CONGREGATION SHA'AR ZAHAV

Please join us as we host the members of First Mennonite for our first joint prayer service, at 7 PM. Pastor Sheri Hostetler will be giving the sermon. Next year First Mennonite will be hosting us as part of our annual exchange.

First Mennonite Church of San Francisco is a diverse, inclusive community that has been praying at Sha’ar Zahav for the last four and a half years, helping to fulfill the words found in the book of Isaiah – “My house shall be a house of prayer for all people.”

The Mennonite Church grew out of the Protestant Reformation in the early 1500s, led by a small group who believed that people should voluntarily enter the church through adult baptism, rather than join the state church through infant baptism. Because of their teachings they were harshly prosecuted, burned and drowned. 5,000 died in the first few generations.

Mennonites believe that Jesus, when he lived on earth, revealed a way for people to live peacefully and nonviolently. Mennonite history reveals an enduring commitment to pacifism and social justice around the world. This work is actively pursued by First Mennonite, creating common ground between our two communities as we engage in tikkun olam.