Churchin'

So like, I think we found a church? It's a great little church in Philly, right by the Jersey border (easy trip to Camden for the reception), and it even has a parking lot! Matt and I went to a Mass last Sunday (we went to FOUR MASSES IN A ROW - crazy), and we got a chance to get a "feel" for the place and it's Parish.

The Parish is very Filipino, with a dose of Latin American/Mexican, which is different than any church I've been to (I am used to Irish Catholic and especially Italian Catholic Parishes). Perhaps as a result, everyone there knew each each other and there was a real feeling of community. In a lot of big city churches, you have people that are coming from other places, not a lot of neighborhood regulars, and I noticed the community/family feel with this church right away. It was FULL of cute kids, they were having a baptism, and when people "offered a sign of peace" - they didn't shake hands with strangers, they KNEW the person behind them and smiled with recognition / gave hugs. I LOVED that. They had a bunch of things written in Spanish, and they do this whole "Santo Nino" thing too. Because it was the first weekend of May, a pre-teen girl walked up the aisle and placed a crown of flowers on a statue of Mary. Random (I think) parishioners that weren't sitting with her or her family were snapping photos with their camera phones. Plus, they had all these activities and community outreach programs. All these great Catholic rituals and traditions! Families! Parish picnics! BABIES! It had everything, in a church that was the PERFECT size - not too big, not too small, not too plain.

Plus, it has a cool history. People tried to burn it down. From their website: In the 1840's, sentiment against the growing number of Irish Catholic immigrants was inflamed by the press. The recently created Native American Party, later known as the "No Nothings", complained against the naturalization of immigrants. On May 8, 1844, after three days of anti-Catholic rioting, the mob burned the church and rectory. Also destroyed was one of the finest theological libraries in the United States, containing 3,000 volumes. The Augustinian Church sued in court and rebuilt the church with the funds awarded. This case was one of the first tests of the rights of citizens to religious freedom under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, thereby affirming William Penn's 1701 Charter of privileges. So it sorta' stands for Religious freedom! That's cool!

Anyway, I am clearly in love with the place, right? So imagine my surprise when I call their wedding coordinator and find that they HAVE MY WHOLE DAY OPEN, and I can pick my time from 3 choices. I am bursting with joy, only to hear her tell me that there is a wrinkle to all this... they are switching all the priests out - or at least two, and one is the head guy. I was disappointed, because I loved the Priest that did the Homily and Baptism, and I wanted him. But there is more to it than that. I need to actually get my OWN Priest to marry us. To be fair, they will accommodate him and help me with all related paperwork, and the church fee is pretty low for a city church... but man, I'm not from Philly! I told the coordinator to hold the time slot I wanted for me, and I started thinking.

So I found a Church, but now I need a Priest? Yikes! On the one hand. this is a great opportunity for us to have a service that is personal to us and meaningful. On the other hand, we are not exactly super-parishioners at any church, and can we find someone willing to travel and marry us?

Stay tuned...