I'll admit. I'm biased. I've been attending Grace since 2003. There's never been a Sunday when 'I…read moredon't feel like going to church'. The messages are challenging and truthful. Encouraging and not condemning. Easy to understand but not sugar-coated. Fight Club (Men) & Remarkable Women are just two of the amazing ministries to get involved with. Childcare is fantastic and safe. The pastors love Jesus and they love the Community. They're in the Community and they're for the Community. Great place to 'check out a church'. I'd give more stars if I could!

Great friendly church. Small town loving people. Very modern. Comfortable dressing as casual as…read moreyou like. Up beat modern music. And a great preaching team where the message comes straight from the bible, no sugar coating.

I like this church. But when you go inside. It's small. We usually go to this church every year to…read moreplay the Easter egg hunt. I go to a different church. I go here for the Easter egg hunt. But they host it kindergarten-6th grade. So it's a good local church to go to. "Wow. This place is small but a good local church to go to!"

I must take a bit of glee when I read in the South Bend paper that the leading activist protesting…read morethis worship center was arrested for domestic violence. As well, there is/was an arrest warrant for a second member of this group. These issues have most likely been resolved by now, but this shows the true character of these self described "activists". I will not stoop to their level...will not post their names or addresses.

Middlebury Church of the Brethren is a modestly sized congregation located in Middlebury, Indiana,…read morea small community within Elkhart County. The church is a member of the Church of the Brethren denomination, a historic peace denomination (think Quakers, Mennonites). While it's a modestly sized denomination both in Indiana and overall, it's actually of a decent-size in Northern Indiana and Elkhart County has multiple Church of the Brethren congregations. Middlebury is pastored by Janet Shaver and has been for approximately 3-4 years. A good majority of the denomination's pastors are either graduates of Richmond, Indiana's Bethany Theological Seminary, a Church of the Brethren seminary located on the grounds of Earlham College, though certainly not all. The denomination does lean toward emphasizing graduate education for its pastors though not every congregation, especially rural congregations, follows this recommendation. Middlebury is largely representative of the overall Church of the Brethren denomination - it's a unique mix of both conservative and progressive Christians and the denomination overall continues to be challenged by progressive issues including LGBTQ inclusion. Middlebury does proclaim itself to be an inclusive congregation and this is included in its weekly print bulletin. As is evident, however, the Church of the Brethren does openly ordain women (there is a more conservative branch of Church of the Brethren, Brethren Revival Fellowship, that would prefer this not be the case). Middlebury has accessible parking and a modest inclined entryway. For the most part, I found their church to be wheelchair friendly. I have been a guest preacher at Middlebury and was able to access its altar area via a backstage ramp area that is kept free of clutter and is ADA compliant. The church has a daycare ministry that is run out of its building - they also rent space to a local pentecostal fellowship, though Church of the Brethren worship services do not lean toward the pentecostal style of worship. The Sunday morning services are live-streamed. Sunday School occurs after the worship service. Middlebury includes a play area in the sanctuary - it is in the back - while it's not a "staffed" area, it is set up in a way that children are encouraged to be within the faith community and parents can be with them while still being part of the service. While I'm aware that at one point Middlebury did have some internal politicizing, I found the congregation to be warm, welcoming, and quite inclusive. They went out of their way to be accessible. I spoke during the main worship service and during a young adult Sunday School class. If you are looking for a peace-oriented church with a more traditional style of worship service in the Elkhart County area, I'd certainly consider visiting Middlebury Church of the Brethren.

This is fun. Rating a church.I remember all the times I was stuck here with my folks, listening to…read moresome banal diatribe from some priest who looked like he would rather be watching the game or playing golf.I remember my dad griping that the parents let their kids run wild during mass, and I do recall some pretty noisy brats running free. They do have a food bank, and they used to have decent songs, but lately, like most catholic churches, the whole mass seems rather stiff,posed and archly self important. I remember the electric mass, the 12:15 mass at Notre Dame with Father Tim Toohey, now that was a fun mass, even for forced catholics, like me. They sang let the sun shine in, let it be, the sounds of silence, all kind of great songs.Hey, all catholic churches, and cantors, GET OVER YOURSELVES!!!! You are part of a mass, not directing Cats! I live in the nearby to this church, and it is ok.

This is more of a 5 star review of the Lenten retreat sponsored by St Jude's Altar Rosary…read moreSodality-'Fatima-100 years later- Lessons from Mother Mary with applications for today' presented by James Murphy of Vera Cruz Ministries. Jim presented a wonderful and comprehensive timeline of Mary's appearance to the three children in Fatima, Portugal. He then expounded on Our Lady's 4 items of personal consecration :Grace, Penance , Rosary, and Reparation. The talk was entertaining, humorous and profound - we all have a cross to carry ....and to paraphrase Mother Theresa: 'We are not all called to do great things in this life, but we CAN do all things with great love'. Be the best version of yourself..... Be Open to Grace. Say yes to God! Final message from Fatima: God never asked us to be successful; He asks us to be faithful!

South Bend Vineyard Church is a great church in South Bend, IN. They exist to invite others to know…read moreJesus, invest in believers and impact the community through service. Their one service on Sunday runs about an hour long and it includes contemporary worship, a quick "hello" to everyone from the stage, a message by someone from our teaching team, and then we end with prayer and community time. They also believe they are one big family and we welcome all kids to our gatherings. It's a great community of people and a place for anyone. Pastor David Murrell is the lead pastor and he is phenomenal!