St. Mary's - downtown Akron

Sorry I'm late, kids! Daddy just had a few things he had to take care of. Daddy still loves you. . . now get daddy's beer! Ha ha.

I had family in town this Sunday so I went with them to good old St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in beautiful, awesome, downtown Akron. Yes, I know, I've already been to a Catholic church but I wanted to take in the experience with my family.

However, it's a Catholic church. The sevice is exactly the same way it was when I was there two months ago. Yeah, there were different readings and the priest's homily (Catholic-speak for "sermon") was different (and boring). But other than that, completely the same.

For those of you who are from the Akron area you have probably read that the Cleveland Diocese (that's the overall governing body for this area of the church) is going to be closing several churches. They have already closed a few and more are on the chopping block, including St. Mary's. Problems are lack of attendance, lack of giving, and from what I can see, lethargy.

In this humble Reverends opinion, I believe lethargy is the biggest culprit. A few thoughts . . .

Has a Catholic person ever invited you to church? And no, not for the bingo or the 8th annual ethnic fest. I mean invited you because they were eager to share the Lord with you. I'm guessing no. I think for all these years, they've just assumed that parents will bring their kids, those kids wil bring their kids, and so on. I think it's sad if any church is counting on population growth for outreach. Really.

What about friendliness? In the two churches that I have been to, there were no greeters at the door and no one inside to come around and greet. You just go in, grab a seat, and think about where to go to lunch. Even when it's time to greet others (that is, the "peace be with you" handshake time) no one makes an effort to even seek out people. I shook the hands with the people standing next to me (my family) and that was it. No one left their pews at all.

Fellowship at Catholic churches seems to not exist (no, you can't count bingo or your random festival).

The service is oh so very foreign to anyone who is not Catholic. The prepared recitations, the communion, nothing at all is explained or given consideration that hey, maybe not everyone in here is a Catholic. Maybe it's because they're so used to not having any new people that they just gave up on it.

I think the Catholic church has a lot going for it. Their leaders are still powerful in the community and in the world (see Pope) and when they speak, people listen. They also have networks of charity programs to help those in need.

But where is the love of the Gospel message? Where is the passion for bringing the lost to Christ? Where has their faith gone?

I think these problems can be overcome but only if there's a change in mindset in the leadership. A change of heart. A heart that has passion for the Lord and for those who need Him.

Sorry it's not much of a review of St. Mary's but it's my honest assessment of what's going on with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Love,

WR

ps - make sure you wait for Animal come out. . .