St Thomas, Apostle

Where: 2665 Woodley Road NW, Washington DC 20008.

When: September 26th, 2010.

Web: The parish's website is located here; the ADW listing is here.

We attended 8:30am Mass at this Woodley Park church.  The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of a lector, an altar server, and an Eucharistic minister.  The parish's choirs sing at the other masses during the day.

There were about sixty people in the congregation; mostly white, though with other groups represented as well.  There was a good age range as well, though mostly middle-aged and older. 

The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest gave a homily based on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.  He focused on how, though the rich man was concerned with his brothers when he was in torment, his failure to have concern for the poor, and to use his wealth for good, condemned him.  The priest noted that wealth means far more than money - for example, the wealth we have in our Christian faith.  We are called by God to use our wealth for the good of others and, ultimately, our own good.

Our Lady of Victory

Where: 4835 MacArthur Blvd NW, Washington DC 20007.

When: September 19th, 2010.

Web: The church's website is here; the ADW listing is located here.

We attended 10:30am Mass at this church located in the Palisades community in Northwest DC.  This pretty church was about three-quarters full, with quite a lot of families with young children (today was Catechumen's Day, at which the Church recognizes and blesses teachers; this may explain the young attendance).  The congregation was overwhelmingly white, though there were some blacks and Hispanics there as well.  This church has a weekly Mass for the Croatian community.

The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of an organist, choir, Eucharistic ministers.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  Two notable aspects were (i) two women collecting, and (ii) the choir coming down from the loft for Holy Communion and returning to there afterwards.  This is the first time we've seen a choir relocate during a Mass.

The priest gave a homily on the topic of wealth, based on the Luke's Gospel of serving either God or mammon.

St Benedict the Moor

Where: 320 21st St NE, Washington DC 20002.

When: September 12th, 2010.

Web: The church's own website is here; the ADW listing is here.

We attended 10am Mass at this church located in the Kingman Park neighborhood, not far from RFK Stadium.  The congregation was about two hundred, almost exclusively black.  There was a notable absence of children and young adults, which the priest referenced in his homily.

The priest celebrated Mass with the assistance of two altar servers, a pianist, and two Eucharistic ministers.  There was no deacon.  The Mass followed the standard rite.  The priest gave an insighful homily on forgiveness, based on the parable of the prodigal son.  He referenced The Color Purple to reach his audience better.  He also focused on the need for parishoners to evangelize, esp. to get young people to return to the church.