9. Holy Trinity

We attended 1:15pm Mass on Sunday, July 18th.  This church is located in the quiet narrow streets of Georgetown, not far from the bustle of its downtown area.  The church building is large and imposing from the front; inside, however, it had cool, clear classic lines.  Its ornate architecture was blunted by pastel paintwork; there was a notable absence of statues or anything ornate (quite the contrast with last week's Italian church).

A single priest (an American visiting from Rome) celebrated Mass with the assistance of a cantor, two readers, one altar helper, and two extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.  The Mass structure itself was conventional - the only noteworthy aspect was the introductory request by the cantor to introduce ourselves to our neighbors.  We estimate that the congregation was about ninety; overwhelmingly white, young to middle-aged, with a sprinking of older people. 

8. Church of Holy Rosary

We attended midday Mass on Sunday, July 11th.  This lovely inner city church is more widely known as the "Italian church" at Judiciary Square.  The church building certainly has the Italian feel about it.  This was especially so inside; the main chapel was adorned with statues.

A single priest celebrated Mass; he was aided by one layperson, who directed singing, read the two readings, and assisted with preparation for the Eucharist.  The Mass itself was pretty standard.  The collection took place as the Eucharist preparations were ongoing; the sign of peace took place after the Our Father; in other words, everything was the way one would expect it. 

We estimated the congregation to be about sixty people; mainly white (perhaps of Italian descent?) though other ethnic groups were present as well.  There was a good mix of young and old; singles, couples, and families. 

7. St Aloysius

We attended the 8am service here on July 4th.  St. Aloysius is attached to the Gonzaga Catholic School run by the Jesuits on the 800 block of North Capitol Street (technically the church is located on 19 I St NW - but it faces onto North Capitol).  The Mass was celebrated in the 'lower church' (the basement); we'll leave the historic main church for another day.

On this Indepdence Day morning, about twenty-five of us showed up for the early Mass.  A very joyous Jesuit priest celebrated Mass; he began by encouraging us all to move closer to the front of the church.  He also led the singing, chanted, and spoke to us afterwards.  The Mass itself was slightly unusual because of the placement of the sign of the peace.  Usually performed after the Our Father, this time is was done at the end of the Liturgy of the Word and before the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Pretty much everybody greeted each other, even us guests.  Toward the end of Mass, the priest invited us to introduce ourselves briefly (along with the other guests); the congregation applauded us. 

The other unusual aspect of Mass was the process for receiving Holy Communion.  Most commonly started from the front of the church, the priest instructed us (for the guests' benefit - I think regulars know the score) to come up two at a time from the rear, return to our pew and kneel until everyone had received, and then stand.  The priest said that this was the Church's instruction "since 1969"; we do not know the particular directive to which he refers.  This was the first time either of us had heard or seen of this particular practice.

The congregation was mixed; some black, some white; some elderly, some middle-aged; mostly locals and a few visitors (perhaps on their way to or from Union Station). 

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.

3. Ukranian National Catholic Shrine of the Holy Family (4250 Harewood Rd NE)

The Ukranian Catholic Church is one of about twenty Catholic churches at are in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and one of only two (that we have found to date) with a physical presence in the National Capital Area.  The concept of 'full communion' is a complex and changing one (perhaps we'll be visiting an Anglican church before we're done) and you can find information and resources here.  We're not going to get into the theology or history of it - suffice to say, we accept the Church's teaching on it and know with certainty that we can fulfil our Mass obligation - and receive the Eucharist - at the Ukranian Church.

We attended Divine Liturgy at 9am on Sunday, May 30th, 2010.  We knew almost nothing about the Byzantine liturgial tradition before going in.  We sat at the back, allowing us to follow the practices of the regular congregants.  We were able to read through some of the liturgical guide before the service started, and were able to see the gist of the service and some elements familiar to the Latin rite. 

The congregation was all white, save for one man.  We didn't expect to see much ethnic diversity in the Ukranian national church!  We wondered if regular congregants were of Ukranian descent (we don't know).  All told, there were about forty people there.

This particular Byzantine rite has the priest facing the Tabernacle with the congregation (somewhat similar to the Traditional Latin rite).  The priest was assisted by a deacon and three altar servers (for want of a better term - we don't know what they're called officially).  All were located in the altar area separated from the main part of the church by a three-doored wooden panel.  At various times the priest, deacon, and servers entered and exited through these doors. 

The liturgy centered on the priest and deacon chanting prayers and the choir (hidden above the main entrance) responding to them.  The deacon had a more prominent role than the priest, which surprized us.  The congregation didn't join in that much.  Unlike Roman Catholic congregations, however, this one made the Sign of the Cross after every mention of the Trinity.  There was one reading from the Bible and one specifically from the Gospel (though chanted, which made it difficult to follow).  There were two collections, conducted separately (not quite sure what the second one was for). 

The priest gave a short homily.  The priest was new and this was his first service.  Communion was by intinction - though this is an approved method in the Roman Catholic Church, we've never seen it used.  It is more common in the Byzantine churches.  It was a first for us then, as the priest used a small spoon to transmit the Eucharist from the Chalice to our mouths. 

The Liturgy ended after an hour and five minutes.  The priest remained in the church to greet his new parishoners.  Find out more about the Ukranian Catholic Church here. 

2. St Joseph (313 2nd St NE)

We attended 8:30am Mass at St Joseph's on Sunday, May 23, 2010.  St Joseph's sits in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, not that far from Union Station, the Senate office buildings and other government buildings, and the Capitol itself.  We weren't quite sure what congregation would turn up there early on a rainy Sunday morning.

The congregation was mixed racially and demographically.  Certainly whites were the majority but there were some blacks and latinos too.  There was a good mix of families, couples, groups of friends, and single people.  All told we reckon the congregation was about sixty.

Two priests celebrated Mass, which began a little before 8:30am (that really is a first for us!)  As with St Ann's last week, this church took both collections at the same time (the second one was for CRS again - did they get it two weeks in a row or did churches have discretion as to when they held the collection?  We don't know).  For communion, the two priests served the Host from in front of the main altar, while two lay people served the Chalice from either side.

This was Pentacost, of course, so the priest's homily focused on the Holy Spirit.  He appearned not to use notes and speak very much from the heart. 

There was neither music nor singing at this Mass - we think this is typical of many early morning Masses.

Afterwards, the priests greeted their congregants outside the church, even though it was still raining.  Here is the link to St Joseph's website.

1. St Ann (4001 Yuma St NW)

As we write about the first church we've visited as part of this project, we want to be clear that we're not 'rating' anything - be it the priest, the congregation, the church building, or the experience of the sacrement itself.  That's not what we're about.  Instead, we're going to comment on what we observed and note how particular elements of the Mass - for example, weekly collections - are practiced.

Even though St Ann's is the first church we've visited as part of this project, we have visited about a dozen already during our few years in the city.  We haven't decided yet if we'll count them as completed or go back to them again.

St Ann's in Tenlytown
We attended 12:00pm Mass at St Ann's on Sunday, May 16th, 2010.  There was about fifty people there - mainly white but with some blacks and latinos.  The majority of people were middle-aged, but there were some children, teenagers, and elderly as well. 

Mass started precisely on time - not a practice we've noticed in other churches!  As usual, a few people came in late, up to the point of the first reading - again, a (regretful) pattern in many churches.  One priest celebrated the Mass, assisted by a deacon (at least we think he was a deacon) and two altar servers.  A female cantor ably led a small choir (neatly positioned on the first floor above the main entrance) and an organist.  The congregation seemed happy to let the cantor and choir do all of the singing - we didn't hear that many people join in the hymns.

The priest read his homily from either prepared notes or an actual script.  This seemed unusual - most priests we've encountered tend not to rely on written aids. 

For Holy Communion, only the Host was offered.  A team of four servers, including the priest, served from in front of the altar - two directly in front and two a little to either side.  This is the first time we've seen that in the city (or elsewhere for that matter).  People tool the sacrement both in their hands and directly into their mouth. 

There were two collections this week, the first was the regular weekly collection for the church and the second was a special one for Catholic Relief Services.  Special collectors went down the middle and side aisles with their collection baskets.  Unusually, they started the second collection immediately after the first one.  This makes sense - you don't have to take out your wallet or fumble through your purse at two separate times.

Mass lasted about an hour.  The majority of the congregation stayed for the start of the recessional hymn, but some drifted out before it was over.  The priest stood outside to greet his congregants. 

We don't intend to comment on church architecture - we'll just publish a couple of pictures of the outside of the church.  St Ann's is typical of many 19th century churches in the city.  You can check out their website here.

So many churches...

Washington DC has at least 39 Roman Catholic churches; we've decided to attend Mass at each of them over the coming 12 months.  We'll also include other Roman Catholic venues, such as monasteries and convents (11 so far), and Christian churches that are in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church (just 2 that we've found so far).

Why do it, you might ask.  Aren't Roman Catholics supposed to worship in their own parish?  Don't we frowm upon "church shopping" - that awful practice that some of our Protestant and non-denominational friends engage in? 

Well, surprisingly, the Roman Catholic church doesn't have any hard and fast rules about it.  The Church is a global one, meaning that every Catholic professes the same set of beliefs and every individual church celebrates the same sacrements.  So, Mass in Washington DC is the same as Mass in Wilmington, Waukegan, or Warsaw.  It is the same in English, Spanish, Korean, or Tagalog (all of which you can attend in DC, by the way!)  So, we're not losing out on that score.  We are losing out a bit on the community element - not just celebrating Mass with the same bunch of people eacy week, but getting to know them better, forming friendships, and engaging in service together.  We are prepared to make that sacrifice.

Well, why make that sacrifice?  Well, Washington DC is a diverse city.  It contains people from dozens of countries, ethnicities, experiences, and outlooks.  We wonder to what extent the RC Church relfects that diversity.  Also, despite having set practices for Mass litugries, priests are given some leeway in how they implement them.  We're curious to see the diversity within liturgies as well.  Finally, we're using this exercise as a way to see parts of the city that otherwise we might never see.  That's about it.