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.