BEHIND THE NAME

Meet Saint Lucy

Lucy of Syracuse, also known as Santa Lucia, whose name means “light”, is the patron saint of sight, the patron saint of light, and her feast day falls on the darkest night of the year. She’s creepy, she stands up to power, she provides food to the hungry, and she carries her eyeballs on a tray. We resonate with her resilience, her subversive power, that she makes people feel seen, and that she provides for those in need under the cover of night.


The legend goes that she lived in Syracuse, Sicily 283–304 AD. Her traditional feast day, Saint Lucy's Day, is observed on December 13. While she was Italian, the Swedes really took up observance of her feast day, so you can find most of the traditions associated with St. Lucy are most common in Swedish culture.

Our Values

  • Christ-Centered Exploration

    We believe that the life of Jesus and the mystery of the risen Christ is a grounding force for our lives––sparking curiosity, bringing purpose, and opening spaces for joy and love.

  • Authenticity

    Our bodies, and the stories of our lives, matter to how we understand ourselves and how we understand God. Your ongoing story—all of its parts—is valuable. Our aim is a community built on curiosity and respect, thriving through real conversation.

  • Belonging

    We welcome those who are hurting, those who are exploring, and those who are tired of the status quo. We affirm LGBTQ+ folks. We welcome ex-(or questioning) Evangelicals and ex-non-denominational folks, Episcopalians, folks who have never walked in the door of a church, the old, the young—anyone for whom this kind of church community might feel like a balm.

  • Meaningful Ritual

    Activities that feel spiritually meaningful are different for everyone, so we value exploration and innovation while holding to Episcopal traditions that have helped people make meaning of their lives over centuries. Our church services are liturgical––accountable in worship to both the lectionary and Church calendar. (If you don’t know what that means, that’s ok!)

Our Beliefs

The 5th century Latin phrase Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi most accurately sums up what we believe. Often translated as “praying shapes believing”, it describes not a set of beliefs that we adhere to, but how we arrive at what we believe. That is to say that the way we gather, the way we sing, the way we pray, the way we eat together shapes what we believe. And so we believe that when we sing, when we pray, when we eat, the way we do these things matters, and shapes how it is that we understand the world and our relationship with God.

There’s another phrase that is pivotal to name in this section on belief. Native American author Black Elk is thought to have said, “I don’t know if it happened this way, but I know this story is true.” Another way of saying that is as Emily Scott wrote in her book For All Who Hunger, “stories are not true. But stories are truth”. And so, we believe that the stories of the Bible are True, even when we don’t understand how that could be. To say any more than that would be to put too fine a point on something we think is best held as a great mystery.

Our Actions

With our actions in the world, we aim to follow Jesus who spent his time with people, restoring those who had been marginalized back to community. 

Our hope, then, is to be a good neighbor to those we live among, and to partner with those around the East Bay who are doing the work of restoration and repair to those who have been marginalized. We commit to giving a 10% tithe of all our income to organizations around the East Bay and beyond who are doing this work.

Our Affiliations

We are affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of California. We are in the process of becoming the newest congregation of the Diocese of California.

Our Influences

Brandi Miller

Cole Arthur Riley

Scott MacDougall

Alice Walker

Christian Wiman

Marcus Borg

Kelly Brown Douglas

Rachel Held Evans

Marilynne Robinson