About the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area

About the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area/Diocese of California (DioCal)

The Episcopal Church in the Bay Area serves a diverse community of faith encompassing the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Approximately 18,000 baptized people form 72 congregations, which are organized into six deaneries (a geographical group of congregations). The Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and Southern Alameda deaneries cover their respective counties; the Peninsula Deanery consists of all of San Mateo County and a small portion of Santa Clara County.

Our congregations spread the Gospel in many languages. Congregations offering Spanish-language services include St. James, Oakland; La Santísima Trinidad, Richmond; El Buen Pastor, Belmont; and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, San Francisco. Our Saviour, Oakland; True Sunshine, San Francisco; and Church of the Incarnation, San Francisco serve Chinese-speaking congregants; Christ Church-Sei Ko Kai, San Francisco, serves Japanese-Americans; Holy Child and St. Martin’s, Daly City is a congregation offering Asian-American and Filipino ministry; and St. Peter’s, Redwood City, serves the Fijian community.

Our congregations embrace a variety of worship styles. Church of the Advent, San Francisco, offers mass in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. At St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco, congregants dance from one end of the church to the other. St. Clement’s, Berkeley, worships with the 1928 Prayer Book, while St. Augustine’s, Oakland, rejoices in the traditions of African-American music. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of video streaming technology in our congregations. You can find a variety of online worship services, Bible Studies, and other programs in the churches of our diocese.