Why Berkeley?

LEAH, WHY DO YOU THINK BERKELEY IS THE PLACE YOU SHOULD START A FAITH COMMUNITY?

I was born and raised in Southern California, outside of San Diego. I left San Diego for what I thought was a quick four years in Chicago for college, and from there I’d likely be on to Manhattan, auditioning for Broadway. But meeting Jesus took my life in a different direction. I ended up staying in the midwest about 15 years longer than I was planning on… (but who’s counting?).

From Theater to Where?

Leah, how did you go from theatre and music to ministry? And why?

It’s been quite a journey.  It started with me meeting Jesus in college, as a theatre student at Northwestern University, outside of Chicago. Encountering Jesus in a real way was unexpected, and it turned my life upside-down for the better.  Throughout college, I delved deeper into the Jesus thing, and found the results to be overwhelmingly good. 

Meeting Jesus

Leah, how did you become a person of faith?

I did not grow up a person of faith. Sure, my parents attended mainline denominational churches as I grew up, and as part of the family, I went along, but I spent most of those years watching the clock for one hour on Sundays, and not feeling spiritually engaged. I was the annoying kid who asked questions in Sunday school that no one knew how to answer, and so by the time high school rolled around I had decided that if there was a spiritual reality, a God or other divine presence, I probably wasn’t going to find him/her in church.