Your Home Parish

[Martinius]

a post by Tadoflamb on another thread here got me thinking...uh oh. He said this forum reminded him of his parish.

This thread is asking the question, or several questions: One, what do you like about your parish? Did you "choose" it, and if so why? You could also discuss what you would like in the ideal parish.

I'll go first. For all of my adult life, I have had the luxury of being able to choose which parish to join. That has occurred about five times. Way back when my children were young, we chose a parish that had a good religious education program and a lot of family and youth oriented activities. Once the kids were older we switched to a different parish, a smaller one where we liked the priest, the liturgies and the people there.

How about you?

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

my current parish
is 5 minutes drive or 30 minutes walk
head priest is everything you could ask. Women love him for his charm and good looks, and guys respect him because he has a sense of humour and a real workhorse. So enthusiastic. He's heaven sent, many people say.
Other priests are good.
What is interesting to me is the variety of cultures who attend Mass. Asian, South American, European, Anglo, Aussie. Like the United nations.

 

[Martinius]

Yes, the Church around here has changed as well. Many more ethnicities and nationalities at my last two parishes. There is a church we go to in Florida that has a great mix, with many Latinos of course but more Afro-Americans than at other parishes I have been to. And it seems to be a very active and dynamic parish. Refreshing.

 

[One Voice Among Many1]

My family and I attend a Nazarene Church. We have been going there for almost 13 years.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

but more Afro-Americans than at other parishes I have been to.

I wondered about that. I thought afro-americans would be Baptist or Protestant anyway. (just from what I've seen on movies

 

[Martinius]

I wondered about that. I thought afro-americans would be Baptist or Protestant anyway. (just from what I've seen on movies

You are correct. For whatever reason, Afro-Americans have not gravitated to Catholicism. Pre and post Civil War the Catholic Church was not strong in the south, especially rural areas. So blacks were mostly in Baptist or AME churches. That is slowly changing. At parishes I have been in recently I am seeing a greater mix of blacks, Asians, Latinos, etc., as you observed.

The Catholic Church, at least in overall membership, is no longer Euro-centric. The Catholic Church is "moving south", so the churches of the third world will dominate. We are seeing the effects of that in our parishes today.

 

[Martinius]

My family and I attend a Nazarene Church. We have been going there for almost 13 years.

I am not familiar with that church so I looked it up. Impressive. It is a worldwide church, and I like their mission statement, which includes the need for compassion and working for justice. And they have a strong educational system of colleges, which surprised me.

At your particular church, is there a "mix" of ethnicities?

 

[tadoflamb]

We belong to the parish in which we live. My wife warned me about it the first time I asked her to take me to mass. It's probably the homeliest church I've ever seen. I mean, people keep stopping by mistaking for the school that's up the street.

Our parish is a destination parish, that is, it's headed by a charismatic and popular pastor and can't be supported by just the members within it's boundaries. A survey we took indicated 60% of our members come from outside the parish. This is the parish where I was confirmed, said my first confession and remarried my wife on our 10th anniversary. My pastor was meant to be a priest. He's an incredible man and has consistently emphasized the mercy of God over everything else. He also went to a Vincentian seminary and encouraged and supported a generous and charitable spirit.

Our pastor has been terribly ill for the past three years. We have another retired priest who does most the sacramental duties. This priest is an immigration activist and very vocal about the social justice. I love the guy though he's kind of a liturgical nightmare during Holy Week.

My wife, a cradle Catholic, prefers the more churchy churches so we often go to a nearby sister parish and also a nearby convent of Benedictine sisters. I actually enjoy mass more at these churches as well, so it's turning out that I don't go to mass at my own parish unless I'm serving. I serve both Sunday and daily mass and it keeps me tethered to my community. I've come to be attached to a number of them, especially my co-Vincentians, so it's always good to see them around my first spiritual home.

My parish is in flux right now. I'm not sure what the future holds for it. I remain mostly out of faithfulness to my pastor but I can see us eventually becoming unraveled. Interesting times around the old parish.

 

[Martinius]

We belong to the parish in which we live. My wife warned me about it the first time I asked her to take me to mass. It's probably the homeliest church I've ever seen. I mean, people keep stopping by mistaking for the school that's up the street.

Our parish is a destination parish, that is, it's headed by a charismatic and popular pastor and can't be supported by just the members within it's boundaries. A survey we took indicated 60% of our members come from outside the parish. This is the parish where I was confirmed, said my first confession and remarried my wife on our 10th anniversary. My pastor was meant to be a priest. He's an incredible man and has consistently emphasized the mercy of God over everything else. He also went to a Vincentian seminary and encouraged and supported a generous and charitable spirit.

Our pastor has been terribly ill for the past three years. We have another retired priest who does most the sacramental duties. This priest is an immigration activist and very vocal about the social justice. I love the guy though he's kind of a liturgical nightmare during Holy Week.

My wife, a cradle Catholic, prefers the more churchy churches so we often go to a nearby sister parish and also a nearby convent of Benedictine sisters. I actually enjoy mass more at these churches as well, so it's turning out that I don't go to mass at my own parish unless I'm serving. I serve both Sunday and daily mass and it keeps me tethered to my community. I've come to be attached to a number of them, especially my co-Vincentians, so it's always good to see them around my first spiritual home.

My parish is in flux right now. I'm not sure what the future holds for it. I remain mostly out of faithfulness to my pastor but I can see us eventually becoming unraveled. Interesting times around the old parish.

Is your parish a merger possibility. I am from the Midwest and the consolidating and closing of parishes has been ongoing, and there is a diocesan plan to consolidate more in the next few years. Those that aren't totally merged will collaborate with neighbors, including the sharing of priests. Is that happening where you are?

 

[tadoflamb]

Is your parish a merger possibility. I am from the Midwest and the consolidating and closing of parishes has been ongoing, and there is a diocesan plan to consolidate more in the next few years. Those that aren't totally merged will collaborate with neighbors, including the sharing of priests. Is that happening where you are?

No, the diocese as a whole is fairly vibrant and expanding. I think we're going the way we are mostly out of respect for our pastor. He's told me that he wants to die an active parish priest.

Geographically we're a tiny parish in the middle of Tucson, so it would be easy to absorb us all. Our parish was initially an education annex for the parish my wife and I frequent most often. We often see other parishioners there as well as the Benedictine convent. Like you, we're blessed to have a number of choices.

 

[One Voice Among Many1]

I am not familiar with that church so I looked it up. Impressive. It is a worldwide church, and I like their mission statement, which includes the need for compassion and working for justice. And they have a strong educational system of colleges, which surprised me.

At your particular church, is there a "mix" of ethnicities?

There is some but not much.

 

[Tigger45]

My church is very friendly and the sermons are top notch.

 

[Martinius]

My church is very friendly and the sermons are top notch.

That seems to be one of the noticeable differences between Catholic and most Protestant churches, at least historically. I can say that our sermons/homilies have improved greatly over the decades. I recall when I was young that every sermon seemed to be about the fires of eternal damnation or a plea for more money. Today our priests seem to be much better prepared and most give much better homilies. We have had deacons do the homilies from time to time and they have been consistently good. And I have seen a much stronger feeling of community in church, not just at social events. It seems to me that people are much more connected; it is not just me and the priest and God, but the community of faith (including the priest) and God. Some don't care for that, but I see it as a vast improvement and more like the "traditions" of the early church.

 

[Tigger45]

There's a little Catholic Church in an adjacent neighborhood who's priest gives good homilies and is very approachable. The typical Sunday mass is full to over flowing. If you don't arrive early you'll get seated in their over flow room which in the gym/dinning area looking through the double doors they've opened with a side view of the alter. They've already expanded the sanctuary and bought the properties on either side of their original lot.

The good news is i figured out that the Saturday afternoon mass was a lot more excessible.
The bad news is they are getting a new priest August 1st

 

[Martinius]

If the current priest is being transferred to a parish relatively close, watch a lot of the members move with him.

 

[tadoflamb]

That seems to be one of the noticeable differences between Catholic and most Protestant churches, at least historically. I can say that our sermons/homilies have improved greatly over the decades. I recall when I was young that every sermon seemed to be about the fires of eternal damnation or a plea for more money. Today our priests seem to be much better prepared and most give much better homilies. We have had deacons do the homilies from time to time and they have been consistently good. And I have seen a much stronger feeling of community in church, not just at social events. It seems to me that people are much more connected; it is not just me and the priest and God, but the community of faith (including the priest) and God. Some don't care for that, but I see it as a vast improvement and more like the "traditions" of the early church.

That's one of the reasons why I said this place reminds me of my home parish. After bouncing around the forum a bit I discovered the general tone reflects what I hear from our pastor and the priests who fill in for him. With few exceptions, I haven't met a homily I didn't like.