I've visited this Catholic church in Ballard several times; as a Catholic it's a bit of a strange idea to "review a parish," but I'll try to share some helpful information for other potential visitors. Mass centers around broken, wounded and imperfect people (us) from all backgrounds coming together to receive the one thing that can heal them and thus bring them closer to God and the rest of humanity -- Communion. Having said this, I'll dispense with some basic facts about my experiences there.
First things first: the Mass itself is celebrated with great reverence and respect. Altar boys assist the priest(s) throughout the celebration, and the choir and organ music is very well done. The organist(s) in particular seems to be very accomplished. The liturgy is orderly from beginning to end; all of the details seem to be attended to properly. The priest(s) are sincere in their homilies, and quite gracious if you speak with them before or after Mass.
Considering many of the surrounding parishes which seem to have been built or remodeled according to the atrocious architectural ideas of the 70s, this church is actually quite beautiful from the inside. It has large stained glass windows, the tabernacle and a large crucifix are front and center, the main altar is made of marble, as are the side altars for St. Mary and St. Joseph, they have a pretty impressive set of the Stations of the Cross (always nice for Lent), and the organ is truly beautiful in design and sound. On the other hand, the outside of the church building is not much to look at; the pinkish-tan trim color is in pretty poor taste (at least to me).
The current pastor is from the Philippines; he's been very warm and friendly when I've spoken with him. Also by my experience he is a very good confessor (shhh..., or he'll get too busy for the rest of us). According to the parish bulletin there are many active sub-communities; seniors, youth, etc.
One challenge for this parish is that the parishioners need to take it upon themselves to be a bit more warm and welcoming; specifically prior to and after Mass. If you like to visit, worship, and disappear after Mass without having to ever meet new people, this would be a positive instead of a negative. They do host coffee and doughnut hour following the Sunday morning Masses, but it seems poorly attended compared to how many people attend Mass.
Another challenge is that while visiting you need to try to sit in the front third of the church if you want to have a hope of hearing clearly what is being spoken from the sanctuary throughout Mass. The same space that makes this church sound angelic when the choir is singing, makes the readings, homilies and prayers very difficult to understand much of the time. Sitting toward the front remedies much (but not all) of this.
Like many local parishes they don't seem to offer Confession very frequently, just one period on Saturday afternoons; it would be nice if they offered it prior to or after each weekend Mass, but they do not.
They do have a very nice Eucharistic Adoration chapel available for prayer during the week, but it's only open on Tuesdays and Fridays. This makes it difficult to drop by for impromptu visits when life gets overwhelming, but I suppose it is fortunate to have the chapel available at all.
It seems that their parish school is thought of quite highly by families whose children attend.
Overall there is a lot of good to say about this place; it's well worth a visit if you're in the Ballard area and need to go to Mass. Just don't expect to be bowled over by smiling greeters who want to shake your hand; it won't be that "kind" of an experience. Expect to participate in a Mass that is well celebrated and reverent, accompanied my some beautiful organ music; and try to sit toward the front. And pray for the rest of us while you're there.
Cheers read more
