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Newman Hall Holy Spirit Parish
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
2700 Dwight Way
(between College Ave & Etna St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 848-7812
2700 Dwight Way
(between College Ave & Etna St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 848-7812
13 reviews for Newman Hall Holy Spirit Parish
As others have mentioned, 10pm mass on Sunday night is just awesome because of the quiet candle light mass accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar. The musician is great, but I'm biased. He was also the musician at USF during my college days. Wonderful times in college, but I digress.
Sunday night at Newman Hall is THE place celebrate mass in a solemn and meditative fashion. It's also a perfect way to collect one's thoughts and become centered and prepared for the workweek ahead.
ps - Oh and the homilies are always meaningful and are not too long =)
Five stars. Yelp yer heart out. I'm not going to debate my spiritual and religious beliefs here. Just here to vote.
In case you missed mass at all other times this is your last chance at 10 pm
So the altar looks like someone shot a cannonball through it. So the cross looks like a junior high school student made it out of clay. There are many other reasons this is the best Catholic church I've ever been to.
1) The priests are Paulists and from a more scholarly and intellectual religious community. The homilies are the best you'll find anywhere - really interesting and not bought from a generic priest resource guide. In addition they give the homily from memory (heck, Father Al is an octogenarian and he recites from memory the Gospel reading). Father Al also recites the same blessing at the end of every Mass which meant a lot to me to hear each week.
2) The priests are liberal and freely admit, as Johnny O. said, that the church has issues. They don't preach fire and brimstone, and they don't really speak in the homily of any of controversial issues the church has immersed itself in. The priests are also very friendly and approachable, and explain what is going on during the Mass if they know there are people there who are not from a Catholic background (during funerals, baptisms, and I suspect weddings).
Also, more on the liberalness of this church - the words are changed from "he" or "him" to "God" in several prayers. There is a gay and lesbian group, as well as a Homecoming group for Catholics hurt by the church in the past.
3) There is a beautiful 10 p.m. candlelit Mass with a wonderful songleader who sings and plays guitar alone next to the altar. The place is packed, and there's no doubt why. Everyone at that Mass is really friendly and warm. Sometimes there will be wacky student skits as well.
4) Baptisms for infants are performed during Mass by Father Al in a clear tub on top of the altar. Two or three times a year several babies will be baptized at the same Mass, and it's a really sweet thing to witness.
5) How can you not love a place where the pastor's name is Dick Sparks?
Each day is always a hectic one, Stressful events after the other. After a while You don't realize how much time has actually gone by... It was as if a week felt like a minute. But when I go to the 10 o'clock mass on Sunday in Newman Hall. The Peacefully Quiet, Comfortably Dark and the Soothing Warmth from inside the church filled with Ambient Candles makes me feel as though time stops for that significant hour. It creates a sporadic transition from a windy cold day into a warm cozy dark church. It's always very peaceful in Newman Hall, and I always feel regenerated and revived.
My week is complete when I hear the Music of Robert Grant, an absolute God-send who has been playing in Newman Hall for over 15 years. Anyone who has ever heard him play at the 10 o'clock mass knows that He is a true Brotheren, playing Beautiful soul reviving Mass melodies with always a cheerful joy to his smile and presence.
And nothing is short but perfect than to hear the Gospel spoken by Father Al, who is a true saint. A man who fills you with the warmth and happiness similar with the presence of God. He awaits for the arrival of the congregation out in the front door of the Church, Despite the freezing weather he pays no attention to the bitter cold but instead looks forward to greet the warmth of our presence. I experience a protective loving father figure towards him. He is the most Heartfelt Father I have certainly grew to come attached to.
Both these combination's create a recipe for a long fulfilled regenerated individual in all Body, Soul and Mind. That makes you feel like you can take on the world with a new beginning
I enjoyed the time it took to drive from where I lived in Oakland to attend Mass at the Newman Center. I attended when Dick Sparks was pastor. I was even active with the Newman GLBT group. I had been struggling with the whole Holy Roman Catholic Church however, when I left full time employment as a lay minister and I will out line why I will not go back to Newman, not that Newman is at fault, but why I score them low.
Reasons why I no longer attend Mass anywhere:
-Papal Letter on Homosexuality (1986) written by Ratzinberger, signed by PJII His Holiness-less Pope "I'm not a nazi" Benedict XVI
-Second collection for Clergy Retirement (when after my 15 years of lay service, my retirement fund was laughable, the church cares less for it's lay employees,
-Double standards: Love the sinner, hate the sin? As a gay person, I am neither sinning because I have same sex attraction (love, sex and all that it brings).
-St. Joseph's Men's Group - ubber conservative
-Opius Dei Clergy - the Roman Catholic "secret service" of Rome and also just as ubber conservativism
-Reintroduction of the Latin Mass Rite as acceptable
The best part about the Newman Center is that I don't spontaneously combust into flames as I enter.
This is the absolute best Catholic church that I've been to. The priests are very in-touch with young people and their homilies are always interesting. They have a 10PM candlelight service on Sunday nights which is always beautiful and uplifting. It's packed with students, and the folk-singer music style is wonderful.
I don't live in Berkeley anymore, but I still try to make it here for Sunday night mass every once and awhile. Even if you're not Catholic, you should check out mass here. It's really amazing.
I have some serious problems with the way the Mass is given at Newman Parish. Before I present the reasons why I should take a moment to say that the Liturgy is sacred, holy, and has roots going back to antiquity. Its not just a presentational thing that can be changed at whim to suit the needs of any particular individual or group of individuals, even if there are good intentions behind the changes.
The gender neutralizing of certain prayers is a problem. Yes this is Berkeley and everyone wants to be inclusive, but God is a He. There is no equivocation on that in Sacred scripture and Catholic tradition. Its nice to want to make everyone happy, but that's disrespecting the nature of God.
Occasionally, they allow graduate students at the Theological Union to read the Gospel and give the homily. According to Canon Law (Can. 767 1), only a priest or deacon may give a homily and without the approval of the Bishop, no member of the laity may preach the Gospel in the Mass.
They allow the Body to be taken and dipped into the Precious Blood. This shows grave disrespect to the Eucharist which we hold to truly be the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Nicene Creed is changed to be a response such that the congregation is not saying the entire creed but responding to edited sections of it.
Finally, the priests give homilies where they openly question or disagree with certain elements of Catholic doctrine (ie that marriage must be between a man and a woman).
While these things may seem not to be a big deal to some or may even be desirable to others, we have to understand that if we are Catholics and actually believe what we say we believe, these things cannot be permitted in the Mass.
I would give Newman only 1-star, but Father Charlie who arrived recently as improved matters somewhat, so there is still hope.
can we just say...AMAZING.
this past summer has definitely been one of the toughest of my entire life, and this place has given me peace and solace every time i walk in here. i have never gotten such a feeling from a church as i have from this one.
i basically left my spiritual life behind when i left for college, and i'm pretty sure this place is giving it all back to me. here are some reasons as to why newman hall is a place worth visiting:
1) the Sunday night candlelight mass is to die for...plus they serve free doughnut holes after mass.
2) father charlie is awesome....as in...he keeps my attention and makes his sermons entertaining.
3) the music is awesome and done by an exceptional folk-singer.
4) you can come as you are....no need to dress in your sunday best.
5) they're gender-neutral in their lessons and they have an LGBT group that meets every 1st and third Thursday.
try it out!! you won't be disappointed!! and then you can go and have blondie's or yogurt park after!
This is a great place to go when you want to say a quick rosary before finals. It's in Berkeley, so it's a very gender neutral church when it comes to the prayers. It's a very come as you are college student friendly church. Parking is INSANE.
The Roman Catholic Community at the University of California, Berkeley. Is it a sin to review a church? I go for the 10PM candle-lit masses on Sundays: Huge, contemporary yet ancient looking space, great guitarist-singer, liberal priests who read their sermons from memory, not a book and admit that the Church has issues. This is the only church I don't fall asleep in. And its just so wonderful to see a thousand or so college kids spending an evening in church instead of boozing it up and creating havoc. Its almost enough to make me feel the human race may have a chance.
This is, by far, my favorite church. I go specifically to the 10pm mass on Sunday nights because the candle-lit ambience is very soothing and conducive to prayer and the musician who plays guitar at this time is amazing. The homilies are very interesting, inspiring and speak to the intellect of the congregation who consist of a lot of CAL students and alumni. Everyone is very friendly, reverent, and respectful and I feel very welcome and at home at Newman.
Wonderful community, great space, love the furnishings, the bald headed Jesus, the Flintstones altar. 10 pm mass on Sundays is great. People who think they don't like the Catholic church, they haven't been to Newman. It can be happy clappy but it has gravitas to spare. Very open and accepting, great homilies.
