The Ephesian Church of God in Christ shook with music, praise and prayer this weekend as the congregation loudly and happily observed 100 years in Berkeley.

On Saturday night, the historically Black South Berkeley church kicked off a two-day event, celebrating its centennial with a three-hour service that attracted people from all over, including Bishop J. Drew Sheard, the international Presiding Bishop of the Churches of God in Christ, who came from Atlanta.

Initially known as The Church of God in Christ when it opened in Berkeley in 1926, it became The Ephesian Church of God in Christ in 1946. It moved to its current site on the corner of Alcatraz Avenue and King Street in 1951, the last of three moves since the congregation bought its first building on Carleton Street in 1929.

The congregation gathers during a worship service Saturday. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

“Don’t just sit there today at this service. … I know we’re in black, but we’re not dressed for a funeral,” Minister Philip Logan said. “We’re here to celebrate. A hundred years is a long time. We’ve got 100 reasons to thank God. Come on.”

It wasn’t just longevity being celebrated Saturday. The church has a long history of community outreach, from hosting gatherings during the 1960s civil rights struggle to its current plan to build an 80-unit low-income senior housing complex next door at 1708 Harmon St.

Church officials said they expect to break ground on the $79 million project, replacing the church’s parking lots and a vacant building, this summer. “It’s not just the historical significance but being a pillar in the community as they have been and, even with the times changing and with the African American population not necessarily being here, it’s still home,” Jennifer Browne said. Berkeley’s Black population is a third what it was in 1970, with the sharpest declines in South Berkeley.

“This is where musicals were held; this is where they had a childcare center many, many years ago,” said Browne, who said she was born and raised in the church. “Downstairs there was a homeless program. You name it, they had it — you know, looking out for seniors.”

Church officials raised money Saturday for new pews, part of a bigger renovation effort shown in renderings on the walls. There were at least 200 people singing, praying, and dancing to the music of the Ephesian Centennial Celebration Choir and the church’s live band backing some very powerful and talented vocalists.

The church’s live band performs Saturday. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

Elder Stoney McCree listens to worship songs. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

Ephesian Church of God in Christ is known for its gospel music. It was where famed gospel singer Edwin Hawkins, in 1967, recorded his Grammy-winning hit “Oh Happy Day,” which church secretary Kimberly Browne-McClinton broke into while recounting church history to the congregation.

The church also hosted the April 12, 1968, funeral for 17-year-old Black Panther Robert (Bobby) Hutton, killed by Oakland police two days after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. Actor Marlon Brando eulogized Hutton in front of approximately 1,500 people, then spoke at a rally at a nearby park afterward.

A clip from the front page of the April 13, 1968, Berkeley Daily Gazette. Credit: Newspapers.com

Browne-McClinton said after Saturday night’s service the church’s “rich legacy and our foundation grounded in faith” is what makes it special.

“Those who have gone on before, whose shoulders we’re standing on, when you watch their example of leadership — not just within the four walls, but really serving,” Browne-McClinton said. “We used to canvas the neighborhood all the time, my sister and I. We had to be there. There was no ‘Oh, I don’t feel like going.’ It started at home and it helps us in the workplace, it helps us just in our normal, everyday living, because of what we saw here.”

Glen Godfrey Jr., 46, and sister Shelia Godfrey Edwards, 54, stand up at the service. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

Congregants sing along on Saturday. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

Church leader Bishop Johnathan D. Logan told the congregation the church is in good hands.

“For 100 years, this church we are sitting in right now, The Ephesian Church of God in Christ, has relentlessly stood as a beacon of hope and a resolute model of faith in action,” Logan said.

After a vocal performance by Alfreda Lyons-Campbell — who described learning music on the spot, watching her father play organ and her mother sing in the choir — Sheard spoke, then preached for about 30 minutes.

Of Logan, Sheard said “he is one of the premier leaders of our great church. He’s a great individual and, when I received this invitation, there was nothing to say but yes, because he is my friend and brother.”

Sheard later brought the congregation to its feet, its members waving hands and shouting back as the band punctuated his points, then played him off.

Much of the congregation lingered afterward, hugging and laughing as the band — on its second drummer by then — continued to play lightly.

Veronica Vaughn came from Richmond, where Ephesians of Richmond Church of God in Christ is her home church.

Guest praise leader Lawrence Matthews speaks on Saturday. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

“The anointing and the power of God is here, dwells here, in this edifice,” Vaughn said. “When you come in, you just feel God’s presence.”

She spoke of the Berkeley church’s community history.

“There’s lots of outreach, food, clothing,” Vaughn said. “They have prayer lines. They talk to those who come in, who are sick, who are homeless. You don’t turn anyone away.”

Jonathan Secrease came from Oakland for Saturday’s service. He was a member from the time he was 10 into adulthood. His great grandmother was a member.

“We haven’t seen each other, some of these people here, for years,” Secrease said. “And it’s like you never missed a beat. That same energy that you had when you were growing up.”

The church’s stained glass window. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for Berkeleyside

Secrease remembered playing with other children in the church basement.

“We used to have late night musicals, late night convocation revivals, and the kids used to be in the basement, playing around, going to the store that’s still there [across the street], sitting in the back, seeing our grandparents and fathers worshipping,” he said. “And then now to grow up and witness how it is now — it’s just nothing but amazing.”

Lawyer Brock is a church deacon who said he’ll be 90 in two months. He wanted to talk about the senior housing on the way.

“It’s the spirit of God,” Brock said. “This church was at the right place at the right time for Berkeley to put all this money in to help someone and reach out to all these elderly people to have somewhere to stay. That’s the glory of God.”

Correction: A previous version of this story used an outdated figure for the cost of the senior housing complex Ephesian Church is building. It is now a $79 million project, according to Bishop Johnathan D. Logan, the church’s leader. The photos for this story were taken on Saturday, not Sunday.

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