6. Assumption

We visited Assumption Church on Sunday, June 20th.  We took advantage of a weekend car rental to visit this church located in Congress Heights, quite distant from the city center. 

Somewhat similar to Incarnation Church, Assumption is a small church serving an overwhelmingly black neighborhood.  All but one of the hundred-strong congregation was black; trending older and female.  The (outgoing) parish priest celebrated Mass, ably assisted by his deacon and two altar servers.  There was a small choir of eight with an organist. 

5. St Mary, Mother of God

St Mary's is one of several Roman Catholic churches in downtown Washington, DC.  It seems more hidden than others, however, located as it is well within Chinatown behind the Verizon Center.  It is crowded on either side by buildings, making it difficult to spot from the street.

St Mary's is one of the few DC churches to offer a traditional Latin Rite Mass; we attended such a Mass last year - on Sunday, June 20th, however, we attended the regular 7:00pm Mass.  St Mary's advertises this Mass as the latest one in the city.  Presumably it is timed to catch those unable to attend Mass earlier in the day and, perhaps, those returning to the city from a weekend getaway.

We didn't know what size or type of congregation we'd see there.  It was very mixed - young and old of many ethnicities.  We estimate a least eighty people in attendance.  We couldn't tell who was from the parish itself and who travelled from elsewhere for the Mass.

The parish priest celebrated Mass with the assistence of an altar server.  The Mass moved along quite quickly, as there was no music or choir.  The priest gave quite a long sermon - about 15-18 minutes - that hit numerous points.  He served communion by himself, which took a while with the large congregation present.

4. Church of the Incarnation

We visited the Church of the Incarnation on Sunday, June 6th, for XXXam Mass.  Incarnation is located right on the border between DC and Maryland; it serves the YYY neighborhood.

We arrived at the church quite early (due to the Metro bus schedule), so settled in while the choir went through their paces.  The pews were sparsely filled until just before XXXam - more people arrived shortly afterwards.  The congregation was almost exclusively black; it trended older and female.  We estimate about a hundred people in attendance. 

The parish priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of his deacon and two altar servers.  Both the priest and deacon greeted us before Mass started - and handed us little pennants as remembrances.  The deacon gave the homily - a practice that seems common in DC.  He spoke firmly about proper preparation for and attendance at Mass, including, for example, the oft-ignored rule of abstinence from food for an hour before receiving the Eucharist.  He also spoke about dressing formally for Mass - though pretty much everyone we saw there was well-dressed.

The priest and deacon administered Holy Communion with the assistance of two extraordinary ministers.  They offered both bread and wine.  As seems usual in DC, most of the congregation went to receive the Eucharist by bread alone; the other half by bread and wine.  

The small choir of five women and one man were accompanied by the organist.  They performed about three traditional hymns during the Mass. 

We found Incarnation to be a friendly and welcoming church during our short visit.