St Augustine Church in Washington

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kommentare 5

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  Thomas Petersen

  :: 31 December 2017 20:09:24

  We visited our son who recently moved to the neighborhood and attended Christmas and Sunday mass in Dec. Wonderful choir, service and eloquent homily. We are from Utah but were made to feel so very much at home and welcome as guests. Wonderful Christmas Service, Thanks to pastor and all parishoners.

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  Curt Thomas

  :: 24 December 2017 21:32:01

  Wonderful Christmas Eve celebration with children in a ceremonial play.

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  Rosanne B

  :: 17 December 2017 17:18:49

  Participated in a wedding here. The priest gave an awesome message and the physical church was awe-inspiring.

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  Michael Moriarty

  :: 29 October 2017 20:16:18

  I was told about the 12:30 Gospel Choir Mass- one of the best I've ever experienced. A very vibrant and welcoming parish. This is worth seeking out!

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  MyCollege Advisor

  :: 21 May 2017 09:13:54

  There are many wonderful things to love about St. Augustine and there are some things that need strengthening. Here is what is great: St. Augustine cares about its community and outreach to the poor and downtrodden outside the church definitely takes place. The pastor is a big advocate for social justice and stays involved in the policies of DC that affect the lives of the church, its community and its school. He deserves tremendous kudos for saving the only Catholic school committed to serving inner city children in the rapidly gentrifying corridors that abound 14th Street. The services are generally good. My favorite---and apparently most people's---is the 12:30 Gospel Mass. It is long, but you see at least a thousand people of all races gathered in a church to enjoy the rich traditions of black music. Herein lies some of its problems: the minister of music seems to be becoming lazy---the same predictable songs are song over and over and he is no longer providing the wide variety of black gospel and spiritual music. We should hear anthems, contemporary gospel, old-time gospel and Negro spirituals. The full range of black worship music is getting lost, as he and the choir sing the same songs over and over. People should visit other masses. More traditional masses are offered at other times of the day and they are shorter, addressing a complaint that some have about how long the Gospel Mass seems to have become. Also, there are other choirs: a youth choir and more traditional Catholic mass music are offered at other masses, particularly the early masses and weekday masses. Negatives: Because St. Augustine has become so large, it is losing its community feel and its feel as an African American historical congregation. Diversity is good, and I love that St. Augustine is one of the few churches in Washington, D.C. that is not all one race or the other, but at the same time, the African American roots should be maintained. Leadership of the church remains tightly confined to a cohort of people who are not particularly welcoming to new comers. The pastor-Father Patrick---is welcoming. But the African American heavyset woman who heads the worship service at 12:30 (I think her name is Marcia) almost never smiles, is abrupt and flat out rude when people ask her questions, and is one of those women whose general demeanor makes people think of church-folk as grim, judgmental and unwelcoming. I have no right to judge her heart---it may be in the right place---but she should display the warmth of Christianity to worshippers, not just her power. The church is involved heavily in helping outsiders, but should do more to help its actual membership. Rarely are calls made to the congregation to help the sick, visit the bereaved, or to do anything to help make the congregation get to know one another better or feel that the church has their back. I am a member, and when I lost two sisters, no one ever contacted me or followed up on my requests for prayer. This is after leaving a direct message for the Pastor. Months later he called and left an apology on my phone---I do believe it was sincere---but still no follow-up by having a person who deals with the sick and shut-in. There simply is no compassion being shown to members. The "church" is beginning to just feel like a venue for Sunday "performances." Another negative is if you are what many refer to jokingly as a "CME" Christian (someone who only comes on Christmas, Mother's Day or Easter), this is definitely not the church for you. St. Augustine has so many visitors on those days that you will not find a seat if you get there less than one hour before the service. Those services usually are the worst, for everything is rushed, crowded, hot, and people are complaining constantly to the poor ushers about having to stand. Worse, real members---particularly the elderly and infirm---are robbed of the seats they so richly deserve to people who just show up for the "show" on holidays and to feel good about themselves when for the rest of the year.