Places of worship in south Palo Alto

A few days ago, I started at my office in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and took a walk around the neighborhood. In less than an hour, I walked past or near 7 different faith communities.

I walked to the corner of Charleston and Middlefield; down the street and just out of sight on my left was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 3865 Middlefield Rd., which is locally famous for the annual Christmas Creche exhibit that is erected in its front yard in December.

Continuing down Charleston, I crossed Fabian Way; to my left, a few blocks down at 3900 Fabian Way is Kehillah Jewish High School, where the Keddem Congregation, a Reconstructionist Jewish faith community, holds its larger events and services.

At the corner of Charleston and San Antonio Road, I walked next to the Jewish Community Center, where, every Sunday, the C3 Silicon Valley Church rents their auditorium for a worship service. The C3 Church is a worldwide movement based in Pentecostal Christianity.

Turning left on San Antonio, I came to Anjuman-e-Jamali, a new Dahwoodi Bohra mosque, an impressive stone-clad building; the minaret is over 60 feet tall, though supposedly it isn’t functional.

BlogAug1216a

I crossed back over Charleston Rd., and went a block or two into the city of Mountain View, where I saw the Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, in a large building that looks like a corporate headquarters or maybe a big-box store. The Web site lists no denominational connection, but recent pastors have had connections to Pentecostalism.

BlogAug1216b

Back over the city line in Palo Alto, along San Antonio Rd., I walked by the small Central Chinese Christian Church. Unfortunately, the Web site is in Chinese, so I don’t know which branch of Christianity this church comes from.

BlogAug1216c

I walked back down Charleston Rd., and returned to the Unitarian Universalist Church.

The final tally for a one-hour, 2-12 mile walk:
1 Jewish congregation: Reconstructionist Jewish congregation, rented space
1 Muslim congregation: Dahwoodi Bohra (a sect of Shia Islam)
4 Christian congregations:
— Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon), Restorationist Christian
— C3 Church, Pentecostal Christian
— Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, nondenominational Christian
— Central Chinese Christian Church, unknown Christian
1 post-Christian congregation, Unitarian Universalist

2 thoughts on “Places of worship in south Palo Alto”

  1. And of course further down Middlefield from the LDS church is University AME Zion church, Unity Church, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto Church of Christ…; it is church row and I’ve walked passed them many times going to and from the UU church (alternative routes will take me past Grace Lutheran, First Baptist, St. Marks Episcopal, a Christian Science church, and/or a Catholic church). A bit further away is the Palo Alto Friends Meeting and the Palo Alto Buddhist temple. What we don’t have in Palo Alto is a HIndu place of worship (either south or north of Oregon Expressway).

  2. …and don’t forget Covenant Presbyterian (on Meadow), Cornerstone Community Church, The Father’s House, and First Christian Church — you’d pass all those (except the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple and the Friends Meeting House) on a 3-1/4 mile walk from UUCPA up Cowper to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, back down Middlefield to UUCPA. Maybe I’ll make that my next religious diversity walk….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *