Penngrove Community Church

This Sunday (Sept. 30th, 2011), I visited Penngrove Community Church at 9970 Oak Street in Penngrove. Though just outside of Petaluma (about 4 miles North), Penngrove (an unincorporated town - officially a census-designated place), is often considered part of the Petaluma community for various reasons, though it has its own unique identity.
Around 50 members regularly attend weekly. Their membership tends to be older, though they have younger members sprinkled thoughout. They view themselves as an Evangelical church, have lively music mixed with hymns, and solid preaching.
The pastor, Lowell Uhlig, used to be an associate pastor at Marin Covenant Church for many years prior to becoming the Pastor at the church.
The church has two church buildings: a newer one built in the 50s where they worship, and an older one next door they use as a fellowhip hall. (In the picture above, the newer building is on the left, and the older building is on the right.) The Methodist Episcopals built the older one in 1898 and it is one of the oldest buildings in Penngrove. It originally stood at the corner of Formshlag Lane and Petaluma Hill Road. In 1910, they moved the church on wooden rollers to its present location.
They asked me to join their worship team as a guest guitarist, which I gladly agreed to. So I had a wonderful time visiting Penngrove Community Church.

Update 1: April 27, 2013
Update 2

Cook's Mass Again

This Sunday (Sept. 18th) I was asked to lead music at the Cook's Mass, which I gladly agreed to. I previously wrote about the Cook's Mass, which is part of Cursillo, so this time I will describe the Cursillo movement a bit more.

Cursillo basically means a short course in practical Christianity. It started in Spain about 1944. It is aimed at layman, and is mostly run by layman. It has since spread worldwide and some version of it is present in most denominations. It is basically a renewal movement, seeking to ground believers deeper in their faith.

It's a wonderful experience to go on one of their weekends, and I would encourage all Christians to go on one. The Cursillo community is a great example of the love a Christian community should show. I had a wonderful time going on a Cursillo weekend, as well as serving on a team. If you have any interest in going to a Cursillo weekend, just let me know.

Open Door Christian Church

This Sunday (Sept. 11th), I visited Open Door Christian Church at the corner of 5th & B Street. They had between 50 and 60 in attendance with a good mix of ages. They are a charismatic church which tends to emphasize a lively worship, a renewed life, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The pastor, W. Paul Bemis, who attended Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, CA, speaks of receiving a supernatural healing from prostate cancer, which turned his life and ministry around. While some Christians have rejoiced, Pastor Paul said in his sermon others have been very skeptical. Some Christians have told him he never had cancer in the first place, though he has medical documents saying he had stage 2 cancer. Others have told him he still has cancer, though his doctor told him he no longer has any sign of cancer. Perhaps the hardest - some Christians have asked Pastor Paul, "Why did God heal you and not me? or, "Why did God heal you and not my loved one?" Paul admits he does not have a ready simple answer for such tough questions. He is just very happy his cancer no longer appears on any test (and yes, he goes back for retests).

Though many churches have the name Open Door, this one has roots in Church of the Open Door that started in Mill Valley in the early 70s, connected with the Jesus movement though often led by pastors trained at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary. The Mill Valley church moved to San Rafael soon thereafter, and from there started churches in Novato, Petaluma, and Vallejo. Though they started a church in San Francsico, that church is completely on its own these days and has changed its name. Another branch started churches in the Los Angeles area, which took a Fundamentalist turn and are no longer affiliated with the original Open Door churches. Living Streams Church in Phoenix, AZ, is another Open Door offshoot. They also started churches in Mexico City and London, which though independent, maintain a loose association with Open Door churches here.

I most enjoyed the worship, led by the talented Frank Van Meter and his lovely wife, Shannon (their daughter also joins them with a lovely voice). Frank is not only a muscian, but an artist, and you can see some of art at his website.

Iglesia Bautista de Petaluma

This Sunday (September 4th), I visited Iglesia Batuista de Petaluma (The Baptist Church of Petaluma), a Spanish Baptist Church that meets at 200 East Ely Blvd South. (They lease the facility where Eastside Church meets - their service meets at 9 a.m., and Eastside meets at 11 a.m.) They had about 60 in attendance.

Nelson Choto pastors the church. He was born in Central America (Guatemala I think). He graduated from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and served as an assistant pastor at Petaluma Valley Baptists for several years before leading Iglessia Bautista. He seems to always be exuberant with joy and delivers good sermons.

Most Hispanics tend to be Catholics, or have a Catholic background. So it interersting to be in a church where a mostly Hispanic Baptist congregation usually carries their Bible and seem to be ready to discuss, or refer, to the Bible at the drop of a hat. However, most touching is the open love displayed - at the greeting time, everyone in the church made a point of going around and greeting everyone in the church, sometimes with a handshake, but usually with a firm embracing hug (abrazo).

Calvary Chapel

This Sunday (August 28th), I visited Calvary Chapel at 1955 S. McDowell Blvd. Calvary Chapel is the largest Protestant church in Petaluma, with a weekly average adult attendance of 700-800, and over 1,000 counting all the children and teens in Sunday School. Calvary meets in a converted warehouse, with offices up front, in an industrial park at the South end of Petaluma.

Zach Vestnys, now 31, became the lead pastor 7 years ago at age 24. Though he never went to Seminary, Bible College, or college, his father was a pastor, and he was raised and trained for the ministry in the church. Though he is young, he leads a church composed of a good mix of age groups, elderly, middle-aged, and young. When I asked members what they liked about the church, many responded that they liked Zach, often saying they believed he was annointed. Others responded that they had a sense of belonging to a close family. I thought one member gave the best answer when he said over the years there, he saw people grow.

Calvary Chapel began in 1968 when Chuck Smith broke away from the Foursquare Church in Santa Ana, California. Calvary Chapel soon became the center of what became known as the Jesus Movement (the Jesus People), hippies and surfers who became Christians. Soon Smith was introduced to Lonnie Frisbee, who became central in both Calvary Chapel and the Jesus Revolution, and was featured in a Time magazine cover article. Frisbee later became central in the Vineyard Church before his homosexuality became known, as related in the film, Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher, by filmmaker David Di Sabatino.

I didn't remotely see any hippies (maybe ex-hippies) at Calvary Chapel, though evidence of its roots are evident. The pastors usually wear jeans and tennis shoes, unlike many of the other churches I have visited in this blog. The congregation also comes very casually dressed. The music is very contemporary, with a lot of rock mixed in. Calvary mostly introduced contemporary Christian music, which many Christians heard through Maranatha Music, mostly formed out of the movement started at Calvary Chapel.

Many other churches spawned out of the Jesus Movement which began at Calvary Chapel. I had a great time visiting at Calvary.