A Congregation of Welcome in the Heart of Silicon Valley
Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church sits on the corner of West Fremont Avenue and Hollenbeck in Sunnyvale, California, a few blocks from the daily rhythms of Silicon Valley but rooted in a tradition that goes back to the Protestant Reformation. The congregation calls itself Rooted in Christ, Reaching Out in Love, and that phrase shows up across the church's life: in the pews on Sunday morning, on the preschool playground, in the music school down the hall, and in a stream of mission partnerships that reach across the Bay Area and around the world.
Worship is the center of life here, and the church offers three very different weekly services: a traditional Sunday morning liturgy with the Balcom and Vaughan pipe organ and Chancel Choir, a dinner-and-worship gathering called the Modern Worship Collective on second and fourth Sunday evenings, and a contemplative Evensong on third Wednesdays. Around those services stretches a web of children's and youth programs, adult education, small groups, support groups, mission work, pastoral care, and a campus that also houses a preschool and a music school.
Sunnyvale Pres is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), part of the Presbytery of San Jose, and has been formally Open and Affirming of LGBTQ+ people since May 2020. More Light Presbyterians welcomed the church into its network in January 2021.
Three Different Ways to Worship
The Sunday morning service at 10 am is the heart of the week. It is traditional in shape, with music from the pipe organ and the Chancel Choir, congregational hymns, and the regular appearances of the handbell Choir of Bells. Communion is served on the first Sunday of each month, and everyone who comes forward is invited to take the bread and cup. The service is also livestreamed on YouTube, with recordings available afterward, so members who travel or cannot attend in person can stay connected. The bulletin for the following Sunday arrives by email each Thursday in the Worship Focus newsletter.
On the second and fourth Sundays of the month at 5 pm, Fellowship Hall is transformed into a dinner church for the Modern Worship Collective. The church provides the food, participants bring their own stories, and the gathering rotates through different liturgies, songs, prayers, and creative expressions. Communion is often part of the evening, and the service is shaped in part by whoever shows up. A Queer-led service in August features the Out Loud Choir, a summer ensemble of queer, trans, and allied singers who rehearse together for several Thursday evenings and then lead worship.
On the third Wednesday of each month at 7 pm, the sanctuary hosts Evensong, a contemplative service with Taizé-style music, extended silence, scripture, prayer, and communion by intinction. Most often the service is lay-led. The tradition of contemplative worship at Sunnyvale Pres goes back to 1996 and an earlier Sunday morning service called Early Light that ended during the pandemic. Evensong is meant to be a place to step out of the noise of daily life and into a slower, more spacious kind of prayer.
A Reformed Congregation, Open and Affirming
Sunnyvale Pres is a Reformed Protestant congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination of more than 2.4 million members, 10,000 congregations, and 14,000 active and ordained ministers. Worldwide, Reformed churches exist in 100 countries. Presbyterians trace their roots to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century.
The church's own description of its Reformed identity runs through a familiar list of commitments. The congregation affirms the sovereignty of God, confesses that human beings are created in God's image yet are prone to sin and rebellion, trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord, finds identity and nourishment in Baptism and the Lord's Supper, holds the Bible in high regard, values the life of the mind, and considers itself mission-minded after the example of Jesus Christ. Sunnyvale Pres is also ecumenical and connectional, sharing leadership with other Presbyterian churches through the session and the presbytery.
The session, the church's governing body of installed elders and pastors, approved a formal Open and Affirming statement on May 21, 2020: Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make our church a true community of hospitality, Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church works for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people in the life, ministry, and witness of our church and society. The congregation joined More Light Presbyterians in January 2021. As part of a 2023 Queer-led service, the church offered a written apology to its queer members, friends, and visitors for years of neutrality and silence.
Pronoun pins and stickers are encouraged at church. Volunteer greeters wear nametags so newcomers can be greeted by name, and pronouns are part of the welcome.
The People Who Lead Sunnyvale Pres
Rev. Hardy H. Kim is the Head of Staff and primary pastor. Pastor Hardy was awarded a Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Grant in 2023 and used it to travel to South Korea, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to study peacemaking. He returned to share what he had seen in a two-part Adult Learning series and in Sunday sermons. Rev. Annanda Barclay serves as Temporary Associate Pastor and leads several of the church's pastoral care ministries, including the Grief Support Group, monthly Death Cafés, and senior gatherings. Rev. Steve Whitney is a Parish Associate.
Rev. Rich Pak serves as Director of Family Ministries, overseeing the children's, youth, and family programs. Carol Heath is the Director of Community Life and Facilities, and Beth Treitel is the Worship Director. Dr. Valerie Sterk is the Organist and Music Coordinator for Morning Worship, and Cody Scott is the Director of Music Ministries. Gretchen Rauch directs the Choir of Bells. Elliot Smith serves as Family Ministries Coordinator. Marsha Dyslin coordinates the Safe Church program and the building's front desk. Christina Raycroft directs the Presbyterian Early Learning Center, and Chantelle Urbina directs The Music School.
Governance is shared. The session meets the third Tuesday of every month at 7:30 pm, divided into Ministry Areas: Caring, Children's, Community Life and Learning, Human Resources, Ministry Resources, Mission and Service, Welcome and Hospitality, Worship, and Youth. Deacons serve as the church's hands and feet, especially to members who cannot come to church because of health or mobility. A current roster of deacons reads like a small community in itself: Diana Aldrich, Diane Andrews, Maria Benevento-Collins, Mary Boyle, Lydia Coolidge, Coleen Hausler, Meeduk Hyun, Karen McCoy, Kay Narva, Joanne Papoulias, Deb Sanfilippo, Wendy Smith, Bob Stoddard, and Keyla Zorzella.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
Children's Ministry at Sunnyvale Pres serves infants through fifth grade. The vision is for every child to know that they are a beloved child of God and to find a community where Jesus' liberating gospel is proclaimed, lasting relationships are built, and there is room to play and serve.
On Sunday mornings at 10 am, child care is provided for infants and toddlers ages six months to two years in the Phoenix Center upstairs. Children's Church gathers children ages three to ten in two groups, STARS for ages three to five and BLAST for ages six to ten, with songs, Bible stories, crafts, and play. There are also praygrounds in the sanctuary, special spaces designed so that children of any age can engage with the service alongside their parents. Activity bags are available at the Welcome Table for families who want to stay together in the pews.
A new intergenerational Bible study for fourth through seventh graders and their parents meets on Sundays at 9 am, beginning in early October each year, using a storybook Bible and learning from the variety of generations in the room. Special events through the year include a Family BBQ, Vacation Bible School, Fall Fest, a Christmas Eve pageant, Picnic in the Park, and other seasonal gatherings. A Parents Night Out babysitting co-op runs three times a month for parents who want a Saturday night free and lets each family host a once-a-month evening for the children.
Youth Ministry serves students in grades six through twelve. On Sunday mornings, students worship with their families in the sanctuary. On two Sunday evenings each month, students and parents gather at 5 pm in the Coleman Room for a shared dinner, fellowship, and breakout groups: sixth and seventh graders have their own discussion time, eighth through twelfth graders meet for deeper study of what it means to follow Jesus, and parents gather separately for conversation and encouragement. Confirmation preparation is part of the older students' program. Each summer, a CARAVAN high school mission trip takes youth to sites around the Bay Area; the 2026 trip visited San Francisco, Oakland, and Watsonville, working with unhoused neighbors, immigrants, and other vulnerable communities.
Every adult who works with children or youth at Sunnyvale Pres must complete the Safe Church program, which includes fingerprinting, application and references, an in-person or online Safeguarding God's Children training, and a California Mandated Reporter course. Over 650 adult and teen volunteers and staff members are Safe Church trained and certified.
Adult Classes, Small Groups, and the Wider Conversation
Education is taken seriously at Sunnyvale Pres. Each Sunday morning at 8:30 am, a long-running Bible study gathers on Zoom to work through the lectionary text for the day, with the same five discussion questions each week: what is the main point, what is a new insight, how is this passage true or not true to my experience, what problems do I have with it, and what are its implications for my life.
Presbyterian Women's Bible Study Circles meet monthly, with three circles following the Horizons Bible Study and a Global Mission Studies Circle taking on a different country each year. A weekly Men's Bible Study meets Tuesday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30 am on Zoom. There is a prayer shawl group that meets on third Wednesdays, and small groups organized by interest and neighborhood are scattered across the week.
The Adult Learning Class series on Sunday mornings after worship has become a major program. Recent topics have included a four-part series on the Gospel of John with Dr. William Prior, lectures on just war theory and Christian nationalism, a screening of the film For Our Daughters, a discussion of We Mend with Gold with author Kristin Lee, a mental health 101 with NAMI Santa Clara County, and a deep dive into peacemaking in Korea and Northern Ireland. Borders and Belonging, a spring 2026 sermon series on the book of Ruth, was paired with a book study and three Adult Learning classes led by Rev. Annanda Barclay, Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz, and Jessica Vazquez-Torres. The September 2026 series, We Need Each Other, focused on mutual aid as a model of Christian community. Many of these classes are recorded and available online.
Community Conversations add another layer. Past film screenings and panel discussions have included For Our Daughters, FLINT: The Poisoning of an American City, Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, Locked in a Box, Kepulihan: When the Waters Recede, and Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence, with speakers from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Urban Displacement Project, PACT, Bill Wilson Center, and other partner organizations.
Caring for One Another in Hard Seasons
The church takes pastoral care seriously. Stephen Ministers are lay members of the congregation trained to provide confidential, one-to-one care to anyone going through a difficult time: grief, divorce, job loss, relocation, chronic or terminal illness. Anyone can refer themselves or a friend to Stephen Ministry, and the program is open even to people outside the congregation.
Deacons visit home-bound members monthly and stay in touch with them between visits. A Pastoral Care Team makes phone calls, writes notes, and visits people in the hospital and care facilities. Two prayer teams, the Prayer Team and the Intercessory Prayer Team, pray for requests received by email, phone, or in worship on Sunday mornings. Prayer requests can be kept confidential or shared publicly, and prayer cards are sent out in the Friday eNewsletter.
Support groups meet regularly. The Grief Support Group, led by Pastor Annanda, gathers on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 1 pm on Zoom. Parents Together, an informal gathering for parents and caregivers, meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 am on campus. Family and Friends of LGBTQ+ meets on the last Monday of the month, often the fifth, at 7 pm on Zoom, hosted by Carol Heath. The Queer Fellowship Group is a monthly gathering for LGBTQ+ members and friends. An Alzheimer's Caregivers Support Group, led by a representative of the Alzheimer's Association, meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month on Zoom. Senior Zoom Coffee with Pastor Annanda is a monthly gathering for members in their eighties and older. A Macular Degeneration support group meets quarterly on Zoom.
A Campus That Hosts a Preschool, a Music School, and a Congregation
The Sunnyvale Pres campus at 728 West Fremont Avenue is shared with two long-running community programs. The Presbyterian Early Learning Center, founded in 1961, is a play-based child care and preschool that serves children from five months to six years of age. PELC operates full-time and part-time programs in a loving, stimulating, and safe environment, with a class brochure and an open house each fall for prospective families. Christina Raycroft is the director. The center's phone number is 1-408-245-2253 and its online address is pelc.us.
The Music School, founded in 1977, is an outreach program of the church that offers comprehensive musicianship through active learning for babies, children, teens, and adults. Group classes, private lessons, vocal and instrumental ensembles, musical theater, recitals, community performances, and day camps are all part of the program. The Bobbi Rupp Memorial Senior Scholarship covers tuition for students age sixty-five and older. Chantelle Urbina is the director. The school has its own online address at themusicschool.org.
Mission and Service Beyond the Church Walls
Sunnyvale Pres has a long partnership with Sunnyvale Community Services, a nonprofit emergency assistance agency founded in 1970 that works to prevent homelessness and hunger in Sunnyvale. SCS distributes more than 900 tons of food each year with the help of 2,500 community volunteers. The church supports SCS financially, collects toys for its annual drive, and directs donations through a special drop-down on the giving page. A community meal partnership, hosting and a toy drive are all part of the rhythm of the year.
Bill Wilson Center, with its focus on ending youth and family homelessness in Santa Clara County, is another long-time partner. Immanuel House, founded in 2015, provides transitional housing to newly arrived refugees in San Jose, and the church supports its work as well. CARAVAN youth mission trips have taken high schoolers into San Francisco and Watsonville to work with unhoused, immigrant, and other vulnerable communities.
The church participates in the four Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (USA): One Great Hour of Sharing, the Christmas Joy Offering, the Pentecost Offering, and the World Communion Offering. The Christmas Eve offering each year goes to a local and a global mission partner; the 2025 Christmas Eve offering supported Somos Watsonville and City Hope SF.
Special Offerings and special appeals have included Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for the Southern California wildfires and Hurricane Helene, and an ongoing partnership with Bread for the World's Offering of Letters around the federal Farm Bill. A peace and social justice email list circulates opportunities to advocate and engage. Pastors Hardy and Laura serve on the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Advisory Committee.
Stewardship, Endowment, and the Year Ahead
Sunnyvale Pres is a congregation of nearly three hundred members and regular attenders, supported by pledges, electronic contributions, stock gifts, endowment income, and a long-running fund for missions. Gifts can be made by check, credit or debit card, automatic monthly withdrawal, bill pay, stock transfer, IRA qualified charitable distribution, donor-advised fund, employer matching through Benevity or Your Cause, and direct giving to Sunnyvale Community Services through a special designation on the giving page.
Each year, the Stewardship Campaign invites every member to make an annual pledge, supported by a video series called Ministries That Matter that highlights how people experience the church's worship, small groups, mission work, and caring ministries. The Endowment Fund preserves principal and uses its income to support the church's ministry into the future.
Sunnyvale Pres is going through a formal visioning process in 2026. Working with the consulting group Ministry Architects, more than a hundred members took part in listening sessions and a Vision Summit in spring 2026 to name the church's vision and shared values. The session has approved three-year revolving goals covering volunteer engagement, financial stability, campus redevelopment, family ministry, intergenerational life, and small-group connection. The vision the congregation adopted is succinct: Inspired by Jesus' love, we connect in a community that embraces all, serving each other and our neighbors.
Coming to Sunnyvale Pres
The church is at 728 West Fremont Avenue, near the intersection of Fremont and Hollenbeck, with a parking lot off Fremont Avenue. Visitor parking is reserved next to the Children's Ministry building, on the right side facing Trinity Court. From the east, drivers pass the lot and make a U-turn. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 4 pm Pacific Time, and the main phone line is 1-408-739-1892. The general email is info@sunnyvalepres.com.
On a first visit, plan to arrive a few minutes before the service and stop by the Welcome Table in Trinity Court, where greeters hand out nametags, answer questions, and help families get children checked in. Dress runs from casual to Sunday best; people wear everything. Masks are optional. The service includes hymns, anthems, prayers, scripture, and a sermon, with child care and Children's Church available for infants through ten-year-olds. After the service, coffee is served in the courtyard, and a virtual coffee hour on Zoom is open to those watching online.
Holy Communion is served on the first Sunday of the month at the 10 am service and is also part of Evensong and the Modern Worship Collective. Everyone is welcome at the table.
Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church is a congregation that works hard to be a place where all of who someone is can be brought into worship, learning, and service. Whether someone is looking for traditional hymns and a sermon, a contemporary evening service with dinner, a contemplative Wednesday night, a Sunday school class for their children, a support group in a hard season, a way to serve a neighbor in need, or a community that takes both doubt and faith seriously, there is a place for them here.