Calvary Presbyterian Church San Francisco

The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci Glass on Sunday, November 2, 2025. The scripture reading was from Matthew 5:14-16.

We must learn to let our spirits dance with God, even in the thick of this world’s confusion—with Halloween costumes, deep questions, and all the rest. Come ready for joy, mystery and a holy mash-up where darkness becomes the very place where God does her best work. This sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 26, by Rev. Victor Floyd. The scripture reading was from 1 Kings 5:1–5; 8:1–13.

In an age of rising nationalism and executive power that feeds on our fear so it can take over, God offers us a new orientation. God looks to our hearts to guide our actions in the world. The scripture reading from 1 Samuel 15 verses 34–35, 16 verses 1–13. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on Sunday, October 19, 2025.

This story from Exodus 16 contains one of the best-known miracles in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible: when Moses and the people have no food to eat in the wilderness, God sends the miracle of manna to be their daily bread. The people eat that manna for the next forty years, as God sustains them throughout their wilderness journey. What might manna look like for us, when we find ourselves in our own...

Perhaps it was destiny, child, that drew Moses toward that burning bush. There he learns God's name. Let's remove everything that separates us from holy ground and listen together for a new divine revelation.  The sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor Floyd on Sunday, September 28, 2025. The scripture reading was from Exodus 2:23–25; 3:1–15; 4:10–17.

Do you remember your dreams? There are mornings we wake up and wish we could return to the narrative of our dreams, even as the details fade away. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t return to that particular dream story. It would be easier to grab hold of a cloud or catch a shadow. There are mornings we wake up and thank the good Lord is was just a dream. There are some scenarios we play out...

The horrifying story of the binding of Isaac by his father Abraham is rightfully troubling to modern readers. Perhaps back then and still today, it challenges us to ask: "What have we sacrificed on the altar of religion, believing it was the 'right thing to do?'" Join us on Sunday as we grapple with one of the most challenging stories in scripture.  The sermon was delivered by Re...

As we begin a new program year, we'll start at the very beginning. In the Book of Genesis, God creates the world. Humanity one of God's many and marvelous creations. How does our createdness inform our life together in community, with each other, with the other acts of God's creation? The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci Glass on September 7, 2025. The reading was from Genesis 1:1—2:...

An end-of-the-summer musical extravaganza! Let's worship God in a joyful and challenging service of "Lessons & Show Tunes" with biblical Wisdom as our guide.  Readings from Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 2:1–6, Psalm 133, Ecclesiastes 9:7-9, and Proverbs 27:17. Songs: "You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen “Prayer” from Come From Away “With So Little to Be Sure Of” from Anyone C...

Song of Songs is a book of erotic poetry, neatly tucked into the middle of our Old Testament. How'd it get there? What might it have to say to us today? Join us for worship as we talk about this adult book, in a way that is appropriate for all ages. The sermon was delivered on Sunday, August 24, 2025 by Rev. Marci Glass. The scripture reading was from Song of Songs 2 :10–13; 8:6–7.

Through ancient rhythms of growing and dying, giving and receiving, losing and saving, holding and letting go, God created a pattern and a season for the world. Times for work and times for rest were included in that first creation story. We live, however, in a time when the lines between work and play, busy and rest have become increasingly blurred. How can we find a time and a place for everythi...

Our scripture passage from the Book of Proverbs talks about the place of Wisdom in God's creation, and in God's creating. Wisdom is often a gift we receive later in life, and can feel somber to us, because of how long it took us to learn her lessons. But Wisdom is a joyful character in scripture, delighting in the world around her. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci Glass on Sunday, Au...

Summer Sermon Series: Peace and Perseverance in Poetry. This four-week summer series highlights three biblical books—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. These texts are not narratives; they are poetry, and like all poetry, they communicate in language aimed as much at the heart as at the head. As we ponder these ancient texts, may we find the peace and the perseverance to live a life of f...

In its final chapters, Revelation gives us a vision of a world healed, restored, and bursting with light. The New Jerusalem is not as an escape plan but a divine promise for this world—where there are no temples of exclusion, no gates shut to the outsider, and no more night for the weary. God’s justice includes rivers of healing, trees for all peoples, and a city where glory comes in all colors. T...

In Revelation chapter 6, the seals on the scrolls start to be opened, unleashing the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse on the earth, and an earthquake happens, and the stars fall from the sky. The world is coming undone. This week, in chapter 7, we’ll consider what it takes to put the world back together after it comes undone. The sermon was delivered on Sunday, July 20, 2025 by Rev. Marci Glass. The s...

In Sunday's passage, Jesus is getting caught up on his correspondence, writing letters to the churches in Asia Minor, giving them both praise and correction. What do we think Jesus would say to Christians in the United States today, if he wrote us a letter? The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The scripture reading was from Revelation 2:1-7; 3:1-22.

Please enjoy the second episode of our new oral history project, Calvary Storytellers, featuring longtime member Alger (Al) Ciabattoni. The son of Italian immigrants, Al has lived in San Francisco for over 60 years. Listen as Al narrates his early years in New Jersey, the family’s cross country move to California, his stint in the army, to his work advocating for disadvantaged populations in his r...

As we continue reading the Book of Revelation as a book of resistance, we encounter a story of a woman who gives birth in space, while a dragon waits to eat the baby. Hopefully, none of our own birth stories are that dramatic.  But there are days, and sometimes years, when life comes at you in ways other than you predict, or would choose, or can control. We think we’re doing what we’re supposed to...

"Why dost thou doom scrolleth even now?" (Victor 3:16) On this Queer Pride Sunday, we worship the One who shows us how to live with integrity and profound joy. That which is against God shall not stand! As the world unravels, celebration reveals our power to resist.  This sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor H. Floyd on June 29, 2025. The scripture reading was from Revelation 5:1-13.

The book of Revelation includes scary beasts with horns and special marks with numbers revealing who they are. But rather than foretelling future events, what if they were unveiling current rulers and empires who preyed on their people? Let us slay the beasts of oppression and injustice as we resist the empire and embrace the reign of God! This sermon was delivered by Rev. Joann H. Lee on Sunday,...

This week we began a sermon series on the Book of Revelation. It is often used by Christians to predict future events, but it wasn't written for that purpose. The Book of Revelation was written to call people to resist the Roman Empire. It carries on the tradition of 'apocalypse' which is Greek for 'revelation'. In apocalyptic literature, God reveals, or makes clear, how to res...

The story of Pentecost is a story of adoption. God takes strangers and makes them family. And while adoption is good news for those of us who experience it, that good news doesn't make it easy. God brings strangers together and makes them family, but God doesn't make us all the same. We are adopted into God's family with all of our differences and our disagreements. How can we celebrat...

What hospitality looks like through the lens of the three players: one who needs healing, one who heals, and one who hosts. Hospitality is not just about hosting well, but creating a place of belonging The sermon was delivered on Sunday, June 1, 2025 by Rev. Marci A. Glass. The scripture reading was from Acts 18: 1-11.

What hospitality looks like through the lens of the three players: one who needs healing, one who heals, and one who hosts. Hospitality is not just about hosting well, but creating a place of belonging. The sermon was delivered by guest preacher Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow on May 25, 2025. The scripture reading was from Luke 14:1–24.

A queer preacher takes on a notorious “clobber passage” and its history of pain and death. The sin of Sodom has nothing to do with same-sex marriage or trans children—and everything to do with willfully ignoring God's command to welcome strangers and practice hospitality. Let them know we are Christians by our love. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor A. Floyd on May 18, 20205. The scriptu...