A church review of the Hampden area would never be complete without the beautiful St. Thomas Aquinas, a combination church, school, and convent that rises high on Roland Ave near the fire station.
Time: I attended the 11 a.m. Sunday service. Mass is also held at 9 a.m. Sunday and 5 p.m. Saturday. Confession is at 4:15-4:45 on Saturday or by appointment.
Leader: Reverend M. Shawn Mahon, a man in the later middle age. He hadn't done a lot of research for the lesson, and it showed. He talked about immigrants speaking their native tongue, "Yugoslavian--or whatever language they speak," and I couldn't help but squirm and think that it's not hard to look it up and find that it was Slavic. He also could have just avoided trying to name it, if he didn't know.
He used a lot of vocal fillers and didn't seem very impassioned or sure of himself. He also was one of the few pastors I've ever met who didn't make an effort to greet me. I also experienced another first--a pastor saying, "Have a good day" in bland monotone after the blessing.
Hilarious.
Congregation: Some of the older generations were dressed up, but I also saw several people in sports T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. However, no one said anything to me, and they didn't seem overly friendly among themselves, either. There was a much younger crowd than in most of the other area churches, and there was more diversity, maybe 5% non-Caucasian. This, and the attendance of 113 people, really impressed me.
Interior: The altar was beautiful, with statues abounding. There were donated stained glass windows and dark oak eaves stretching high. Ironically, the wall outlining the elaborate altar said (in incredibly fancy script): "What does it profit one to gain the whole world but suffer the loss of his own soul?" I wonder if those putting it up thought about how the money going to make the church that gorgeous might have been more practically spent.
Presentation: There was no point by point bulletin to help me follow along, though the hymn numbers were posted. The weekly bulletin, sponsored by several local businesses, including two wine stores, did have contact information and the weekly prayer concerns. The bulletin did say, though, that 43% of American women have an abortion, which I thought was really high. It was. Please see http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html for accurate statistics. It really upsets me when churches do this--people should be able to trust those guiding them on how to live their lives.
I did enjoy the little baskets on sticks the ushers used to collect the offering from.
Sermon: The lesson was about the eucharist and letting yourself be transformed by Christ, focusing on that we should learn to be Christ in one another and to one another. The examples, however, were bland and didn't reach out past Christians at all.
Part of the prayer after the sermon asked for people to be called to be priests, nuns, etc.--a sweet self-preservation for the church.
Music: Organ was the only instrument. A young woman with a sweet, delicate voice led all the singing responses and songs. Unfortunately, it was hard to hear her sometimes, and she didn't always give page numbers for what wasn't posted. As a visitor, I found this difficult and discouraging. The hymns, all traditional, often only had the line for the melody written out, though some people improvised the harmony quite well.
Overall atmosphere: The church, as mentioned, is something to be seen and experienced. I do think, however, that I'd prefer to visit on my own than during service. It just didn't speak to me, despite the visuals.
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