Here, it's like, 'Take care of the earth.' And people are laughing all the time."

And I liked the way the article ends:

“Undoubtedly, when one calls oneself a "spiritual person," it all too often translates as self-satisfied, content-deprived mush masquerading as a moral credo. But the nontraditional churches and Christian-rooted spiritual movements across San Francisco prove that it is possible to escape that morass of passive therapy-speak, and improve the world in measurable ways.”

http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/peter-lawrence-kane-unorthodox-churches-herchurch-metropolitan-community-church-glide-memorial/Content?oid=3481421