Stories | Sheep and Goats
Maranatha Chapel
Published March 10, 2010
Maranatha Chapel is a big church. The kind with a proper campus. The kind with a lot going on outside the Sunday service, including weekday small-group discussion of the previous Sunday’s sermon. (Sunday’s sermon notes offered ...
St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church
Published Feb. 24, 2010
A statue of the Infant Christ wearing a king’s crown stands to the left of the altar at St. Anne’s. Today, the statue also wears a purple robe trimmed with pearls over his usual finery because ...
The Dharma Bum Temple
Published Feb. 17, 2010
An old "B.C." comic strip holds down one corner of the picture window that looks in on the Dharma Bum temple — a whimsical accent tacked onto an otherwise serene and tasteful tableau: “Whatcha doing today?” ...
Alpine Christian Fellowship
Published Feb. 10, 2010
As I entered the church, a girl handed me a golf ball. It was yellow; the one atop the mic stand next to the pulpit ... More Post a comment
South Bay Baptist Church
Published Feb. 3, 2010
“2010: A New Beginning” reads the label on the binder in the ministry booth set up in the church hall. The table surrounding the decorated ... More Post a comment
St. Ephrem Maronite Church
Published Jan. 27, 2010
The circular interior of St. Ephrem’s church might serve as an eclectic museum of Catholic devotional art. So many styles, drawn from so many traditions: ... More Post a comment
Tierrasanta Baptist Church
Published Jan. 20, 2010
I don’t usually talk theology while I’m working. But last Sunday, as I took in the broad, airy, blue-tinged church interior before the service, executive ... More Post a comment
Paseo del Rey Church
Published Jan. 13, 2010
A cheerful, creamy glow filled the broad church; it matched the cheerful, happy buzz of the congregation. A timer warned that the service was about ... More Post a comment
Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Parish
Published Jan. 6, 2010
“Do you know about this priest?” asked the man next to me in the pew, referring to Father Phien Van Pham, the Vietnamese celebrant. “He ... More Post a comment
El Cajon Wesleyan Church
Published Dec. 30, 2009
Sunday was assistant pastor Dave Holmquist’s last at El Cajon Wesleyan. After the opening worship — a singer/guitarist and a bongo player alone on the ... More Post a comment
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
Published Dec. 23, 2009
Got an unusual press release last week. It began: “On Sunday, December 13, 2009, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in La Mesa, Calif., held a legally ... More Post a comment
First Presbyterian Church of San Diego
Published Dec. 16, 2009
In my line of work, I see a lot of stained-glass windows depicting either scenes from the life of Christ or various Christian symbols. But ... More Post a comment
The Christmas Sweater
Published Dec. 9, 2009
On December 3, Fox News personality Glenn Beck broadcast a live performance of The Christmas Sweater: A Return to Redemption to movie theaters nationwide. (Tickets ... More Comments (2)
Urban Church
Published Dec. 2, 2009
“Fourteen years ago, when my wife and I were engaged,” said pastor Ben Brinkman, “we had the exact same experience at the exact same moment ... More Post a comment
San Diego Coalition of Reason
Published Nov. 18, 2009
Ah, swine flu. Or, maybe not. Maybe just regular flu. Either way, I’m not going to church today. It’s as good a time as any ... More Comments (257)
Kroc Church
Published Nov. 11, 2009
“My wife and I have been here for four years now,” said Captain John Van Cleef, senior pastor at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan ... More Post a comment
Mission San Luis Rey Roman Catholic Parish
Published Nov. 4, 2009
This year, the City of Oceanside couldn’t afford to host its downtown celebration of Día de los Muertos, but the festival found a new (if ... More Post a comment
Bethel Baptist Church
Published Oct. 28, 2009
The lights dimmed in the purple quarter-circle church, and Pastor Hitchcock appeared behind the baptismal pool situated high in the back of the Sanctuary. New ... More Post a comment
First Baptist Church of San Diego
Published Oct. 14, 2009
On October 31, 1869, the First Baptist Church of San Diego dedicated its church bell, a prize awarded by city father Alonzo Horton for being ... More Post a comment
The Church at Rancho Bernardo
Published Oct. 7, 2009
As my eyes adjusted to the half-light of the church and my ears absorbed the happy boom of the band, I thought, is that the ... More Post a comment
Church of God (Seventh Day)
Published Sept. 30, 2009
A couple of weeks ago, I learned about the way that Plymouth Congregational Church in North Park has reinvented itself to fit with the changing ... More Post a comment
United Church of Christ La Mesa
Published Sept. 23, 2009
“I didn’t stay for 30 years,” says pastor Felix Villanueva of his career as a Navy chaplain. “I only stayed for 21.” Because of Iraq. ... More Comments (3)
Plymouth Congregational Church
Published Sept. 16, 2009
Wayne Riggs served as a Navy chaplain from 1957 to 1988. Two years later, he put his collar back on and took over at Plymouth ... More Comment (1)
Central Congregational Church
Published Sept. 9, 2009
Last week, I attended services at a church that broke away from the United Church of Christ in 1994. This week, without meaning to, I ... More Post a comment
Mission Village Christian Fellowship
Published Sept. 2, 2009
Last week I visited Gethsemane Lutheran Church in the wake of the Evangelical Lutheran Conference of America’s decision to allow partnered homosexuals to serve as ... More Comment (1)
Gethsemane Lutheran Church
Published Aug. 26, 2009
On Friday, August 21, the Church Council for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to “commit itself to finding a way for people in...publicly ... More Post a comment
La Jolla Lutheran Church
Published Aug. 12, 2009
A message was pinned to the bulletin board standing in the cozy courtyard off to the side of the trim yellow church with the red-tile ... More Post a comment
Mission San Diego Church of Christ
Published Aug. 5, 2009
“We don’t preach a particular culture,” said Paul Chacon, explaining Mission San Diego Church of Christ’s diversity — of race, of age, even of dress. ... More Post a comment
St. Therese Roman Catholic Church
Published July 29, 2009
“Good morning,” said the woman at the marble lectern before the beginning of Sunday Mass at St. Therese. “Today and for the next four weeks, ... More Post a comment
Cloudbreak Church
Published July 22, 2009
“Begin County Maintained Road,” read the sign as I headed out Bernardo Center Drive away from the center of Rancho Bernardo. A right on Dove ... More Post a comment
Horizon Coast Chapel
Published July 15, 2009
The front of Horizon Coast Chapel’s worship booklet doesn’t read “Horizon Coast Chapel”; it reads “Church in Mission Beach.” Yes, yes, this allows them to ... More Post a comment
Mountain View Community Church
Published July 1, 2009
The white church buses parked in the dirt lot outside Mountain View Community Church looked downright old-timey. The huge white church building rising up behind ... More Post a comment
Friends Christian Fellowship
Published June 24, 2009
Friends Christian Fellowship meets in a Santee office park suite artfully converted into a cozy chapel. Several times a year, they set up outreaches across ... More Post a comment
St. Agnes Point Loma
Published June 17, 2009
On June 28, St. Agnes church in Point Loma will hold a farewell luncheon in honor of Father Joseph Mel Collier. According to a May ... More Post a comment
Interfaith Service of Consolation and Determination
Published June 10, 2009
“If you are visiting for just a few moments or a few hours, please know that you are granted immunity from the painful ravages of ... More Comment (1)
New Life Church
Published June 3, 2009
Add Michael and Michele Kole to the list of pastors — The Rock’s Miles McPherson, New Venture’s Shawn Mitchell, et al. — to come out ... More Post a comment
Momentum Christian Church
Published May 27, 2009
“Service?” asked the smiling man at the entrance to the AMC Theatres in the Otay Ranch Town Center. I was a little surprised — it’s ... More Post a comment
The Methodist Movement
Published May 13, 2009
It’s Easter morning and I’m driving home from the sunrise service at The Fields Church in Carlsbad and listening to NPR’s Weekend Edition because it’s ... More Comments (2)
Foothills United Methodist Church
Published May 6, 2009
“Welcome home!” read the handpainted banner in the vestibule of the half-saucer church. Inside, homemade signs rose up on coat-hanger posts from the pews: “Where ... More Post a comment
Northminster Presbyterian Church
Published April 29, 2009
A loaf of bread and a pitcher (presumably of wine) flanked the oversized open Bible on the long stone altar at Northminster Presbyterian on Sunday, ... More Post a comment
Barabbas Road Church
Published April 22, 2009
“I met my wife in a bar in New York City,” said Barabbas Road pastor Matt Smith. “I was a rower, training for the Olympics, ... More Post a comment
The Fields Church of Carlsbad
Published April 15, 2009
A chill clung to the air as the service began; it would be 11 minutes before the sun crested the hill to reveal the ranunculus ... More Post a comment
St. George Serbian Orthodox Church
Published April 8, 2009
The service was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. At a quarter to six, the doors of the domed white church were still locked, but ... More Post a comment
St. Therese of Carmel
Published April 1, 2009
I was just thinking that this particular stretch of Del Mar Trails Road reminded me of some ancient Italian village (only with more yard space ... More Post a comment
New Life Assembly
Published March 18, 2009
There are times when the music at the opening of a service feels a little like a warm-up — something to get the blood flowing, ... More Comment (1)
Icon Church
Published March 11, 2009
Say Lula Salon occupies the ground floor of a resuscitated Art Deco box in the East Village; on Sunday mornings, Icon Church occupies Say Lula. ... More Post a comment
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Published March 4, 2009
“Last Sunday, we worshipped in an ordinary, Lutheran way,” said pastor Laura Ziehl at the beginning of the service. “This Sunday we are blessed: Teen ... More Post a comment
Downtown God Group
Published Feb. 25, 2009
“Our roots are downtown,” said Bob Buschman, pastor of First Assembly, now located on a nine-acre campus in Mission Valley. “In 1921, they brought an ... More Post a comment
Sheep and Goats: Unity Center
Published Feb. 18, 2009
Many churches of a certain age feature, at the back of the Sanctuary, a full-body baptistery — some sort of tank into which the believer ... More Comments (2)
The Gathering Place Church
Published Feb. 11, 2009
Pastor John Ettore crouched down by my seat to welcome me, his hand heavy upon my shoulder, granite intensity in his face as he told ... More Comments (42)
Rancho Vista Church
Published Feb. 4, 2009
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,” read Dwain Bostic at the outset. “‘Plans to prosper you and not harm ... More Post a comment
Cornerstone Church of San Diego
Published Jan. 28, 2009
Sunday at Cornerstone Church of San Diego was bright with promise. It was also bright with spotlights and searchlights, glowing now white, now green, now ... More Post a comment
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