Humanist-oriented congregation serving unaffiliated Bay Area Jews looking for a community with a secular, nontheistic, human-oriented approach to Jewish identity, history and culture. Kol Hadash means “new voice.”

Services, some on Zoom, are relaxed and lay-led and include monthly Shabbats, major Jewish holidays and festivals. Special presentations for Yom HaShoah, Yom HaAtzmaut and Tu B’Shevat. Each month, a bagel brunch-and-speaker series, often with video, addresses various topics relating to Jewish culture.

Members participate in chavurot (friendship circles) and interest groups such as book/film, study/discussion, a video lecture series on Jewish history, lunch gatherings and social issues. Diverse membership includes couples, families, singles, people of mixed religious and ethnic backgrounds and Holocaust survivors. Affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) of Farmington Hills, Michigan. Most live events are held at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., near I-80/580 in the East Bay. Some  held at the Albany Senior Center, nearby at 846 Masonic Ave.

Please note: Currently holding many events on Zoom, though some new events are in person. Passover is in person at Albany Community Center. Zoom links on the website.