The St John Coltrane African Orthodox Church

The St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church is like no other in the entire world.
Archbishop King and his wonderful family are very welcoming to all the folks from around the globe who are attracted to this sonic pleasure dome of Coltrane music. Love is always their message, measured out with a revolutionary spirit of truth telling
Musicians are well respected, and they come from all four corners to feed their chops; but this is much different than a mere jam session, and the dignity of this great music instills a humble respect. Archbishop King plays a mean tenor himself, and the strong and beautiful female voices sing the intricate Coltrane solos of sacred lyrics with mind blowing precision.
This amazing place is so much fun! A unique San Francisco experience of spiritually charged free, wild jazz. Open minded positive vibes prevail.
The female pastor is another treat! A talented bass player with a an inspired and mystical sermon that is fuel for the cosmic mind. She makes my soul smile.
Why deprive yourself of this soul stirring experience?

Truly A Love Supreme is what you will find here.
These beautiful folks send a million soulful healing vibrations out of their instruments, from the Fillmore into the world, each and every Sunday at noon; I just love that they are always there, welcoming, and eager to celebrate and rejoice life through the «sound praise» of John Coltrane’s greatest works.
They channel Coltrane and the music excels. The preaching is mindful, vibrant, and always interesting, if not at times heavy. There is no requirement of faith or doctrine, take from the experience what you will, be it the music, the word, the vibe, the celebration of community gathered together in fellowship. It is a wild scene and all are welcome.
An amazing and delightful unique San Francisco experience. You will find huge hearts and open minds. Not to be confused with mere entertainment; these folks are doing some serious work here.
R.I.P. Father Roberto Bluewater DeHaven, who with great love and huge talent blessed the beloved community selflessly. Truly the kindest gentlest soul I’ve ever met.
Truly A Love Supreme.
«I never even thought about whether or not they understand what
I’m doing. .. the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as
there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary that it be
understood.»
St. John Coltrane

This is a small, community & family-​oriented congregration of musicians and musically-​inspired people. The space is easy to mistake for a storefront on Fillmore, but once inside it’s very intimate — with gorgeous artwork on every surface and an assortment of tambourines and things placed on every few chairs for guests to use. The service begins with a procession and incense smudging, as you might recognize from a Catholic mass. Yet that’s where the familiar ritual all but ends, as the church then dives into a spirited, if lengthy, jazz improv session lead by it’s upright bass-​playing, female pastor.
People are friendly, but not in your face so it’s easy to feel comfortable and not out of place — a quality which is helped by the fact that there is likely to be a high number of first-​time visitors and passerbys. I totally spaced having cash for the offering (I’m a bit rusty at church-​going…), and felt a self-​inflicted twinge of guilt about it. Admittedly, I approached my visit much like I do a trip to de Young and, of course, I wouldn’t show up there empty handed. The donation (offering) is just a suggestion, but this church provides culture and community-​building that’s well worth the investment. Even for ‘infidels’ such as myself.

In the eyes of many christian churches, I’m a heretic. Raised a jew, I’ve become a committed agnostic. I don’t subscribe to any particular ideology. Honestly, churches and other places of worship tend to make me a little uncomfortable.
The Church of St Coltrane, though, is all about acceptance. And when I say acceptance, I mean EVERYONE is welcome. During my brief hour and a half stay, a hippy-​ish woman in her early 60s tap danced her way across the stage, a vagrant who smelled like what Charlie Parker probably did in his heroin years continually strutted in and out muttering various obscenities, and the impossibly cute kids of various church leaders walked around with impunity banging various objects with drumsticks. Basically, the place was lightly organized chaos.
Perhaps that’s why I didn’t meet any regulars. Everyone who came to church was coming for the first time. Most were foreign tourists.
If you come here for jazz, you should look elsewhere. By and large these aren’t professional musicians. They’re a ragtag group of individuals dedicated to a pretty eccentric idea.
All in all, it was a unique experience, and something I’m glad I checked off my to do in SF list, but I can’t really see myself coming back again.

A most wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Great music, great people, great message.

The spirit of St. John Coltrane church is genuine, free flowing, like jazz. Services are loosely structured, giving room for spontaneous communions and plenty of room for spiritual growth. The archbishop embodies virtues of Lao Tzu –the ordinary man-​, whose candid reflections on everyday living is often funny. His sermons are non-​indoctrinating; rather, the experience of truth is felt through music that weaves time, place and people together every Sundays from 11:45 to 2:30 at 1286 Fillmore St.
Rev. Pastor plays stand up bass, the Archbishop the saxophone, founding Mother has soulful vibratos, and together with horns, drums, tambourines, clapping hands and dancing feet, the spirit of love and gratitude is expressed in union through the music of St. John William Coltrane. A truly wonderful church.

I cannot think of a better way to spend a sunday afternoon, than praising the lord through the art of Jazz. Inspirational only scratches the surface of the St. John Coltrane church. The sermon is in jazz with a few words by the bishop, the praise is done in the form of music. Meditative and introspection are key to enjoying the experience. Go in with a sound mind and open heart. If you sit up front, you can literally feel the music start to heal your soul. The church serves meals to members, newcomers, the homeless, and anyone who’s hungry. My husband grew up in this church and served meals. His philosophy was to make each plate as if it were his own, insuring that everyone he fed would eat just as well as he would. Some years back the church lost the lease to it’s original home and the new storefront is modest to say the least, but the service is rich, rich, rich!

My experience with the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church was a unique one, as the three-​hour-​long service was conducted through the music of John Coltrane. Bible verses were sung, and the archbishop’s brief sermon, which, like the jazz music, fluctuated between a down-​to-​earth relaxation and spurts of fiery passion, was punctuated by the clash of a cymbal, the howl of a saxophone, or the quiet tinkling of a keyboard.
The building itself is unassuming and plain on the outside, but the decorations inside are gorgeous, with hues of red, green, and yellow throughout. The church is not camera-​friendly, though, so don’t try to take pictures! Just enjoy the experience.

I’m not a «Church» person, and I’m only kind of a «Jazz» person, but I am DEFINITELY a «St. John Coltrane Church» person.
Bear in mind, it is a *church* so there is, rightfully, a lot of preaching going on. But even if you’re not religious, it’s a neat cultural experience. The religious aspect seems to make the jam sessions that much more soulful.

Where is the Church, and what time is the Church service?
Love the Noon to 4: pm radio show on KPOO!

I liked them better when they were on Divisadero. Also, there are so many times I can hear A Love Supreme in one day. Plus, I am not religious. But yes, «truly an inspiring and amazing experience». Go with an open mind and you too will feel the spirituality of Saint John Coltrane.

I should probably first mention that I’m Jewish. and an atheist. Therefore my experiences with church are pretty minimal — basically weddings and funerals. When my friend suggested we go here one Sunday, I kind of balked. However, it was actually a pretty interesting and positive experience. There was great music and a lot of the parishioners brought their own instruments to jam along. I did squirm a little uncomfortably in my seat when the pastor went on for 30 minutes about hellfire and damnation, but I also squirmed uncomfortably when the hipster in front of me hit her tambourine off beat for an entire song. Definitely worth a visit if you are a jazz fan or more specifically, a fan of John Coltrane.

Whoa! They moved!!! We were so sad when they closed the Divisadero location, it’s where we’d go on the way to breakfast. Man, those were good times.

Truly an inspiring and amazing experience is to be had beginning at noon every Sunday. However, keep in mind that the church now operates out of a storefront at 1286 Fillmore Street. I have to admit, with a bit of shame, that I’ve never made it through a whole service, but I always leave a substantial tithing on my way out. The first two hours or so are taken up with what the pastor calls exorcism of the demons, but to me are some of the most intimate and uninhibited jazz jams I’ve ever encountered.
The Coltrane Church originated after the head pastor was inspired during a John Coltrane performance many years back. It is a fairly traditional Christian church with a sprinkling of African and Catholic influences. As a recovering «born again» Christian, I consider myself an agnostic, but the music is so inspiring and the clergy so infectious in their joy, I find no difficulty in stamping my feet, clapping my hands and banging a tambourine along with the rest. There’s only space for about 30 guests, so get there a bit early and remember to leave a monetary gift if you step out early.

Ok, first off, I’m a a dyed-​in-​the-​wool atheist who feels that being a tourist at a ‘cool’ church service (including Glide) is kind of icky which is how I felt the time I came here. But if you like jazz and a service where jazz is the medium for the very Christian message and parishioners are known to bring instruments and jam right along, please go. They seem like good people.