Church of Our Savior - Mill Valley

For this week's church visit I joined my friend/adopted mentor Jason to the church where he is currently doing his field ed in Mill Valley.  In a lot of ways it was very reminiscent of my home parish, St. John's, but also different.  Mill Valley is a suburban city, heck it may even be a town, located about 12 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County.  As Jason so eloquently stated, the residents have more money than God.  It is a beautiful community nestled in a valley, go figure, and is filled with giant redwood trees and surrounded by hills.  It reminded me Newton in that they are both affluent suburban communities within close proximity to major metropolitan areas. 

Since Jason is doing his field ed at the parish he is supposed to be there for both of the services on Sunday.  That meant that he was knocking on my door at 6:50 to make sure I was up and ready because we had to leave.  At 7:00 on a Sunday morning, CDSP is still fast asleep.  As we walked to the parking lot we didn't see a soul.  It was a nice ride out to Mill Valley.  The sun was just creeping over the top of the hills and there was actually no fog so it was a beautiful morning.  We cruised across the Richmond Bridge and made our south down the CA101 towards SF, before getting off and weaving our way to Mill Valley.  In all it was about a twenty five minute ride, though we did have to stop at McDonald's for coffee and a small bite to eat.

The church is located just outside the center of town in a very residential area.  Around the corner was a UCC church and a pretty big park just a block away.  I definitely wouldn't mind living there, but I don't thing I will ever make enough money to afford it.  The church itself is very simple in design, at least from the outside.  It wasn't very large, in fact it was probably the size of St. John's.  There was more than enough room for the services but there was no way they were going to fit 200 people in that space.  Off to the left of the main church building were the offices and many rooms used for Godly Play and other youth programs.

A view from the outside of the Church of Our Savior, Mill Valley

A view from inside the courtyard

Inside the courtyard

Wooden statue and small fountain in the courtyard

The inside of the church

Jason left me in the pews so that he could go get ready for the 8:00AM service.  The eight o'clock service is a Rite I spoken service.  There was no music and all of about five people in the congregation, including me.  Does this sound familiar to anyone back home???  I think there were more people serving up on the altar than there was in the pews.  For this Sunday we had a guest preacher, a brother from the Society of St. Gregory.  I have never heard of it before but apparently it is a lay and ordained society that allows men, regardless of age, profession or marital status to become members.  Brother Thomas, our preacher, works in LA for Google by day and then performs his societal commitments during the weekend.  They wear a traditional alb with some brown colored garment draped over their shoulders.  They do carry a rosary and wear a brown beanie.  To me they seemed very Catholic, but I don't know.  Oh and the priest of Our Savior, Richard, is also a member of the order.  Brother Thomas preached a good sermon and we had Eucharist and were done before nine.  Jason then showed me around a bit while we waited for the ten o'clock liturgy to begin.  I also had an opportunity to chat with Richard a little, which was cool, to learn more about the parish and the area.

I picked an interesting week to visit the parish because they had two events occurring simultaneously.  First, this was their homecoming/start of the year Sunday.  So the choir was singing for the first time, the Sunday School started up, so there were a lot of people in attendance.  They also have a whole lot of kids.  I mean a lot of kids.  Their youth program is huge and understaffed, but it was amazing to see so many little ones running about.  This was also the day of a baby shower hosted by the church for the priest's wife who is about to give birth in the next few weeks.  So the Fireside Room was decorated and people kept bringing in dish after dish as they arrived with kids in tow.  

Needless to say, the attendance at the ten o'clock was considerably larger.  Though not completely packed it was full.  Their second service followed the traditional Rite II service.  Liturgically they are a very middle of the road parish in that they stick to the familiar but are willing to try new things.  Again, very reminiscent of St. John's.  Brother Thomas preached again, though he changed it up a bit which was cool, and the choir, about twenty people deep, sang a familiar anthem during the offertory.  For those of you who might know they sang With a Voice of Singing

All in all, it was a great experience and I really want to go back.  As for whether I would do my field ed there, I am still yet pondering that idea.  In many ways the church is very familiar because it is so similar to my home parish.  While I am looking for something different from what I am used to this still might be a good place to serve one of my two years of field ed.  I think that because of the priest.  From what Jason has talked with me about so far, is that Richard really wants to challenge him, push him out of his comfort zone and experience new roles in leadership.  Sometimes with field ed, it is not just the parish that you learn from but also from the priest.  I know that at some parishes seminarians are treated as lackeys or unpaid assistants which is not really beneficial to our education, but I don't get that vibe from Richard and he seemed like a great person to work with.  I will be going back again to see it on a regular Sunday and to hear Richard preach.

I am not sure where I am going next week, but I may opt for one of the Berkeley parishes.  I will keep you all updated.