Home at Last

Seekers of Many Stripes Find Comfort


Christine Buck
Photo by Phyllis Christopher

The sign outside the large Tudor building at the corner of Grand and Alameda streets reads Home of Truth Spiritual Center. Approaching the front door through vibrant masses of impatiens, geraniums and poppies, visitors find flyers announcing a full calendar of events: yoga and tai chi, public affairs forums, meditation groups, interfaith circles, an art salon. When the office is staffed, the front door stays wide open. You can walk right in, browse the small bookstore, make a purchase on the honor system, or sit and reflect for a time in the peaceful, elegant sanctuary, which opened 100 years ago this fall.   
    But just what is the Home of Truth—and how on earth did it get its rather imposing name?     It turns out the Home of Truth in Alameda is the last surviving fellowship of a movement begun in the late 1800s by Annie and Harriet Rix. The Rix sisters were inspired teachers, thinkers and healers who believed in following their own inner truths. They saw the “allness of God” in every living creature, and encouraged members to explore the truths within each religion. Annie Rix traveled widely to recruit and teach, leaving behind dozens of Homes of Truth along the West and East Coasts, and in Canada and England.
    “The Home of Truth is a simple, beautiful, historic place,” says Jan Schaeffer, who started out as a lay minister when she moved to Alameda from Washington, where she attended a Unity Church. She became the paid minister last year. “There are no icons. It’s very possible to come in here and not feel you have to subscribe to particular ideas or beliefs.”
    Valerie Herold of Oakland stopped in nine years ago for a rummage sale and liked what she saw. These days, Herold may play  her guitar for a Sunday service or teach yoga. She’s also the office administrator, coordinating the myriad events held in the sanctuary and the 1919 Garden Room, a separate cottage out back, complete with kitchen, great room with fireplace and lofty beamed ceiling. 
    “The inclusion thing is what makes this place work,” says Herold. “Everybody is welcome. It says in our mission that we are co-creating this space, and we are. A lot of people have had bad experiences with other religions. They fear they’ll be judged. I tell them no redemption is required and you can come in your sweats.”
    That acceptance draws people like Frank Warner, who was raised Catholic but liked the eclectic Sunday services celebrating different faith traditions. He now leads a Life Ring Secular Recovery group, which provides an alternative to 12-step programs. “I think it’s important to have a place like this in Alameda,” says Warner.
    Now an active member, Cathy Dana first came to the Home of Truth in 2000 when she sought space to host an art salon. Her own creative spirit had taken a beating in childhood, and she wanted to host a safe space for creative people to test their work. Now in its fifth year, attendees at the monthly Art Salon share their stories, art or music with an enthusiastic audience.     
    “Someone came all the way from Danville to read her poetry aloud for the first time,” says Dana. “Our creative self is vulnerable, fragile,” she adds. Dana sets the expectation for each salon with a quote from writer and physician Rachel Naomi Remen, “Beam love and listen seriously.”  
    When Harriet Rix died in 1931, she left the building and grounds to members, who still explore and ponder the vision of their founders. Schaeffer and a variety of lay ministers and members deliver the eclectic Sunday services. On Congregational Sundays, members claim one of several five-minute slots to tell a story, sing or simply describe the milestones or stumbling blocks of their own spiritual journeys.  
    After taking a look around, the Home of Truth’s grand name seems a perfect fit.