Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church

I went to a funeral here recently and they mentioned that this never happened before, but apparently there’s a first time for everything. The main pastor was out of town and they had to find an alternate priest. The priest was over an hour late and they had to go out of order for all of things that were planned and put in a nice booklet. It was really unfortunate because all of the loved ones were here to pay their respects and spent time preparing something nice only to have it chaotic.
When the pastor arrived, the people apologized, but he did not and it he seemed irritated by the whole situation. It was very difficult to understand him because he had a heavy accent. I know in Catholic Churches it is quite common to stand them sit, then stand and repeat. But with this pastor it seemed way more than usual!
I enjoyed the singer the family had and also the main singer for the church. He sounded like he could have done it for TV or hosted his own concert. He had a great voice!

A sweet little treat in the middle of the city. Holy Name of Jesus is one special church! Visitors and regular members are welcomed with a warm smile. The gospel mass might make you wonder if you’re really in a Catholic Church.
Visit once, you’ll be back.
(Oh and stay for a little fellowship after Mass. Always a little treat offered for a small donation. Sometimes it’s a bigger treat (lunch!). Come early and stay late.

Umm… how have I not reviewed this church?
For a young Democrat Pro-​Women feminist Catholic, this church makes me LOVE my religion once again.
I stopped going to my family church when I was pregnant and made the mistake of going to church during October (pro-​life month). I guess they wanted someone to do the gift offerings who valued life? Well… Little did they know that I had grown out of a lot of my clothes so the only ones I had that fit were my «Pro-​Choice» shirts. Anyways, I got tired of attending the mini-​GOP conventions so I decided it was time to either give up my faith or find a different way to explore it.
I was church-​less for about two years. I knew I wanted to attend a church that had a Gospel choir since I used to sing Gospel, and I came across Jesica’s review.
(Inside Info: My daughter is Blaxican, and I’m president of my univeristy’s Black Student Union. I love West African culture and have visited Ghana to do volunteer work. My family has been on welfare in the past so I know how much it is needed by some.) I fell in love and hadn’t even seen the church yet.
I’ve been attending the 10am mass for about two months now and am in LOVE with not only the church, but the community, the school, and most importantly… I love bein Catholic again. This church identifies with the St. Vincent de Paul society so they actually are here to HELP people who don’t have it well off. And although it’s a Catholic church, when the priest talked about marriage he did emphasize the difference between church and state and how just because a couple is married by the government doesn’t mean they have to get married by the church. (I identify as pansexual, so yeah…)
I love the fact that when my daughter get’s tired and cranky, I can go into the little children’s room with the other parents and I can still see and hear the mass and my daughter can run around and play.
The ONLY complaint I have… and yes it is a superficial one, is that there is a lack of an African-​American or African priest. I am a Pan-​African studies and a Sociology double major candidate and I can’t shake the idea of the white savior idea out of my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I love the priest and he’s pretty awesome, it’s just a super minor complaint. But then again, I’m a chicana who is president of the BSU so how can I complain?
Either way, 5 stars all the way!

I’ve never written a review for a church before but I had such an amazing experience at the 10 a.m. gospel mass on Sunday I had to share. My father invited me to join him for a two hour mass which normally sounds excruciating but it was the best mass I’ve ever been to in my entire life. It was everything you’d expect in a Catholic mass except for two things– the peace be with you’s and the choir.
I must have said peace be with you to 30 people because everyone walks up and down the aisles shaking hands and sincerely saying «peace be with you.» One woman gave me a hug. A hug! I had never been to that church before in my life but people greeted me kindly and welcomed my father and me with open arms. I was so touched.
The single most amazing aspect of this church is the choir. Those choir members sang their heart out and literally, I’m not kidding, made me cry. My father and I sat there wiping away our tear-​stained cheeks and noses with his handkerchiefs as their voices touched our hearts. It was as though my heart was silently mending itself with their words of encouragement and praise. I couldn’t quite figure out why exactly I was crying but my tears made me feel cleansed somehow, relieved of my burdens I was quietly holding on to.
All I can say is that I would love to be a part of this congregation and feel the way I felt on Sunday over & over & over again.