MeettheParish - St. Mary of Grace Independent Catholic Church

Meet the Parish

St. Mary of Grace Parish was founded in 2004 by the Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

During Advent 2006, the parish set out to create our motto, Building and Being an Inclusive Church in the Catholic Tradition, and a mission statement. The clergy wanted the whole parish family to have and feel ownership for what we all were doing.

We are a catholic faith community of young and old, Caucasian, Black, Asian, and Hispanic ethnicity, gay and straight, male and female, single, divorced, partnered, and married--all equal and welcome at God's Table.

Parish Voices

Lyngine

For me, it was walking into a church where Mass and liturgy could be just about worship--where the focus is God, completely and totally. No worrying about being included/excluded for being lesbian or about women's ordination or all the other satellite issues---important but not necessarily central to faith---and yet distracting and painful enough to be impediment. I got tired of walking into the churches of various denominations (I was raised Roman Catholic) and having my main and continuing question be: If they knew I was lesbian, would this be an issue? I don't think that should be the first or the main question for anyone walking into any worshiping community. The main question, the only question for me in a lot of ways is: Is there where I find God? And for me the answer is the current Independent Catholic jurisdiction and parish that I'm in. It's a worshiping community where, for me, the Sacraments and prayer can be that and only that--no more, but also no less.

Although we have a weekly Sunday Mass at a local Unitarian church, we additionally celebrate Eucharist in parishioner's homes on other occasions. These house Masses for me were interesting because it was the first time I had seen a community for whom the celebration of the Eucharist was so important that celebration of the Sacrament isn't confined to once a week in one place---where two or three are gathered is enough, literally. It's not about any romantic notions---we're just gathering to celebrate Eucharist--and the simple celebration of that Sacrament with other Christians holds more meaning and depth for me than any romantic notion ever could. Celebrating Mass in a house is no more or less romantic than celebrating Eucharist in a church---it's the Sacrament that's important to me, not the place.

Finally, it's the only church I've been in where one's faith is lived, integrated, and expressed at all levels of one's life. I've learned more about Christianity--its traditions, its demands, its joy--in the year I've been Independent Catholic than all the years I was Roman Catholic.

I'm Independent Catholic because it's where I find God and where I can express and live my faith to a depth and fullness I've never experienced in other churches/denominations.

Edward

The central, unifying expression of Christian worship is the Eucharist. As the body of Christ, the Church confirms and renews its communion with Our Lord and with each other through this foundational Sacrament. Whenever a believing Christian is excluded, directly or indirectly, from Eucharistic communion, the entire body of Christ suffers. Participation in the celebration of the Lord's Supper should not be like going to the DMV, where one waits in line to be handed the appropriate documents by an impersonal, bureaucratic employee. In my past experiences of Christian worship, this is often exactly how it feels. In the absence of a true feeling of community, the Eucharist is not rendered invalid, of course, but it is reduced to an outward form of expression, in which the heart of the participant is not touched.

Coming from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, I have witnessed the Eucharist reduced superstitiously to a sort of magical philtre, or, even worse, to a celebration not of communion in Christ, but of ethno-centric camaraderie. How pleased I was, then, to find at St. Mary of Grace a community where form does not trump substance, and where I was welcomed in the warmth and sincerity of Christian fellowship.

Marilynn

I'm a relative newcomer to the Christian faith, having converted as an adult. Having a background in philosophy, I'm frequently exposed to challenges of the Christian faith from the points of view of atheism and other religions. When a church excludes and makes people feel unwelcome with, for example, a 'boy's club' atmosphere, it is out of touch with reality and issues that really matter to persons. This sort of attitude that I've found in other churches, gives a feeling of justification to those who attack Christian faith and do not understand the heart of Christianity. It also creates barriers that prevent people from discovering faith. The people of St. Mary's have a much clearer notion of what a church community is really about. They are serious about the faith and upholding the traditional principles of Christianity inherent in the eucharist and other sacraments; but they also share a healthy sense of humor, compassion, and humanity that people who are hung up on legalese and juridictional affiliations seem to forget.

Lourdes

Congratulations and Blessings to Lourdes and Kim on their wedding day!

You all at St. Mary of Grace were my vision of home when I first found you guys on the net.

For some 15 years I had been visiting other churches in our area, trying to feel them out and see if I was welcome there or "felt" welcome.

However nice people were, I did not feel comfortable there.
I had been raised a Catholic, went to Sunday Mass, choir practice, youth groups, all activities in my church at that time.

However, as I grew older, I did not feel comfortable there anymore and I had moved from the area and did not get any call backs from the Catholic churches in our new area.
Almost two years ago, I emailed Bishop Timothy and Father Joseph, I Immediately got replies from them both. They wrote me and made me feel welcome right away. They also started to invite us to St. Mary of Grace, and Kim and I finally began to attend Mass and arrange for our wedding day. Since then, I have been feeling so much closer to my God, I have grown to love and care about our little congregation and I miss them when I am not there. Kim has been baptized, we have been married (and are so very happy) and she is now awaiting confirmation, and we have met Gabriel and his mommy and feel as if they are family already.

Thank you all for allowing me to pray and worship in the manner in which I was raised and for being a part of my new family.

Love, Lourdes