Grace Presbyterian Church has stood at 2100 Tice Valley Boulevard in Walnut Creek since 1958, a mainline Presbyterian congregation of about 140 members whose modest mid-century building now hosts a remarkable mix of life. The same sanctuary where a robed Chancel Choir sings on Sunday mornings fills with strings, organ pipes, and operatic voices during a free monthly concert series organized by Music Director Corby York. Out in the parking lot, six newly built micro homes form Hope Village, a partnership with Hope Solutions and other sponsors that has given new neighbors a place to live since the ribbon cutting in December 2024. Inside the buildings, Grace Cooperative Preschool has been teaching children through play since 1972, and rooms throughout the campus are rented out to community groups, including a church that holds its weekly Sunday worship in the Oak Room and a chess club that meets weekly in the Fireside Room. Members describe Grace as a congregation that shares its faith in a comfortable, open manner with positive theology that celebrates Christ's love, welcoming all who join them - "the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the strong and the weak, the meek and the brave."
Sunday Worship at Ten
Sunday morning worship begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary, and the service is also livestreamed for those who prefer to join from home. The service follows a traditional mainline Presbyterian order, with hymns, scripture readings, a sermon, congregational prayers, and music led by the Chancel Choir and church pianist Joe Lim. The Sanctuary itself is a mid-century space with high ceilings, colorful stained-glass walls, chandeliers, and a central cross that is often adorned with flowers; upholstered pews and chairs make the layout flexible, and a narthex at the entrance serves as a quiet transition from the outside world.
Communion is celebrated at the long table, and the season of Easter is observed across fifty days rather than a single Sunday, with weekly Communion often marking the season. Special services fill out the Christian year: Christmas Eve gathers the congregation at 4:00 p.m. on December 24 with carols, a Christmas story, and the candlelit singing of "Silent Night"; Ash Wednesday opens Lent at 4:00 p.m.; Holy Week includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday with communion, and Easter Sunday; and the Day of Pentecost closes the Easter season with recognition of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
A Sanctuary Built for Music
The music program reaches well beyond Sunday worship. Grace hosts a free monthly Concert Series on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m., typically featuring classical chamber music, organ recitals, vocal ensembles, and operatic performances. Recent concerts have brought violinist Andrew Sords, German organist Hans Uwe Hielscher (organist and carillonneur at the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden), the Celeste Stella Trio, soprano and mezzo-soprano duets, an Opera Gala with selections from Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Puccini, and Bizet, and a Lenten Vespers service titled "A Prayer for Hope and Love" that combined the Chancel Choir with soloists and a chamber ensemble.
The Sanctuary holds both a 9-foot Steinway grand and a 7-foot Yamaha grand, with a Mason and Hamlin grand in the Oak Room and a baby grand in the Fireside Room; the church also has a pipe organ available for use with an approved organist. Concerts are free, with refreshments served; a freewill offering helps cover the cost of production and keep the series running. The Chancel Choir, frequently directed by Jumi Kim, anchors many of the larger events with anthems, solos, duets, and sing-along moments such as the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah.
Hope Village: Six Micro Homes Behind the Church
Perhaps the most visible expression of Grace's outreach sits behind the church building, where six micro homes were installed in the church parking lot and dedicated as Hope Village on December 10, 2024. The project came together over years of planning and partnership with Hope Solutions, Firm Foundation Community Housing, the Pulte Group, HomeAid Northern California, and other sponsors, providing transitional housing on church-owned land for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. Concrete foundations were poured in the fall; the six micro-home units arrived from a construction site in Dublin and were placed on their foundations; and the grand opening ceremony brought together the pastoral leadership of Grace, sponsor representatives, and local officials, with news coverage from Channel 5 KPIX.
The church has grounded the project scripturally with the image of a "firm foundation" drawn from Isaiah 28:16 and 1 Corinthians 3:10-11. A campus-wide "Let There Be Light" Facilities Campaign raised $10,000 to replace aging lighting in the Oak Room and Fireside Room, both of which are heavily used by community renters and Sunday fellowship gatherings.
Grace Cooperative Preschool Since 1972
Grace Cooperative Preschool has shared the campus with the church since 1972, a parent-participation preschool rooted in the belief that children learn through play. The school's mission is to help children develop a positive sense of themselves by nurturing their inherent joys and energies, building physical, social, and cognitive abilities through a supportive and challenging environment. Children regularly make their presence felt in the life of the church: in 2023 the preschool children sang during a Sunday worship service, and the preschool's annual Earth Day Art Show draws families from across the church and the broader Walnut Creek community for crafts, a bake sale, and artwork for purchase. The preschool also runs a See's Candy fundraiser each holiday season through its own storefront, with proceeds supporting classroom programs. Operationally independent of the church, the preschool uses church facilities on a daily basis and remains one of the most active presences on the Tice Valley campus.
Mission, Welcome, and the Wider Frame
Grace's stated mission is straightforward: "Guided by the Holy Spirit, with open minds and hearts, we celebrate and share the love of Jesus Christ, and are instruments of God's grace, and peace." The welcome statement on the church's bulletin and on its main pages is even more direct: "We welcome and celebrate all who join us - the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the strong and the weak, the meek and the brave - and though we are different one from another, we are united in loving and praising God and in loving each other."
As a PC(USA) congregation in the Presbytery of San Francisco, Grace ties its local life to the wider Reformed tradition while keeping its focus on the Tice Valley community it has called home since the late 1950s. The Session, the church's governing body, works alongside Deacons and standing committees, and members participate in a tradition of shared leadership that has carried the congregation across nearly seven decades.
Grief Support and Outreach
Adult programming at Grace is small but steady. A Grief Support Group meets on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room for an eight-week session, using Fran Tilton Shelton's "The Spirituality of Grief: Ten Practices for Those Who Remain" as its guide; the group is open to Grace members and to anyone in the wider community who would like to attend.
On the denominational side, Grace participates annually in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Peace and Global Witness Offering, with twenty-five percent of receipts remaining at Grace to support local peace ministries, twenty-five percent retained by the Presbytery of San Francisco, and the balance distributed to PC(USA) initiatives worldwide. The offering is collected on World Communion Sunday each October. Grace also channels disaster relief through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and has highlighted the agency's response to California wildfires with bulletins, prayers, and direct giving. The church has hosted screenings of PC(USA) documentary films such as "Evicting the American Dream" in the Oak Room, drawing audiences from across the East Bay for a film and panel discussion.
A Pastoral Transition in Progress
The senior pastor is the Rev. Mark Burnham, who began his tenure at Grace in April 2020 in the midst of the pandemic and led the congregation through its first online worship services. Burnham is now retiring, and a Pastoral Transition Team of Gary Parkhurst, Lynn Lyons, Freddie Delamain, Gail Peterson, and Meg Keeley has been working with the Session and the Presbytery of San Francisco's Committee on Ministry on the multi-step process that follows: hiring an Interim Pastor, completing a Mission Study, forming a Pastor Nominating Committee, and eventually calling a new settled pastor. The transition process typically takes a year or more. The Rev. Charie Reid, a retired associate pastor who served Grace for many years, has been named Pastor Emerita and continues to play a role in the congregation's life.
Sharing the Campus with the Community
The Grace campus has long been shared with groups beyond its own congregation. Rooms are available for rent by both non-profit and for-profit organizations, with non-profits receiving a twenty-percent discount off hourly rates. The Sanctuary seats 150 theater-style and rents for $144 per hour (two-hour minimum); the Oak Room, the largest gathering space, seats 140 theater-style and rents for the same rate, and includes use of a Mason and Hamlin grand piano and access to a commercial kitchen; the Fireside Room, an L-shaped space with a gas fireplace and a baby grand, seats 60 and rents for $106 per hour; and the Library, lined with bookshelves and centered on a large table, rents for $43 per hour. The Sanctuary is also available for weddings.
Two of the more established users are ATC Church, which holds its weekly Sunday worship in the Oak Room, and the Berkeley Chess Club, which meets weekly in the Fireside Room. The campus is alcohol- and tobacco-free, requires a certificate of insurance from renters, and offers ample on-site parking.
Founders, Pastors, and the Long View
Grace Presbyterian Church was founded in 1958 to serve the growing population of Walnut Creek, with the Rev. Robert Williams as its first pastor. Through the 1960s and 1970s, the campus grew alongside the new suburban neighborhoods around Tice Valley, adding a library, classrooms, and the Oak Room. The church built its cross in 1958, planted the redwoods that shade the property today, and developed an active scout troop. The 1980s saw the Ordination of Charie and further building projects; the 2000s brought continued fellowship traditions like the annual Advent Tea. Three senior pastors have shaped the congregation across nearly seventy years of life on Tice Valley Boulevard.
Stewardship and Legacy
Grace offers a wide range of options for giving, both online and in person. Contributions can be made through an online giving portal (using credit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, or Google Pay), through Zelle to a dedicated church email, by automatic bank pay, by check mailed to the church office, or by transfer of stock through the church's Charles Schwab account. Recurring gifts can be scheduled weekly, bi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. The Treasurer can be reached directly at 925-433-5456 with questions about giving.
Beyond annual giving, Grace has cultivated a legacy program since the early 1990s, with the Endowment Fund established in 1992 and divided into nine categories that allow donors to direct support toward music, mission, capital projects, and other specific areas of church life. The church publishes a list of past legacy donors and a shorter list of those who have notified the church of their future intentions, and the program connects members with the Presbyterian Foundation for charitable trusts and gift annuities. The monthly newsletter, Grace in the World, is delivered by mail and email and offers a steady channel for news of the congregation's life and mission as Grace continues its work in the Tice Valley neighborhood of Walnut Creek.