Good solid conservative Catholic Churches in Seattle? (Bellevue, Kirkland: fit in, apartments)
Seattle areaSeattle and King County Suburbs
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Are there any good solid conservative Catholic Churches in Seattle? Or have churches like that been run out of town. (I've heard Seattle is very liberal :/)
Not being a Catholic, I'm not really in any position to blab here, but....
I know some folks who left Holy Rosary in West Seattle because they felt the place was too conservative.
When I moved to Seattle from the East Coast, I had a hard time finding a Catholic parish that felt reverent. Many felt like I was in Vegas attending a show (including many layouts like theater in the round!). I remember one on the Eastside that invited lay people up to help read parts of the gospel, with the reader (not a deacon or priest as is required) announcing the gospel "in the tradition of St. Matthew". Right away I realized something illicit was going on with the liturgy and I walked out of the church.
For super orthodox, the archbishop recently created a new parish with the Latin Rite -- the church is called "North Americans Martyrs".
For Novus Ordo with quite a bit of pagentry (20+ person choir at all masses processes into the church in robes), try St. James Cathedral. Great organ there. It's a big parish with lots of programs.
But in my opinion, the best Catholic parish in Seattle is Sacred Heart by Seattle Center. Very reverent, very small, has a homeless shelter on the parish property in the former convent doing good work. I think one of the reasons that makes it more orthodox -- but not uber-conservative like the all-Latin parish -- is that it's ministered by the Redemptorist Order. Those priests are not trained by the uber-liberal Seattle Archdiocese, but by an old fashioned religious order (I think the local province is based out of Denver). www.sacredheartseattle.com
Try and be patient as you get used to Seattle & Catholicism. Lots of borderline bad "customs" like everyone standing after the Agnus Dei. Ugh. But try to always focus on what matters most: the Real Presence in the Eucharist. As long as it's validly consecrated by a priest, everything else is (unfortunately) negotiable. That was advice a priest friend of mine from the East Coast gave me and it's helped me not sweat the small stuff -- too much....
Hope this is helpful!
(Oh, btw, for an easy daily Mass downtown, there's a 12:10 Mass at Plymouth Church's chapel, Seneca & 6th Not a Catholic church, but a priest visits there every day to say Mass. Not many people know it's there).
Thank you, you're information and perspective was very helpful. We are moving from a Memphis, TN church that is conservative and doctrine, so it would be helpful to find a church home that isn't way out there. I should mention I was raised at Sacred Heart in Bellevue pre Vatican II, but I do know how liberal things have gotten in western Washington too. Thanks again for your comments.
Not being a Catholic, I'm not really in any position to blab here, but....
I know some folks who left Holy Rosary in West Seattle because they felt the place was too conservative.
Good call. I would read Holy Rosary as a more conservative parish. It's in a nice location, accessible to the major thoroughfares to get there. My parents' friends used to go there, and they were "old world."
Blessed Sacrament, near UW, is Dominican, I believe, and is middle of the road. They service the UW area, so that might make it somewhat more liberal.
Most of the parishes in Seattle are liberal. Some of the upper East Side parishes, across the lake, such as St. Brendan and Holy Family might be conservative, since Bothell and Kirkland are kind of staid communities and most likely have grammar schools bolted on.
I mean, I'm a (cue the dramatic music) Gnostic Christian, and I wouldn't ask how Gnostic-friendly Alabama or South Carolina would be, I would know what it's like and that would be one more reason not to move there. I mean, if being socially conservative is so important...why move to Seattle anyway? We're absurdly gay friendly, have a lot of child-free folks, are okay with weed (I'm maybe one of ten people in this city who don't smoke) have plenty of strip clubs, have a huge atheist population, a huge pagan population, plenty of new age folks, etc.
If you come here and feel out of place well...you now feel how we feel in the other 80% of American territory that isn't a liberal area. I'm a crazy left wing heretic who likes coffee and industrial music, hence I would never lament on how weird it would feel living in the Bible Belt...instead, I just wouldn't live there.
I realize this poster's reply is 3 years old, but I wanted to say thank you for the mention of St. James. My wife and our family are newly Catholic after having just converted this year. We go to a very old and amazing beautiful church here in New Orleans where I attend medical school. We're strongly considering Seattle as a place where I'll apply to residency programs and were concerned we wouldn't find a church we'd love as much as Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church here in New Orleans. After seeing St. James (videos, website, program details, etc) we now know we'd LOVE attending there.
So, thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajp2004
When I moved to Seattle from the East Coast, I had a hard time finding a Catholic parish that felt reverent. Many felt like I was in Vegas attending a show (including many layouts like theater in the round!). I remember one on the Eastside that invited lay people up to help read parts of the gospel, with the reader (not a deacon or priest as is required) announcing the gospel "in the tradition of St. Matthew". Right away I realized something illicit was going on with the liturgy and I walked out of the church.
For super orthodox, the archbishop recently created a new parish with the Latin Rite -- the church is called "North Americans Martyrs".
For Novus Ordo with quite a bit of pagentry (20+ person choir at all masses processes into the church in robes), try St. James Cathedral. Great organ there. It's a big parish with lots of programs.
But in my opinion, the best Catholic parish in Seattle is Sacred Heart by Seattle Center. Very reverent, very small, has a homeless shelter on the parish property in the former convent doing good work. I think one of the reasons that makes it more orthodox -- but not uber-conservative like the all-Latin parish -- is that it's ministered by the Redemptorist Order. Those priests are not trained by the uber-liberal Seattle Archdiocese, but by an old fashioned religious order (I think the local province is based out of Denver). www.sacredheartseattle.com
Try and be patient as you get used to Seattle & Catholicism. Lots of borderline bad "customs" like everyone standing after the Agnus Dei. Ugh. But try to always focus on what matters most: the Real Presence in the Eucharist. As long as it's validly consecrated by a priest, everything else is (unfortunately) negotiable. That was advice a priest friend of mine from the East Coast gave me and it's helped me not sweat the small stuff -- too much....
Hope this is helpful!
(Oh, btw, for an easy daily Mass downtown, there's a 12:10 Mass at Plymouth Church's chapel, Seneca & 6th Not a Catholic church, but a priest visits there every day to say Mass. Not many people know it's there).
I realize this poster's reply is 3 years old, but I wanted to say thank you for the mention of St. James. My wife and our family are newly Catholic after having just converted this year. We go to a very old and amazing beautiful church here in New Orleans where I attend medical school. We're strongly considering Seattle as a place where I'll apply to residency programs and were concerned we wouldn't find a church we'd love as much as Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church here in New Orleans. After seeing St. James (videos, website, program details, etc) we now know we'd LOVE attending there.
So, thank you.
My mom is Catholic and I was raised in that tradition, though I haven't had anything to do with it in some time... however, my uncle is a very, very conservative Catholic and was a sports coach at the attached O'Dea boy's high school, and has always spoken very highly of the mass at St. James. My parents used to take us to mass there on high holidays and special occasions; it's a beautiful cathedral.
Of note, St. James is on First Hill, aka Pill Hill, and is about two blocks from the main Virginia Mason campus, four from Harborview Medical Center, and less than a mile from the Cherry Hill campus of Swedish Medical Center, with many satellite offices located on Madison Ave. I worked at VM for a year; great place to work or have residency, with some good lunch spots around. There are lots of apartments available on First Hill that would make life pretty easy if you're going to be doing a residency in the area.
Also, in terms of Seattle's general religious/spiritual climate: although a large swath of Seattle is nonreligious, people are generally fairly tolerant of others' religions, especially considering that chances are they don't really want much to do with you in the first place... I worked with a good number of Catholics, Protestants, even Evangelicals, nearly all of whom kept their spirituality known but personal and unintrusive. As far as the nonreligious people in Seattle go, relative to a city like Boston or San Francisco (both of which I've also lived in), there's not an exceptionally outspoken anti-religious sentiment that would make you feel uncomfortable.
My mom is Catholic and I was raised in that tradition, though I haven't had anything to do with it in some time... however, my uncle is a very, very conservative Catholic and was a sports coach at the attached O'Dea boy's high school, and has always spoken very highly of the mass at St. James. My parents used to take us to mass there on high holidays and special occasions; it's a beautiful cathedral.
Of note, St. James is on First Hill, aka Pill Hill, and is about two blocks from the main Virginia Mason campus, four from Harborview Medical Center, and less than a mile from the Cherry Hill campus of Swedish Medical Center, with many satellite offices located on Madison Ave. I worked at VM for a year; great place to work or have residency, with some good lunch spots around. There are lots of apartments available on First Hill that would make life pretty easy if you're going to be doing a residency in the area.
Also, in terms of Seattle's general religious/spiritual climate: although a large swath of Seattle is nonreligious, people are generally fairly tolerant of others' religions, especially considering that chances are they don't really want much to do with you in the first place... I worked with a good number of Catholics, Protestants, even Evangelicals, nearly all of whom kept their spirituality known but personal and unintrusive. As far as the nonreligious people in Seattle go, relative to a city like Boston or San Francisco (both of which I've also lived in), there's not an exceptionally outspoken anti-religious sentiment that would make you feel uncomfortable.
Thanks for the info. Anti-religious people don't make me uncomfortable in the least though. I like all people equally, regardless of their faith or background. My wife and I love being around those with different viewpoints.
Sounds like we'd be in a great area if I match there for residency. Thanks again!
I mean, I'm a (cue the dramatic music) Gnostic Christian, and I wouldn't ask how Gnostic-friendly Alabama or South Carolina would be, I would know what it's like and that would be one more reason not to move there. I mean, if being socially conservative is so important...why move to Seattle anyway? We're absurdly gay friendly, have a lot of child-free folks, are okay with weed (I'm maybe one of ten people in this city who don't smoke) have plenty of strip clubs, have a huge atheist population, a huge pagan population, plenty of new age folks, etc.
If you come here and feel out of place well...you now feel how we feel in the other 80% of American territory that isn't a liberal area. I'm a crazy left wing heretic who likes coffee and industrial music, hence I would never lament on how weird it would feel living in the Bible Belt...instead, I just wouldn't live there.
Why should a person ever feel like their views are unwelcome? I can easily imagine loving a part of the country but not being a part of the prevailing political culture (and as a libertarian, I don't really fit in anywhere, so I can relate somewhat). Diversity is a good thing, and that goes for politics as much as anything else. Being liberal would imply tolerance of differing and opposing views anyway, I should think. Anyone can be tolerant of people who think exactly like them.
This resonates with me because I have a liberal Christian friend who ended up in South Carolina because of a number of life circumstances, and she finds the conservative Christian culture unfriendly and unwelcoming -- she says she's had people condemn her to hell because she has a "coexist" bumper sticker on her car. And I had an atheist friend who spent years in Alabama and nearly went mad dealing with the political and cultural climate -- but that's where the work was, so he dealt with it.
I guess I'd like to think Seattleites are above that kind of petty behavior. And for the most part, I think we are. I get more of a live-and-let-live vibe here than I've gotten in other supposedly liberal and tolerant parts of the country. So I would certainly hope a conservative would feel just as welcome here as anyone else.
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Re: AJP 2004 Conservative Catholic Church
