Online / zoom

Join the conversation! We're excited to welcome author Liz Charlotte Grant and returning welcome to Dr. Michael Barram. Watch this space in the coming week for more thoughts on this new book and Radix Live discussion.

"In this book, you too have permission to question the sacred without fearing . . . unbelief. Knock loudly. . . . Reject answers that do not admit complication. Seek the resonance at the base of the story. The seeking is the point. Because there, in your wandering, God is." - from Knock at the Sky

Faith & Film presents Tokyo Story

In this quietly powerful masterpiece of world cinema, Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu explores the enduring bonds—and heartbreaking distances—between parents and their grown children. When an elderly couple travels from their rural home to visit their adult children in postwar Tokyo, they are met with indifference and preoccupation. Only their widowed daughter-in-law, Noriko, offers them genuine kindness and care.

Tokyo Story is a deeply human reflection on aging, duty, gratitude, and the shifting values across generations. With remarkable simplicity and emotional depth, Ozu captures the beauty and sorrow of ordinary life, asking questions that are as spiritual as they are social: How do we honor our parents? What does it mean to love sacrificially? What is lost when tradition gives way to modernity?

A perfect film for quiet contemplation, Tokyo Story invites us to see God's presence in the everyday and to consider how our lives reflect (or resist) the commandment to "honor your father and mother.”

Saturday, October 4, 1–3 PM
at Bethel Community Presbyterian Church, 94578

Common Hymnal is an anything-but-common family of brilliant musicians and songwriters. It is not just their lyrics that set them apart, but the way they approach their craft - as a resilient community of Christ-followers committed to being truthful, authentic, human in the way they pursue their craft. They intentionally seek the higher road, in resistance to the allures of the mainstream music industry, and its many enticements and amenities. In this upcoming gathering, we want to learn about the joys and challenges of taking the road less traveled, and what such a journey makes possible. We are delighted to have some of their core team with us for an afternoon of frank conversation, storytelling, and Q&A, sprinkled with music. Local music leader, S.J. Sanchez, representing the Bay Worship Collective, will join New College Berkeley in holding this conversation with Common Hymnal.

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

Thursday, September 25th, 7-9PM
at the Calvin Room, First Presbyterian Church Berkeley

Come to a launch event for Jason Jensen’s new book, Formed to Lead. The book casts vision for all Christian leaders to integrate their spiritual formation with their leadership calling, their being with their doing. It draws deeply from the early chapters of Luke’s gospel, to clarify how we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work to shape and send us. How might God be forming and empowering YOU in this season of life? This event will help you discern!

A Gospel & Society Workshop with Dr. Robert Chao Romero

Migration and immigration are matters of intense debate today. In the view of Dr. Robert Chao Romero, the Bible "reveals that God uses the migration process as a source of grace (i.e. a source of God's unmerited favor) both to migrants and their host countries." In other words, while some see "outsiders" as a threat, the Christian narrative sees the encounter and exchange of ethnicities and cultures as a gift of profound implications for a divided and polarized world. Having been raised in both Asian & Latino cultures, Dr. Romero is uniquely equipped to speak of the gift of interculturality, particularly among these two groups. What do the migration stories of Asian and Latino communities in California have in common?   What cultural, spiritual and practical resources do each bring to the table of fellowship?  Why might such exchange and solidarity-building be particularly important for the current moment? Join with other pastors, lay leaders, academics, practitioners and community members for a day of co-learning and bridge-building. The workshop will consist of three plenaries, along with ample opportunities for conversation (and story-telling) in pairs and small groups.

La migración y la inmigración son temas de intenso debate hoy en día. Según el Dr. Robert Chao Romero, la Biblia «revela que Dios usa el proceso migratorio como fuente de gracia (es decir, una fuente de su amor, bondad y favor inmerecido) tanto para los migrantes como para sus países de acogida». En otras palabras, mientras algunos ven a los inmigrantes como una amenaza, la narrativa cristiana ve el encuentro y el intercambio de etnias y culturas como un don de profundas implicaciones para un mundo dividido y polarizado. Criado en culturas asiáticas y latinas, el Dr. Romero está excepcionalmente capacitado para hablar del don de la interculturalidad, particularmente entre estos dos grupos. ¿Qué tienen en común las historias de migración de las comunidades asiática y latina en California? ¿Qué recursos culturales, espirituales y prácticos aporta cada una a la comunidad? ¿Por qué este intercambio y construcción de solidaridad podrían ser particularmente importantes? Únase a otros pastores, líderes laicos, académicos, profesionales y miembros de la comunidad para un día de aprendizaje conjunto y construcción de puentes. El taller constará de tres sesiones plenarias, junto con amplias oportunidades para conversar (y contar historias) en parejas y grupos pequeños.

Faith & Film presents Romero

Romero is a compelling and deeply moving film based on the true story of Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador. Set during a time of political unrest and violence in the late 1970s, the film follows Romero’s transformation from a quiet, bookish priest into a bold and prophetic voice for the poor and oppressed. As he witnesses growing injustice, government corruption, and brutal repression, Romero is compelled by his faith to speak out—risking his position, his safety, and ultimately his life.This powerful story explores themes of faith, courage, and the call to justice, inviting viewers to consider what it means to follow Christ in the face of suffering and moral crisis. Romero is a timely and inspiring film that challenges us to stand with the marginalized and live out the Gospel in action. Discussion led by Dr. Michael Barram.

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

None of us are immune or exempt from the pressures and systems adversely affecting mental well-being in our society. How is the Church to understand mental health? What does it mean for people of faith to care for those living with severe challenges? How can congregations collaborate with others in the City to do this well?  Our featured plenary speaker will be Steve Binnquist, with decades of experience serving men and women in San Francisco's tenderloin with Youth With a Mission. The plenary will offer gospel / practical perspective in both the morning and afternoon, along with two breakout sessions around related topics (congregational approaches, mental health resources and self-care). Come and participate in this conference to gain perspective, partners, and practical resources for “loving neighbor as thyself” in these fraught times. 

Registration (including lunch): General $45 / "Living Lightly" $25 / Students $15.

Please reach out to info@newcollegeberkeley.org with any questions.

Online via Zoom

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

Online via Zoom

This Radix Live event offers a chance to learn and and dialogue about how we can join a growing, creative, justice-minded conversation on what it means to read scripture missionally in today’s world.

Online / zoom

Have you ever wanted to know more about spiritual direction—and how it might serve your faith and life? This conversation is for you.

People long to communicate with God. We want to know about God, but mostly we deeply desire to be in relationship with God. More than 15 years ago the New College Berkeley Board of Trustees decided to try to address that need by creating more programs that help people open their hearts to God in regular, honest ways.

Location: FPC Berkeley

Faith & Film is experimenting with branching into multi-episode tv dramas by planning a discussion evening about the Netflix series, ADOLESCENCE. The series consists of 4 one-hour episodes, which is too much for us to show in an evening, so we are asking people to watch the series in advance at home. This is similar to how many people do book groups.

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

Online / zoom

A Guide for Compassionate Creatives.

Why should we make art while injustice and suffering wreak havoc? How can we justify making beautiful things? Author Mitali Perkins isn't afraid of hard questions about justice and art. She knows that the creative life can seem selfish. As the daughter of immigrants, she studied toward a career of eradicating poverty and knows the internal voice that challenges: "How dare you retreat to your studio to create?"

Location: FPC Berkeley

Faith & Film presents Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke
One of the great achievements of animation by one of the most revered filmmaker/story tellers of the 20th and 21st Century. The most watched film in the history of Japan when it was released. Incredible hand animation matched by complexity of the profound philosophical narrative of Nature vs human progression, cycle of violence and pursuit of peace, spirituality and the interconnectedness of life, leadership, responsibility and sacrifice.
Often cited as the turning point in filmmaking and mature animation. Join us and bring a friend for an engaging discussion and review after! Discussion led by Sam Choi.

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

Online / zoom

What does contemplation have to do with the everyday life of faith? And why does it matter now?

Words like stillness, centering prayer, silence, meditation, attention, and contemplation are finding renewed resonance in Christian conversation today. But what do they actually mean—and what do they mean for the rest of us? In this interactive online event, Ron Dart will help explain how the contemplative path is not a spiritual luxury for the few, but a vital calling for the many—a way of seeing, praying, and being that Evelyn Underhillmight have called "the education of the whole person."

An American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected. 

Join us for this unique whimsical, fun, philosophical look at life, priorities, nature, community and personal evolution. 

The evening will be hosted by Sam Choi, Co-Director of the Faith & Film Series.

We are pleased and privileged to welcome Dr. Lisa Bowens from Princeton Theological Seminary for the seventh annual Berkeley Palmer Lecture.  Join us for an evening of fellowship and insightful biblical scholarship for modern times.

Speaker: Dr. Lisa Bowens

American history and biblical interpretation are intricately connected. Many African Americans utilized scripture in their struggle for liberation and justice. This lecture will explore the writings of black interpreters of the Apostle Paul from the1700s to the mid-twentieth century and will demonstrate the significance of these interpreters for American history and for the church. Along with examining some of their writings we will explore the following questions: What can we learn from these interpreters? What can they teach us? Why do they matter?

Location: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD / Online zoom

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

A lunch conversation with Dr. Lisa Bowens of Princeton Theological Seminary
For students and faculty of UC Berkeley, GTU, and other schools

Many African Americans utilized scripture in their struggle for liberation and justice. This conversation is an opportunity to explore the writings of black interpreters of the Apostle Paul from the1700s to the mid-twentieth century and consider the significance of these interpreters for American history and for the church. At this free luncheon, Dr. Bowens will share a brief presentation on these themes, and then open the time up for conversation.

Online / zoom

Join us for an online conversation with Jason Porterfield, author of Fight Like Jesus (2022), a book that challenges readers to embrace the radical peacemaking of Christ. In this interactive event, Jason will explore how Jesus waged peace throughout Holy Week, offering interesting insight into the events leading to the cross—and what they mean for peacemaking today. Sounds timely, right? Drawing from his years of ministry among the urban poor and his theological study, Jason will guide us in understanding how we, too, can cultivate God’s shalom in a world desperate for peace.

After discussing his book—which has been described as a compelling narrative of Holy Week and a practical guide for everyday peacemaking—we will invite questions from participants.