Excellent church with dedicated parishioners; however, Fr. Ben exhibits poor pastoral conduct.

I had been corresponding with Zella via email regarding the forms that needed to be signed for my sister to become a godparent. We confirmed through email with Zella that all requirements were met, so I brought the forms in as instructed. At no point did she mention that additional proof of documentation would be required for the forms to be signed. Unfortunately, my in-person interaction with her was not very pleasant--she came across as dismissive and somewhat rude, which was disappointing, especially given that she represents a church. read more

Called to inquire about their baptism registration process and Zella, the woman who picked up the phone, was VERY rude and unpleasant. Answered my questions sarcastically. This woman works in a CHURCH. Needless to say I don't want to get my son baptized there. Zella completely turned me off from going to this church at all. read more

I go there to attend the mass. This place is the best because I also attended several events.

First time at church since COVID-19, glad to hear church services resumed. Outdoor service for safety, Bring your own chairs, hat, sunglasses & umbrellas if your in the sun. Sitting area is blocked off by tape and barriers, volunteers are monitoring so people don't access area without going through welcome tent. Welcome tent has sanitizer and temperature checks for everyone attending. Nice and cool under the shade with a cool breeze today. People are somewhat social distancing their seats, saw some late comers sit a bit close to others. Communion is given at the end of service. The priests are available for a some time after service for those who are watching virtually. Great service, nice to hear music, able to hear sermon with great audio system & streamed live to those who cannot attend. read more

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Nothing is more inviting than a fences around the church. Yes, that was sarcasm. And now the church looks like a jail. I have been going to this parish since I was a child. Ever since this new pastor came in, this community and parish has changed and for the negative. Fr. Bart would always preach of how we are part of this community so we should all have a say. But everyone I know have made suggestions. But all of these suggestions were met by Fr. Bart with "no that's not a good suggestion." When we try to explain and clarify a bit so that he can even consider the suggestion, he would say that "no, my decision is final. I'm the pastor and you are not". How can a leader of a faith community say that line? I almost left the faith entirely, but thanks to Jim Soltau and Fr. G who convinced me to stay. Now I heard Fr. G is leaving???? He hasn't been here a year and I heard Fr. Bart requested his reassignment. (This is hearsay, but the fact of the matter is that Fr. G hasn't been here for a year yet and his last day with us is the end of June.) Something needs to change because I cannot find myself supporting this parish and its leader any longer (though at this point, Fr. Bart is not a leader, but a boss of the community) So many friends and family have left because of him. And soon, my family and I will be like them. read more

Saint Anne Catholic - The new fence around the church campus - Churches Near Me - Union City, California

Father G last mass today. He has all the qualities of a good priest. For the past few months, my whole family truly enjoyed going to mass. He speaks from the heart whose preaching has challenged and uplifted, inspired and moved the audience. Father G, we wish you best of luck on your next adventures. Have a safe trip in the Philippines. We will keep you in our prayers. THANK YOU. read more

More of 2.5 stars. It pains me to give a church such a low rate because of one visit. I just find the whole experience leaning towards watching a show with a overbearing ring master rather than a church which is celebrating a baptism. It was part seeing a scene in Lion King's "circle of life" where the monkey had to carry the cub for the whole animal kingdom to see but here its a baby who was more of being brandished by the priest to the whole parish. I felt offended for the child and awkward for the parents unless they were in that sort of thing. There were two priests officiating the mass however, the parish priest over shined the presiding priest by taking over the homily, which by the way discussed how to use the new app of online giving by the parish and somehow failed to discuss about the baptism which is what the mass is about. But enough of the priest who spent about 15 minutes just to garble something incessantly during parish announcements. The nice church building and the calming mural along side the resurrected statue didn't feel genuine because someone seemed to be more like a showman than a man of the cloak. Nuff said. read more

Saint Anne Catholic - Here - Churches Near Me - Union City, California

I like attending mass most especially if Fr.Bart will give the sermon. The church is clean and a lot of screen monitors around.

We badly missed Fr Geoffrey Baraan Fr Jun Manalo and wishing Fr Gus August Tana Acob to stay for us for a long time ..

Me & my siblings attended the 5:00pm mass on 3/6/2022, we normally attend the 12:00 noon but we were told that they will include our dad's name on the 5:00pm mass & will say a little bit about him. We normally don't like the afternoon mass on a Sunday but we did. Me & my siblings, our kids, spouses were dissapointed that they did not mentioned our dad's name for the departed souls. Everyone in our family had to drive to Saint Anne even though most of us live far, sooo dissapointing. read more

I have been going to this church ever since they were located on Smith street (Don't want to date myself here =)). I serve at this church and experienced various catholic rite of passage ceremonies. I have seen a lot of changes but, what remains the same through the years is the closeness of the people at the church. This place is my church "Cheers". Where everybody knows your name. The pastors sermons always got me listening and reflecting on thing going on in my life. I always look forward to always coming to this church. read more

This was the church I grew up going to and has a lot of good and bad memories. This last time was for my sister in law's father's one year death anniversary. We were scheduled after a baptism session so we had to wait for everyone to clear out. The priest was funny and had a lot of fun making jokes as well as keep it to the point. The church has changed a bit since I stopped going here, but it's still pretty much the same. I can't say one church is better than another, but definitely an okay church to go to in the area. read more

St Annes is a great church. My wife and I got married here and still go to mass here on Sundays. It has a personal feel to it, as we know the Priest & Deacons here and a lot of the regulars who attend church here as well. You feel at home while at St Annes. I see a lot of negativity regarding the choir, that seems to be a bit unfair. They rotate who sings, between the children's choir, and the adults. Father Geoffrey is a good man, he cares about people, and their well beings. He is very funny at times, and being he's from the Philippines, he's going to have some background in that brand of humor, I don't see the issue with that. I'm white, and I find nothing wrong with his delivery. He cares about God, and God's kids. That's the way it should be. read more

This Catholic church has a modern church feel and a ton of weekly worshipers. It's always a "homely" family experience when I come here. The community puts a lot of volunteer time and love in making this a wonderful place to worship. Usually you won't find too many kids or teenagers at Church, but not here. There are a ton of young youth here who enjoy coming here. Wonderful place to take your family and to teach your kids about God's love foe everyone. read more

I've been going to this church for basically my whole life. I took Sunday school here, did my first confession here and my first communion here. PROs: - I enjoy the sermons here over other churches I've been to; they are not too formulaic or boring - Individual seats instead of pews - Pads behind chairs for kneeling - Close to my house - Clean CONs: - The parking lot sucks; there is typically a bottleneck on the way out. Many people park on the street and walk a bit to avoid this. - You never know the exact time you're going to get out of church; I would say masses here are at an average of 1.5 hours. And there's not really a warning either in the bulletin - Website is out of date and difficult to navigate Mass Schedule: - M-F 8am - Saturday 8am, 5pm - Sunday 8am, 10am, 12pm, 6pm - Holy Days 8am, 7:30pm The busiest masses are 10am and 12pm on Sunday. So busy that people stand up in the back and at the sides of the church. The masses I like to attend nowadays are the Saturday 5pm mass or Sunday 6pm mass since it isn't too busy or crowded. Note: Saturday 5pm is considered the children's mass. Sometimes they have special children specific activities during this mass like a short nativity skit during xmas, etc. So sometimes this mass is longer than usual. I've been coming here for 20+ years and I will continue to come here for church. read more

I haven't gone to this church in years, until Ash Wednesday recently. Nothing has changed much.. I don't usually, write reviews about a church.. but, this church is fine. But, the people are rude (especially the older's).. didn't think the people would judge you and give you dirty looks. Never would of thought, I'd feel so uncomfortable and unwelcome at a church. read more

My parents have been taking me to this church since I was a baby. The church itself I love. It feels at home for me. However, the staff is a whole new story. They are very rude when speaking to you and communication is awful. I don't mind attending mass but I would hate to have to work with any of the ladies in the back office when it comes to needing documents or letters for other events such as baptisms or confirmations. If it wasn't for the staff being disrespectful, I would've gave it a higher rating. read more

I grew up going to St. Clement Church in Hayward, but when we moved to Union City we started going to St. Anne. This church community is really big, you can see it at the masses and the annual festival. There's a good amount of parishioners who volunteer, it's good to be involved. St. Anne has a fabulous youth program and youth ministry coordinator (Jim). Their confirmation program is two years long: Youth Ministry (1st) and Confirmation (2nd). There is a great group of volunteers who are in charge of the first and second year: Emmaus and the Confirmation Staff. I didn't go through the CCD program at St. Anne, but I went through the Confirmation program, I was in Emmaus, I was part of the Confirmation staff, and I volunteered numerous times for retreats since then. I think it's important that kids understand their faith and volunteer in their community, and St. Anne has proven to be a great place for all of those things and more. Jim has done a fabulous job at building the youth program and truly cares. The pastor, Father Geoffrey has done a fabulous job too. He is very lively when he presides over a mass. He cares about the community and truly loves what he does. When my grandmother was in hospital for terminal cancer, a few days before she passed away, Father Geoffrey was out of town, but he found a way to visit my grandmother in the hospital to pray with her. That was really great of him to go out of his way to visit, even though it was really late at night. My family isn't super close to Father Geoffrey, we never had a chance to invite him to the house for lunch or dinner prior to that hospital visit. Father Geoffrey is just a very genuinely good person, and I am thankful that he did that for my family. St Anne Church has a great community. It's good to see a lot of people at mass, volunteers who help make great things happen, a pastor who truly cares, and youth who take action in the community. read more

T'was March 30-Saturday around 4 in the afternoon,i inquire in the office for my child's baptism and the staff who's arranging the baptism schedule was VERY VERY RUDE!!! All i can say is that she should be removed on her job because she was not doing it right! Sarcastic! Rude! While i am asking for baptism schedule,filling up forms she was talking to another person as if i dont exist there at all! And I KNOW! I KNOW she was doing it in purpose! She made us wait for a long time because she was talking and keep chatting on a unimportant person while i am in front of her asking questions! read more

Saint Anne Catholic - Churches Near Me - Union City, California

Fr. Geoffrey Baraan his sermons are useful,funny & cool... like it.

A place of worship primarily for the Filipino-American community. Masses are entirely in English. Please note that masses here are one and a half hours long. If you go hear Mass here, make sure you finish the entire one and a half hour service. Do not leave early. Instead enjoy the extended performance of the beautiful choir after the Holy Communion. read more

OK so i haven't been here in probably 5 years-I haven't been to church in a long time period. I also admit that my review of this place is a off point and yes the point of church is to pray to God and think about things that we are thankful for. NEVERTHELESS, at the time I wrote the review I felt that this church would definitely benefit from some improvements. A better choir, a thoughtful homily, and more connection to the community. I used to be a member of SVDP and go to church every single freaking week here not including all those holy days that your supposed to go or else you need to fess up. I went to other churches after I moved from here and I realized that listening to a relevant homily and an interesting choir helped enhance the experience of praying and meditation. I felt that because this church was a little unorganized, that people were pretty much coming here for the wrong reasons. I know it's cute but I can't take a parish seriously with every reference to lumpia and Wowowee. My mom loves it and maybe you would too. I bet things have changed, hopefully for the better. If church isn't your thing, they do have their annual festival. Check out the filipino bbq stand. read more

I love this church. It's a nice church and everyone is so nice. I never been to a church where I feel so welcomed and at peace. Check out this church and u will be a regular like me. read more

It is really so so sad to hear that some people has vandalized this Church! Who would do such a terrible thing to God's House? Are they not afraid of God? So many of us love this Church. I am in rage...& still can't believe this is happening! read more

This is a review about the woman who attended to us when we registered to have my son baptized. To make the long story short she was rude, condescending and has no customer service whatsoever. I was suprised to have that kind of experience from a church office. Reading through the other reviews here I am not the first one to comment about her. She represents the church and she is such a disappointment. She should be fired to be honest. Is there no one from the church who reads through these kind of reviews? They probably should. read more

My husband and i were planning to have my son baptized here. I emailed them beforehand to find out the requirements, they said they have the guidelines at their website and just call for other questions so i checked before we come in here and i also called them to find out how can i schedule, the lady i spoke to was kinda rude as if she doesn't wanna help me with my other questions. She told me to come to church, bring my sons birth cert and pay $200 fee(but says on their website $100) so my husband went here to inquire but the lady at their office was not welcoming and kinda rude as well when being asked questions as if she doesn't wanna help. Very rude considering they work in a "HOLY PLACE". Very awful. She had my husband signed the paperworks and asked for the proof of confirmation of the Godparents (which again wasn't mentioned at their website and they didn't tell me when i called them that we would be needing it) she wants the "actual" proof, she did not accept the baptism certificate of one of the Godparent. My husband was curious and asked why the other church that one of his friends' child got baptized didn't actually ask for it, then the lady said "just go to that church then". Like come on, you can explain it or say it nicely. It s just sad and sickening that they have these kind of people in that kind of place. read more

My husband and I are parishioners at St.Joseph Parish, Pinole, CA. We First met Fr. Geoffrey when he was an associate pastor at our parish not to long after he had been ordained. We attended the 15 year celebration of his ordination last evening and came away so joyful. This parish is amazing, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and Fr. Geoffrey leads the way. We so enjoyed the community spirit and felt at home among the parishioners. Happy Anniversary Fr. and many happy returns, you are a blessing to your wonderful community and have always been a blessing to us. Wil and Rita Figueira read more

Do you go to church for the church? for the priest? or for the choir?" While I was growing up my Nanay and Tatay (mom and dad) brought me up to go to church for god, I do agree that the singers are somwhat out of tune, and they do go on forever, but that not the reason why we are supposed to go to church, we are going to church to celebrate jesus christ. Fr. Baaran does have a deep accent, and he should at time include the non-filipino's but if you are from the community, he has definitly turned St Annes upside down and turned it into a place were we will want to be rather than a place that you have to be, I give it up to him for atleast trying to make some sense in his hommily.....but most definitly, we are not to go to church for the things that are there but for jesus christ himself. read more

St. Anne's has always been a home to me for many reasons. The parishioners are welcoming. There are also different programs made for every active church goer. They range from youth groups, fitness, medical group, Divine Mercy, etc. There are also concerts, festivals, celebrations, talent showcases & fundraisers to create community growth. Also, St. Anne's brings to life every Catholic holiday. My favorite time is Christmas & St. Anne's has "Simbang Gabi" which is a tradition from the Philippines that helps prepare for Christmas. You attend every morning at 5am for 9days before Christmas. Breakfast is provided after with raffles & performances. Which gets everyone in the holiday spirit! I also love Father Geoffrey. He really cares about his church & community outside of church. During his homilies, he relates a lot of the messages to current situations. He's engaging & also hilarious. He loves to tell jokes. St. Anne's has definitely changed with all the new upgrades but it always feels like home. read more

St. Anne has come a long way since I have relocated to Union City in 2005. Fr. Geoffrey has done an outstanding job in building and sustaining a strong church community as well as in overseeing various ministry programs and major church improvements. As the masses are almost always packed and crowded, I prefer to visit St. Anne to pray and meditate when mass is not in session. It is when the church room is empty for one to truly sense the serenity and the solemnity of the place. The main prayer room is bright, very clean, and is decorated with floral arrangements. At the center of the church is the statue of Jesus Christ descending from the skies and surrounded by clouds and nature, which makes such a powerful impression from a viewer's vantage point below. The stage exudes a sense of tranquility. After adoring the creative details of the stage, I would then sit in one of the pews, kneel down and pray. After a few minutes, I would sense God's presence. One time it was through the sun's bright rays shining down on me from where I was sitting. I looked up and absorbed the light. As I bowed down, the light disappeared and the room got darker. The second time it was through a whisper to come closer to the front stage where I could be up close and personal with the Lord. The experience gave me goose bumps. It was powerful. It was healing. And I could only say that I was honored to have experienced this spiritual connection with the Almighty more than once. I believe it's God's way of saying, "Come here, child. Be not afraid. You are not alone, for I am here. Commune with me." MASS SCHEDULE *Daily - 8 a.m. *Mother of Perpetual Help - Wednesdays @ 7 p.m. *First Fridays - 8 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. (Eucharistic adoration is from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.) *Saturdays - 8 a.m. & 5 p.m. *Sundays - 8 a.m. 10 a.m., 12 p.m., & 6 p.m. Note: The church remains open throughout the day for spiritual meditation, except for scheduled weddings, baptism and memorial services. read more

The Priest is really funny. I am not a patron at this church. My short time there I noticed he has a good sermon and there are lots of returning patrons including a great youth ministry. When you see these things you know the church is amazing. read more

This is the church I've been going to ever since I can remember. I received first communion, confirmation, had my mom's funeral mass here, got married here as well as had our first child's baptism here this past January. I also was part of the 10 am choir for a period of time. So I guess you could say St. Anne's has been a big part of my life. The church has made many improvements over the years. Father Geoffrey is a wonderful pastor to our community. Like some people had mentioned, the customer service of the Parish office has not been great. As my son gets older, we'll continue to be going to mass at St. Anne's! read more

The Filipino priest should stop making tedious announcements during the mass. There are other ways to relay information like a bulletin board or post everything online. He should realize that there are people who are in a hurry or not interested in what he's talking about. read more

Thec atholic church is not what it used to be. It used to be solemon and ritualistic. Instead , it has become a singing feast. There is no sense of belonging rather a concert with hand jestures. read more

The "baptismal minister" is a nightmare. The church is very close by our house. Wanted our baby's baptism to be held here but this woman was very rude...just not nice of a person. She would spit out answers to questions she thought I'd ask. Made me feel stupid. If she just LISTENED before I uttered half of my question maybe we wouldn't have had such an uncomfortable experience. I filled out a form. I had questions, she pretended to not hear me, I stood there in silence waiting for her to answer, she stared at her computer screen (no typing and no scrolling through it) and then when she was ready...she spat of answers to questions I didn't even ask. Thought she was having a bad day, but based on another review another mother has felt The Wrath. Nobody should feel bad for wanting a baptism. And because of this, I will not be attending mass here anymore. I'd rather travel across the bay to the church I grew up in. Not convenient but at least I won't feel less of a person. read more

The lady in parish office is not friendly and accommodating to inquiries.