Catholic Church question

GWDouglas · October 2010

I was wondering if anyone know of any Catholic Churches in the area...either NOVA or DC that have contemporary mass. We live in the Falls Church area but we dont mind driving.

Thanks

Baby4OT · October 2010

I think you'll have to be more specific about what you are looking for. Generally speaking, the whole Arlington Diocese is really conservative. Maybe check out Trinity in Georgetown? Also, check some of the college campus masses - amybe that's more what you are looking for?

Hey Jellisy · November 2010

Have you tried St. Philips in Falls Church - I usually go there for Holy Days of obligation and we've been to a few Sunday services when we lived in Falls Church. It seems like a really lovely community. I love Holy Trinity in Georgetown, that's my home church. I've been a member for over 10 years and give you a far more detailed run down if you are interested. Many folks love St. Charles in Clarendon. I haven't been so I can't give a first hand account but I am pretty sure they offer contemporary worship. There is a parish in Arlington that is really liberal that a number of my friends go to, I have to look at a wedding invitation to get you the name, but it's over by 395 and might be physically out of your way but it is certain to have contemporary worship too.

There are actually a lot of good parishes in Arlington Diocese, it just takes time to find someplace that feels like home to you. There are some like St. Michael's that have songbooks from the 1800s but there are also many that offer a contemporary and dynamic worship experience. Try a few out and see what fits. If you want to stay local to Falls Church, St. Philips is worth trying. If you're game for going further afield, I highly recommend Trinity and I know St. Charles is often recommended.

Out of curiosity was it St. James that you tried going to? I've gone to weekday services there and a few Sunday. The church is beautiful and the people are really nice, but the worship there doesn't speak to me.

amh_navyblue · November 2010

It has been a huge challenge for DH and I to find a parish we're happy with in NoVA...we'll have to check out St. Philips...but for the moment we have been going to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna--it's not quite what we want, but it's pretty decent. The 9:30am Mass on Sunday has great music and the homilies in general are not CRAZY conservative. The parish is huge...which has it's pluses and minuses...

claraj · November 2010

DH is Catholic so I have been to my share of masses. The church he chose is in Arlington and I really like it. Very liberal (for Catholic anyway) and laid back. In fact, we were married here, which was a big deal for non-Catholic me.

Our Lady Queen of Peace is just off Glebe Rd near 395.

https://www.ourladyqueenofpeace.org/

claraj · November 2010

Hey Jellisy:

There is a parish in Arlington that is really liberal that a number of my friends go to, I have to look at a wedding invitation to get you the name, but it's over by 395 and might be physically out of your way but it is certain to have contemporary worship too.

That's Our Lady Queen of Peace!

Hey Jellisy · November 2010

Thank you! It's a great parish, I've enjoyed it the few times I've gone. I love their history and their credit union and the way they respond to community needs. It seems like such a dynamic place. Since we moved Holy Trinity has been more of a trek for us than we are always up to, and we've talked about switching parishes, but DH thinks if we are going to be not local (ie. Holy Spirit or St. Michael's) we should continue at Trinity. I would've put OLQOP on the short list since we live off of 395 and it's not that long a drive.

slukd79 · November 2010

We really liked Holy Trinity in Georgetown but found ultimately decided to go to St. Agnes in Cherrydale. It is not really liberal, but I like much more than St. James in Falls Church. We never clicked there.

GWDouglas · November 2010

To be more specific...The church that we went to before we moved had a teen life mass on Sunday nights. It was a mass with contemporary music, ect. My husband likes it better because he was not raised Catholic

kbalb · November 2010

We go to St. Philip's. It's a great community (fairly small). The contemporary Mass is at 11:30. My husband is actually one of the guitarists for the choir.

Although, the new pastor is quite conservative, so I'm not sure if that will end up changing anything in the future.

VTeach06 · November 2010

As a St. Mike's graduate, I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from. We started going to the chapel on the George Mason campus. It's a much more contemporary service, as they mostly cater to the students, but a lot of people have made it their "parish" as well because the service is so much more enjoyable.

Hey Jellisy · November 2010

GWDouglas:
To be more specific...The church that we went to before we moved had a teen life mass on Sunday nights. It was a mass with contemporary music, ect. My husband likes it better because he was not raised Catholic

I believe Teen Life is actually a movement in the church, you might be able to Google it and see if there are any churches locally who participate. It's really prevalent up North but I don't know how widespread it is down here.

If you are willing to travel into the District, check out the St. Thomas Sunday night 7:30pm service. It's almost all young adults and they have a really active and social community.

A lot of non-students go to Bellarmine (GMU) and Dahlgren (Georgetown) for mass for similar reasons. Bellarmine has a great service and Dahlgren has frequent services (last chance mass at 11:15pm), but I wanted to attend a more traditional parish where I could fully participate.

FancyFeet10 · November 2010

St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax has a Teen mass from Sep-May on Sunday nights. It definitely has more contemporary music than regular mass. I haven't been in a few years, but you might want to check it out.

Catholic Church question

Re: Catholic Church question

Choose Another Board

Search Boards