2619 Dwight Way @ Bowditch
Berkeley, California 94704
510-845-7199
society@csberkeley.org
or join us remotely via Conference Call
dial-in information
(605) 313-5107
Access Code = 939517 #
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If you would like to join us
please send your email address to
society@csberkeley.org
and we will email you the ZOOM link for the meeting
Testimonies of healing, publications, videos and other resources
can be found on The Mother Church website
christianscience.com
by appointment
To arrange for Sunday School or childcare
Please contact us in advance
5lic10-845-7199
society@csberkeley.org
located in the church foyer and open to the public
Reading Room Hours
Sundays 10:30 am to 12:15 pm
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Open to the public
1st Sunday of every month 12:15 pm
Groups of 6 or more by special arrangement
Please contact us society@csberkeley.org
Suggested donation $10 / person
An American Masterpiece – Bernard Maybeck’s First Church of Christ, Scientist
Our building is available to rent
for musical performances, lectures, weddings and other events
For availability and rates
Please contact us
510-845-7199
society@csberkeley.org
We are one of the many worldwide branches of The Mother Church—the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts, founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879.
We are an organization of committed students of Christian Science who take the inspired word of the Bible in conjunction with Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as our practical guide to daily life.
Through our study and prayer we strive to face all the challenges of the human experience through the power of God, Spirit—divine Life, Truth, and Love. Spiritual growth, transformation and healing are the basis of all our activities.
If you will be joining us at a Sunday Service for the first time, this is what is included in our services:
Organ Prelude begins at 10:50 am
Sunday Service begins at 11:00 am
The Sunday Service opens with a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal
A short Scriptural Selection from the Bible followed by silent prayer, and an invitation to all to join in the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer interspersed with its spiritual interpretation as written by Mary Baker Eddy.
The congregation is then invited to sing another hymn which is followed by announcements from the desk and then a solo.
The sermon is a comprised of selections from the King James version of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Each sermon, also referred to as the Bible Lesson, is composed in advance by a committee appointed by The Mother Church in Boston. Students of Christian Science study these lesson-sermons throughout the week prior to listening to it read aloud in branch churches and societies throughout the world each Sunday.
Upon completion of the sermon there is a collection taken during an organ interlude, followed by a closing hymn, readings, and then an organ postlude.
First Church of Christ, Scientist. Berkeley was incorporated in 1905. Its members had been meeting since 1897 in nearby private homes and halls and were eager to have a church home of their own. By mid-year 1905 they had purchased a 100’ x 150’ lot on the corner of Dwight Way and Bowditch Street and in 1909, the Plans Committee first met with Bernard Maybeck who ultimately took on the project.
The committee presented Maybeck with a list of things they wanted to see in their building. In addition to the practical things such as a Board room, Sunday School and telephone room, and a discussion of the general feel of the structure, the committee prepared a list of qualities that they wanted to see expressed in their church including unity, harmony, beauty, adaptability, reverence, sincerity, honesty, simplicity, good taste, welcome, comfort, quietness and peace, joy, and homelikeness.
A building permit was obtained at the end of September 1910 and construction began soon after. The first service was held in August 1911 with attendees seated on rental chairs as it would be seven months before the pews were installed.
The Sunday School addition was completed in January 1929 by Maybeck in association with Henry Gutterson, who was himself a member of the church, and also designed Arden Wood, a Christian Science Nursing Facility in San Francisco which opened its doors in 1930.
In 1974, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley was designated a National Historic Landmark.
2619 Dwight Way @ Bowditch
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 845-7199
Contact Us By Email