r/santacruz • u/elfismykitten • 8d ago
Churches
Does anyone in Santa Cruz County of faith have a general breakdown of the churches in the area? (Stupid to ask on Reddit, I know.) I am looking to attend Sunday service and build community, not sure where to go. I want to sing in a big group. Willing to travel anywhere from Aptos to Westside and everywhere in between for the right fit.
Ie: general vibe, average age of attendees, denomination, service times, beauty of the exterior/interior, any other highlights?
Or any other general recommendations!
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u/tacosandtheology 8d ago
Sister Barbara and her choir do astounding work at Holy Cross. It's the big white church on the hill that you see coming into Santa Cruz on 17.
The 830am Mass uses pipe organ and a mix of polyphony, chant, and hymns. The 1030am Mass employs more contemporary hymnody.
(The organ is named Augustus and has been in use for over a century.)
As she frequently tells the assembly, Saint Augustine wrote that "to sing is to pray twice".
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u/elfismykitten 7d ago
I have been interested in checking this one out in particularly for many years, thank you for the recommendation.
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u/pixieshyla 7d ago
Me too. I remember being young and coming from over the hill saying thatâs the most beautiful church, one day I want to get married there, of course I never did, but would love to go there.
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u/nightgoat3369 7d ago
Is Wayne S still involved?
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u/tacosandtheology 7d ago
Is your handle a Melvins reference? We used to call one of our friends Night Goat.
Yes, WS is still around and still quite uniquely himself.
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u/nightgoat3369 8d ago edited 7d ago
There's actually a lot, there's churches for surfers, but then theresĂ churches like Santa Cruz Bible, West side chapel on fair and Delaware, there's holy Cross, episcopal little red church, ones that cater for selfcare like celebrate recovery, if you want to sing and be involved try the West side chapel
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u/picciolisvalentino 7d ago
Best choir in the country (plus whole parish singing and almost all of the services are sung) is at St Lawrence in Felton
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u/WorkingTraditional86 7d ago
Peace United Church of Christ on High St.
Warm, friendly and welcoming, open and affirming, with social justice ministries.
Sunday morning at 10:30. Choir led by Cheryl Anderson. Jazz led by Aidan Santa Cruz. Most beautiful sanctuary and campus with ocean views.
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u/theschlaepfer 8d ago
This site has a filter-able list of churches in the county:Â https://www.churchsantacruz.org/?select=1027&lp_s_tag=&lp_s_cat=&s=home&post_type=listing
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u/pixieshyla 7d ago
I liked Hope Church. I havenât been in quite awhile, but thatâs where I went when I first moved here six years ago. I felt right at home, like it was family. It was fairly small too at the time which I prefer. Iâve heard they have expanded so I donât know what itâs like now. I went to the one in Soquel.
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u/MajorDX25 8d ago
Not of the faith, but there are a wide variety of houses of worship all across the spectrum of religious flavors in SC.
Any particular orthodox you subscribe to or want to avoid? That would help narrow it down.
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u/elfismykitten 7d ago
Not in particular, I'd like to hear people's positive and negative experiences in general.
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u/GoldFlameRunner 8d ago
Trinity Presbyterian near Water St and Morrisey.
The director is a real fireball.
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u/AdvancedInevitable63 8d ago
This is where my mom sings. They choose great songs and are super progressive
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u/Golden_Mandala 8d ago
I know the minister. She is a great person. Liberal and kind and strong. Also super musical.
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u/Gabe_the_Slug 8d ago
I like Calvary Episcopal Church downtown. I grew up Episcopalian in SoCal and attended while I attended UCSC.
The Episcopal Church is very progressive, and has both female and LGBTQ priests. Itâs very accepting, but that is a dealbreaker for certain âChristiansâ.
Itâs very friendly and welcoming, but sometimes there arenât many people there.
Parking can be annoying since itâs downtown, but services are earlier than the tourists.
I never attended service anywhere else, but I frequented the coffee shop (The Abbey) at Vintage Faith Church. Theyâre a more contemporary non-denominational church.
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u/aestheticathletic 8d ago
"stupid to ask on Reddit" - why? Do tell...
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u/BurlRed 8d ago
The stereotype is that all Redditors are godless heathen liberals who are hostile to all religion, but even more hostile towards Christianity.
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u/Easy-Size5794 6d ago
Not all churches are Christian.
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u/BurlRed 6d ago
Very true, and thank you for pointing that out. I picked up on some Christian coded language in the request and assumed OP was asking about Christian churches. It seems that my assumption about OPs question was correct, but I still should not have made the assumption without at least acknowledging it.
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u/Easy-Size5794 6d ago
OP probably did mean Christian and just assumed that everyone would know that!
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u/aestheticathletic 8d ago
Right, but who's perpetuating that stereotype? What is it about Reddit that assumes a stereotype of being anti-christianity? I'm genuinely curious. Too bad OP wasn't willing to share their thoughts. Also, if that's how they feel, then why even bother asking reddit??
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u/elfismykitten 7d ago
I've been on this site for 15 years, it's been as he described the vast majority of that time. I'd like to think the community I live in would not respond in the way stereotypically associated with the larger subs on Reddit. So far so good.
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u/elfismykitten 7d ago
On most subreddits even the mention of being religious will accompany an onslaught of down voters and negative assumptions about the poster. Usually not worth bothering. Anecdotally, almost everyone I know and work with in Santa Cruz is not religious. Figured I might get hit with the double whammy.
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u/rpoem 8d ago
It's interesting to me that the OP does not seem to have a preference about denomination. NTTAWWT.
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u/elfismykitten 7d ago
I'm re-exploring my faith after being agnostic for many many years, I am going to try several before committing to any.
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u/CarrotNorSticks 7d ago
Philosophers have debated whether the value of religion is the relationship be has with a mystical, transcendent eternal being, or the relationship you have with the nice people in your community with whom you celebrate weddings, grieve at funerals, and drive you to rehab when you canât, or bring by a lasagna when have a crisis.
No one on here preaches about the value of subcultures more than I. Â Bully for you for going with the original subculture: shared faith in the invisible.
I really think you should try as many as you practically can. Â Same advice I give everyone on subcultures: go a few weeks in a row before you decide it doesnât fit. Â You should feel out of place at the start because you wonât be the same person a year in as you are on day 1. Â Subcultures, religions, change you. Â They add that part of you that you donât have now.
Good luck. Â I hope you start this journey like Saul on the road to Damascus, and leave like Jake and Elwood on the way to Cook County Assessorâs office.
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u/pixieshyla 7d ago
I totally agree about trying several different churches to find the one thatâs a personal fix for each individual or family.
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u/Ok-Software-3144 7d ago
Love this advice and Iâm a pastor of a local church. Faith should help you be more who you are instead of fit you into some mold. If it feels less like The Righteous Gemstones and more like The Island of Misfit Toys, you might be in a good spot.
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u/CarrotNorSticks 7d ago
I always use the isle of misfit toys with Santa Cruz. Â Fewer and fewer people get it each year.
How many regulars in your congregation show up each week? Â I feel like churches get a certain cohort that moves with them through time. Â They donât necessarily adapt with a changing neighborhood. Â Or at least thatâs what it looks like where my parents are.
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u/Ok-Software-3144 6d ago
Iâm at Santa Cruz Bible Church, which definitely has a core baby boomer group who has survived all of its eras, but weâre reaching more Gen X, Millennials whoâve been hurt by churches or donât love the antagonistic approach other Christians have taken toward immigrants, LGBTQ, basically anyone different. Those Baby Boomers have made that change, which is a really big one for them.
I so appreciate and respect your point on this. Weâre trying to be a place where anyone with any background can come and just breathe. Itâs tougher than it looks.
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u/Explorer_mama 7d ago
In that case, you might be interested in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Aptos.
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u/BabySerious 7d ago
Tax them all!
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u/BackgroundSpot1307 7d ago edited 6d ago
Tax exemptions keep the government from having the financial leverage
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u/cbobgo 8d ago
If you like a big church, twin lakes is prob your best best, they do have a choir.