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Saint John Coltrane Church, Fillmore District
One thing I've discovered doing FogBay is that churches are the worst thing to write posts about. Nobody seems very interested or motivated to comment. But bear with me, this church is a little different. In 1964 while watching John Coltrane perform in San Francisco's North Beach, Franzo King and his wife Marina had a spiritual transformation, a "baptism of sound" as they called it. The experience called them to found a new church, the Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church.

The church, now located on Fillmore Street near Japantown, believes that Coltrane was not just a jazz musician but one who was chosen to guide souls back to God. Coltrane, who kicked heroin and had his own religious awakening in 1957, is seen as a saint by churchgoers. The Saint John Coltrane Church celebrates a raucous, lively, jazz-filled mass every Sunday at noon, often led by Bishop King on the tenor sax. Everyone is welcome.
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