St. Alban's - Albany

So yesterday I decided to visit a church that was relatively close to the CDSP campus in the city/town of Albany.  Albany is located just north of Berkeley and to get into the main street area of the town you must first pass through a tunnel that goes through on of the hills that surround Berkeley.  It is small town, much like the towns that surround Boston with a main drag, Solano Ave, that cuts through the town from north to south.  There are all sorts of restaurants and coffee shops lining the street and the church is a block away from this town center.

Jason had pointed out that there was an Episcopal church with a community that has supported CDSP seminarians for years and that I should check it out.  Because of the close proximity of the church to campus I didn't have to wake up as early which was nice, since for the service last week Jason and I had to be out the door before 7:00 to make it to the 8:00 service on time.  Yesterday I was accompanied by my friend Maura, who is an MA student working towards a degree in the historical and cultural relations of religions.  Since she is not in the MDiv program she is not subject to the same expectations as me, namely attending on campus services and "church shop" on Sundays.  She is a cradle Episcopalian who was very involved in her home parish in Pasadena but she decided she needed a few weeks off.  So, I was a little surprised when she inquired about where I was going and if she could tag along.

The church is situated on the corner of two streets hidden behind a row of trees.  From the outside the church just sort of blends into the surrounding community and would almost go unnoticed if it weren't for the sign out front.  It reminded me a lot of the Church of Our Savior in Mill Valley in that from the outside it looks like a modern building but the inside being very different.

A view from across the street

Once inside we were greeted immediately by members of the congregations and handed leaflets.  Maura and I sat in a pew in the middle of the congregation and looked at the stained glass that surrounded us.  The glass windows were beautiful but very contemporary in design.

One of the windows

The sanctuary

The service was a typical Rite II service.  The liturgy was middle of the road and they hand a choir of about six people.  The congregation seemed a bit older and I didn't see any children either but they may have been in Sunday School.  It looked like an interesting community to serve for field ed and I know that the rector has a lot of experience working with seminarians, but I don't think that it will be site for me. 

We left after the service and we were back on campus to catch the second half of the Pats game.  Not a bad Sunday morning.  I think I will go to a Berkeley parish next Sunday, but we will see and I will let you know.