Portland Catholic Churches

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

2011-10-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

St. Therese Catholic Community
1260 NE 132nd Avenue

St. Therese is located near Glendoveer Golf Course not too far from the Gateway Shopping Center. It is a physically large facility with an adjoining school. It is named after St. Therese of Lisieux, the french nun who died of tuberculosis in 1897 at the age of 24.

The current pastor, Fr. Steve Geer, was a late convert to Catholicism. He speaks openly about -- prior to entering the priesthood -- having adopted and raised his nephew, who sadly became addicted to drugs and died at a young age. Fr. Geer has a grandson.

The church building appears to be another mid-century modern construction. It is a large building, only a portion of which is the worship space. But the church was far from full at either of the services I attended. The remaining third of the church building appears to be devoted to offices or meeting rooms.

The parishioners at the 11:30 service were a mixture of White, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islanders. Because the first time I went I took pictures not realizing my camera had no film, I attended services twice, both times being very pleasant experiences.

St. Peter

2011-07-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

St. Peter Catholic Church
5905 SE 87th Avenue

St. Peter is located just off Highway 205 and about two blocks south of Foster Road. It does not appear to have a website, but if the information on the City of Portland's PortlandMaps website is correct, it was built in 1962. The inside of the church is very large and today's 9 a.m. Mass was sparsely attended. The interior could use some remodeling. Those who are fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture will love the long cylindrical light fixtures hung from the ceiling. (For more on that style of architecture in Portland, see this site: http://mcmleague.org/.)

The parishioners were predominately White and those in attendance were mostly grey-haired. There were a fair number of Asians and Hispanics rounding out the attendance, who appeared to be relative newcomers to the neihborhood. The church bulletin is in English and Spanish and there is a Spanish Mass at noon on Sundays.

Fr. Dave Zegar is mustachioed and about 50. The most remarkable thing about Fr. Zegar was his startling deep voice. Rather impressive.

St. Joseph the Worker

2011-06-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

St. Joseph the Worker
2310 SE 148th Ave.

St. Joseph the Worker is located far out on SE Division Street, almost to Gresham. The building that houses it looks very much like it used to be a public grade school. Although the parishioners at the 10:30 am Mass were mostly White, there were also lots of Asians, Hispanics and a few Pacific Islanders.

It was a nice Mass with quite a friendly congregation. Father John Amsberry looked familiar. Finally I realized that he used to be at Holy Redeemer Parish in N. Portland. Father Amsberry is a good looking, relatively young priest who possesses both an MBA and a Law degree. He has a habit of getting the congregation to say "we are loved," all in unison. He even has a web site by that name: http://www.uareloved.com/. Getting the congregation to say things in unison, on top of the many things we already say in unison during Mass, is not my cup of tea. But most of the parishioners seem to like it.

St. Joseph's web site is as good as any I have seen yet in the Archdiocese. I liked the feel and the multi-ethnicity of the parish and would like to visit again.

St. Pius X

2011-05-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

St. Pius X
1280 NW Saltzman Road

St. Pius is located on the western edge of Portland. Actually, according to my map of Portland, it is in Cedar Mill, but it has a Portland mailing address and is part of the Portland Archdiocese.

The most impression formed duuring my visit to St. Pius X was the size of the "campus." It has a very large parking lot, a good-sized church building, a parish community building, school buildings, an "old church" (former chapel) and a St. Vincent de Paul building. (I may have left out a building or two.)

The 10:30 am Mass was nearly full. The pews form a large semi-circle around the alter. The choir has the most professional appearing microphones I have seen in a church. They looked ready to record an album. The priest that said Mass was African and is not listed on the website as "staff." He did not seem like a visiting priest, so I imagine he says Mass there on a regular basis.

The parishioners were mostly White with a small number of Latinos and Asians. The church interior is modern with large exposed beams made of laminated 2 by 8 boards, stained dark. The beams were arranged like wheel spokes, meeting in the middle.

Judging by the website this is a big and active church. However, there is nothing terribly interesting about the church to recommend visiting it if you do not live in the area. It does not compare to other churches I have visited in Portland in terms of interest: no interesting racial make-up, cultural heritage, unique architecture or distinctive rite. However, I am sure it is a wonderful church to belong to if your family lives in the Bethany or Cedar Mill residential areas.

St. Thomas More

2011-04-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

St. Thomas More

3525 SW Patton Road

It's difficult for me to say much about St. Thomas More Parish because it is not making a first impression on me; it's where I went to church as a child. St. Thomas More is located in the Portland Heights neighborhood of southwest Portland. It is located where SW Patton Road reaches the ridge and starts heading down the opposite side. It is close to Council Crest Park.

Pietro Belluschi, a Portland architect with a national reputation, built the church in 1940. The inside is entirely of unpainted wood, even the crucifix. The wooden interior is only lightly stained and retains a feel that is rustic and modern at the same time.

The parishioners at the 10 am Palm Sunday Mass were 100% White. Even in the 21st Century there do not appear to be many non-whites in Portland Heights.

Although not the acme of racial diversity, St. Thomas More is a beautiful structure, the Mass was well-attended and the natives were friendly.

St. Rita

2011-04-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

St. Rita's Catholic Church
10029 NE Prescott St.

St. Rita's is the friendliest church I have visited to date. I received several heartfelt smiles from parishioners. Here I was treated as part of the parish rather than a stranger to be feared. Perhaps the church is large enough that I was not recognized as a stranger. Perhaps others' friendliness was more of a reflection of my mood than theirs. Perhaps, but I want to go on record as saying in my whistle stop tour of Portland parishes, this one was the friendliest to-date -- and with only a few more to go! (If my word is not good enough, here is an article about St. Rita's saying the same thing.)

St. Rita's is located just a few block southeast of where NE Sandy Boulevard crosses over I-205. It is near the Maywood Park residential area . At the Mass I attended the parishioners were mostly White but there were good numbers of Asian and Hispanic attendees as well. There were plenty of families with young children but all ages were represented at the service.

Built in 1956, the exterior of the building is red brick and the appearance is modern. There are alternating colored glass skylights in the interior and the ceiling lights have shades shaped like hourglasses made from thin metal sheets, painted green. I initially thought they were from the 1970s but more likely they date from the building's mid-century (modern) construction period.

The church bulletin says "St. Rita Catholic Community" at the top and inside is an announcement of a Parish Retreat in May "focusing on creating and engaging community at St. Rita Parish." The retreat is to be centered "around the theme of belonging -- truly being part of our parish." It would seem that the friendliness I experienced at St. Rita's was not just by happenstance. Who wouldn't want to belong to such a Parish?

St. Anthony of Padua

2011-04-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

St. Anthony of Padua Church
3720 SE 79th Avenue

St. Anthony is located in southeast Portland just a few blocks west of the intersection of 82nd and Powell. It is a new church building, dedicated in June 1999. Here is a unofficial website that has as much information as the Parish's.

The church is surrounded by 127 assisted living units known as St. Anthony Village. This village was former Pastor Mike Maslowsky's brainchild, designed to create an atmosphere similar to piazzas in front of churches in Italy where the elderly mingle with the citizenry. (Unfortunately, Oregon lacks Italy's climate.)

As one might expert, there was a good number of seniors at the 10 am Mass. There were many people of other ages too. Of note was a large number of Pacific Islanders. They were too big to be Filipino and too small to be Samoan. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I asked two teens where they were from. "Micronesia," they said. I asked what island and they told me "Chuuk." Apparently, this is an island group in Micronesia that used to be called Truk.

I had heard of Truk. I asked them how they found themselves in southeast Portland. They seemed to misunderstand the question because they told me, "by airplane," supposing that that I must have thought they came by boat. Among themselves they spoke a language I am guessing was Truk. There were about 20 of the Chuuk islanders at Mass. The women mostly wore cotton or silk dresses as you might see in Hawaii. One even had a plumeria flower in her hair. How they ended up at that parish in this city is still an interesting question to me.

This article says that there was a St. Anthony of Padua church in Chuuk. So perhaps the Micronesians were attracted by the Parish name? That seems far-fetched but I don't have a better answer at the moment.

Definitely an interesting parish that you may not have heard of before.

St. Juan Diego Parish

2011-03-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

St. Juan Diego Parish
5995 NW 178th Ave

Portland, OR 97229

St. Juan Diego is the newest church in the Archdiocese of Portland. It is named after the man to whom the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in 1531 at Tepeyac Hill, now part of the most northern district of Mexico City. Archbishop Vlazny founded the Parish on July 31, 2002, the same day as Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego.

Although there is nothing particularly special about the outside of the church, the inside is something to see. It is a large, roomy space with exceeding high ceilings. There are many floor to ceiling windows that provide most of the interior light. The pews are arranged in an incomple circle around the alter, which appears to be made of solid fir. There are two tree trunks on the wall behind the alter, each some 30 feet tall. It is an impressive space.

The church is located off SW 185th in the far reaches of westside Portland. It is across the street from the Portland Community College Rock Creek campus. Despite being named after a Mexican saint, the parishioners were overwhelmingly white at the 11:30 am Mass I attended.

The words to songs or prayers were projected onto one of the walls -- a very modern touch. I would highly recommed a visit to this Parish, if only to view its unique and beautiful interior.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish

2011-02-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

St. Francis of Assisi Parish
1131 SW Oak Street, Portland

St. Francis of Assisi is a parish in the same vein as St. Andrew and St. Philip Neri. It is, for lack of a better descriptor, a liberal parish. The most startling thing, for me, was for the congregation to be greeted at the beginning of Mass not by the priest, but by a woman with long grey hair in a ponytail, wearing glasses and a green piece of clothing that I can only describe as a vestment. By all appearances, she is a priestess. For a while I thought she would be saying Mass. Instead, she stood with the pastor during the entire service and led parts of the service. Based on reading the website and bulletin, I believe her title is Pastoral Administrator.

It would appear that one of the hallmarks of liberal parishes, along with an emphasis on social justice (which I support), a belief that women should be ordained (which I do not support), is a stressing of egalitarianism. This "we are all the same," 'we are all equal" idea is anti-hierarchical and is expressed at St. Francis by listing their pastor not as "pastor" (a shepherd who leads his flock), but as "priest moderator." And neither the parish bulletin nor its website lists Father Robert Krueger at the top, but several rungs down as if he is just one of many leaders in the church. (On the website, the Pastoral Administrator gets first billing.) As the website says: "We are also unique in that we have a Pastor Administrator, Valerie Chapman, who sees to the daily management of the parish in every way except those duties only allowed by priests, namely celebrating Mass and administering the Sacraments."

The church building was built in 1931. It is a wood and concrete structure located close-in eastside Portland. It is on SW 12th Avenue between Pine and Oak streets, just three blocks south of E. Burnside Street. The exterior of the church is not terribly attractive but the inside is quite nice. The interior walls and ceiling are made of beautiful unpainted wood. There is an attractive set of wooden Stations of the Cross and a few other nice artistic touches. The altar is placed atop a good-sized unvarnished tree stump, obviously satisfying someone's back-to-nature aesthetics.

At today's Mass there was an enthusiastic six-person choir supported by a pianist, guitarist and flutist. A drumset was available to the flutist, but he only used brushes softly on the snare drum.

In his homily, Father Krueger expounded upon Jesus' warning in Matthew that one "cannot serve God and mammon." He talked about how scarcity can bring out the worst in us; that greed and hording are the results of anxiety over not having enough. That instead we should follow Jesus' admonition not to "worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear."

All well and good, but then Father Krueger started talking about the "attack on unions" in Wisconsin, where the governor is seeking to take away the unions' right to collective bargaining. He said we should support the unions. I am not so sure. The conflict between unions and management is not about fairness, in my opinion, but about who can have a bigger share of the pie. Management, despite not doing any labor, would like the biggest share. The unions, despite not risking any capital nor coming up with the idea to form the entity, also wants the biggest share. To say that Jesus supports workers over management does not make sense to me. Why is the workers' desire for mammon any more noble than management's?

Here is where the liberal ideal of egalitarianism comes close to Communism. The liberal would like the workers' share of the pie to be much larger. But carried to its logical end, this will kill the golden goose and impoverish the worker. Achieving the right balance between workers and management, it seems to me, should be the goal of society at large. Whether removing collective bargaining rights for State workers in Wisconsin would achieve that goal is not clear. But it seems that State workers' wages and benefits have outpaced the private sector these last 20 years and some scaling back is appropriate. The plight of today's State workers is pretty good.

The "Our Father" was sung with the entire congregation holding hands across the aisles. The line, "Our Mother, who art in Heaven" was added to the prayer. The kiss of peace, much like at St. Andrew, lasted something like five minutes, with everyone greeting everyone else. It was a little chaotic for my taste, but I am sure it is a much-beloved practice of the parish

Although one can't learn much about such things by attending a single Mass, I want to touch upon St. Francis' social outreach. According to St. Francis' website, the parish feeds 300 people daily at its "Dining Hall" located in the church basement. The neighborhood has its share of those in need and a few of those persons were present during the Mass. Certainly these social justice churches do much good work.

Finally, although St. Francis is not my cup of tea, the parishioners could not have been more friendly or more sincere. If you think that modern day America has strayed from some of the ideals of the Sixties, if you want a parish where you can help the poor, if you feel that an old-school parish fails to "honor diversity," then you will love St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

Sacred Heart Parish

2011-02-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Sacred Heart
3910 SW 11th Avenue

Sacred Heart is located in the Brooklyn neighborhood, which is close-in southeast Portland. It is the neighborhood just to your right after crossing over the Ross Island Bridge eastbound. It is an interesting neighborhood that you may have never been to if not house-hunting or if you don't live nearby.

The church's exterior is wood, painted white with a prominent steeple. The interior is very much in the same vein as Immaculate Heart, the very first church in this blog. I would not be surprised if Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart were designed and built by the same people, but I don't know.

The handshake of peace was done at the beginning of the Mass. Father Bruce Brown said he would be 75 this April. Before we adjourned we sang Happy Birthday to a 10 year-old girl who is active in the church. The parishioners were mostly white. There were a few young families but not many. It appeared that many parishioners were retirees and indeed there is a senior living facility next door.

St. Agatha Catholic Church

2011-02-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

St. Agatha Catholic Church
7983 SE 15th

St. Agatha is located in Sellwood. According to the church's website, the current building dates from 1920 and is in the Early Gothic Style. The interior walls look like painted, irregularly shaped cinder blocks. According to the website, however, the church is built with "hollow brick and native tufa stone quarried on land belonging to the Benedictine fathers at Mt. Angel." The ceiling is made of beautiful dark wood with attractive wooden beams.

Speaking of the Benedictines, the Benedictine fathers ran St. Agatha for 80 years. In 2000 the Benedictines turned the church over to the Archdiocese of Portland. And, speaking of Mt. Angel, the current pastor, Nathan Zodrow, OSB, was Abbot at Mt. Angel Seminary from 2001 to 2009.

Apparently, Father Zodrow had been temporarily assigned to St. Agatha the last couple of months. Today, Archbishop John Vlazny presided over Father Zodrow's installation Mass. The St. Agatha parishioners warmly and enthusiastically welcomed Father Zodrow as their pastor for the next six years. This will be Father Zodrow's first time as a parish priest, and as he says in his open letter in the parish bulletin, "I find the 'fit' remarkably good."

The parishioners at the 10:30 am Mass were mostly Caucasian. St. Agatha had a friendly feel.

Ascension Catholic Church

2011-01-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Ascension Catholic Church
743 SE 76th Avenue

Ascension is a friendly church located on the back side of Mount Tabor in what I believe is the Montavilla neighborhood. Architecturally it is not a very interesting church. The red brick exterior is plain and boxy. The only thing architecturally interesting about the interior is the exposed beams made of 8 or so 2 x 6 boards, many of which were curved during the manufacturing process to produce arched beams. This is a look I have seen in several Portland churches that appear to have been built in the same era -- late 60s or early 70s. There were some interesting paintings in the church that certainly enhanced its ambiance.

The ethnic make-up of the church was predominately White with Hispanics being a close second. There was a smattering of Asians and no Blacks. There were many families with young children.

At the 10:30 am Mass there was a good-sized choir accompanied by a guitarist, pianist, drummer, bassist and percussionist with that instrument that looks like a wind-chime with 20 or so metallic strips hanging down. The music was fine but I am not a fan of drum sets in church. It produces music that is too rousing for the circumstances -- especially when the drummer steps on the bass drum pedal. The problem with music that is so rousing is that the parishioners remain "un-roused." They continue to sing in a subdued fashion or not at all, producing an incongruency between the music and the response to the music that creates an unpleasant tension and is distracting. Since a bunch a Catholics are not apt to let loose and really sing, the cure is to tone down the music so as not to overwhelm the parishioners' singing.

The Franciscans have run the parish since 1915. Fr. Ben Innes, OFM, is the pastor. Based upon remarks made in his homily I am led to believe that he goes by the nickname of "Big Ben." He is not a small man. He gave an interesting sermon that included a "stay tuned for part 2 next week" that made me want to hear the rest.

Holy Family

2010-11-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

Holy Family Catholic Church is located in the 7500 block of SE 39th (SE Cesar Chavez Blvd.) near Eastmoreland and Reed College.

The inside of the church has some modern, artistic touches such as a clear glass window in the shape of a cross behind the altar with the crucified Jesus etched or molded into the cross-shaped window. Also, behind the tabernacle are two large copper colored plates perhaps intended to remind one of the shape of a host, serving as an interesting backdrop. Suspended above the tabernacle by a tripod is what appears to be a censer.

The choir director was a pistol of a woman, providing the firmness and energy necessary to produce quality singing. She alone is worth the price of admission.

There is a school next to the church and many young children were in attendance. The parishioners at the 10:30 am Mass were overwhelmingly white with one Filipino family and a single African-American man being the only other races represented that day. The church was full for Mass.

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As usual I spoke to no one. When I started this journey one of my goals was to meet new people. That certainly hasn't occurred, mostly due to my own failure to reach out and introduce myself I suppose. This church made a very favorable impression on me nonetheless.

St. Stephen Catholic Church

2010-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

St. Stephen
1112 SE 41st Avenue
Portland 97214

St. Stephen, like Holy Cross, is located just off a major thoroughfare and yet few people likely know it is there. In St. Stephen's case, it is located in the Richmond neighborhood two blocks east of SE 39th and about two blocks south of SE Belmont.

The building reminds me of St. Andrew in NE Portland with its tan colored brick exterior and cream trim. It is an attractive, medium size building. I went to the 11 am Mass last Sunday. Many parishioners were late and the Mass began about ten minutes late. Reverend Petrus Hoang was the celebrant. Fr. Hoang is a sweet-faced Vietnamese priest with a distinctive accent. What I understood of his sermon was uplifting, but his accent and the church acoustics made following him a challenge. The parishioners were mostly white with maybe two Vietnamese families present.

It was a rainy morning and I was eager to get out of the weather going into and coming out of the church. I did not come away with much of a feel for this parish, positive or negative, perhaps on account of the weather.

Our Lady of Sorrows

2010-09-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of Sorrows 5239 SE Woodstock Boulevard

This small church, built in 1917, is on the corner of southeast 52nd and Woodstock. The outside is simple, wooden and painted white. The inside is nicely painted, appointed and decorated. The parish's website states, "May no one who comes to our community to join us in worship ever leave us a stranger." It's a nice sentiment and although no one introduced themselves to me nor I to them, I do not feel that I left a stranger either. From the Vietnamese woman who smiled and asked if she should get out of my way while I took a picture of a statue to Fr. Ron Millikan's looking me warmly in the eye after Mass and saying, "God bless you sir," I felt welcomed in this small parish.

Speaking of statues, there are many interesting statues and icons in this church. There is even a "Pilgrim Virgin Statue" you can bring to your home that looks just like the statue here. Catholics are accused of worshiping graven images with our use of statues. The reader should understand that the Catholic Church teaches that it is wrong to worship statues and denies that that is what statues in its churches are for. Catholic Answers has a good defense of the practice of using statues in religious contexts.

The parishioners at the 11 am Mass were a nice mix. There were Whites, Hispanics, Vietnamese and a family of Eastern Europeans who I guessed were Czech but could have been Ukrainian or Russian or ? There was also a nice mix of ages.

Our Lady of Sorrows made a favorable impression on me. The setting, the interior and the friendliness of its parishioners all recommend it.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

2010-09-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

St. Elizabeth of Hungary 4112 SW Sixth Ave Dr.

You might think, based on a quick look at the address, that this church is located in downtown Portland. But, it is actually located on Marquam Hill, just south of OHSU Hospital. The next thing you might think is that the parish is well to-do, as it is located in the West Hills. On this account you would be correct. Finally, being a small parish in the West Hills, you might think the parishioners would be snooty or stand-offish. On that, I am happy to report, you would be mistaken.

As you can see from the photo (which just shows the entrance - the main part of the church is hidden to the left), the church is small and could pass for a residence if not for the cross atop it. The inside is neat and attractive, with natural wood in the mode of St. Birgitta and St. Thomas More.

I felt as if I were in a country church. Perhaps it was the small size of the church or perhaps it was the acoustical guitarist with a somewhat country style of playing that caused this feeling. The parishioners were nearly all white and were uniformly friendly. I think the small size of the church contributes to this.

A pianist and a bass guitarist accompanied the guitarist. The guitarist said they were looking for a clarinet player. There were 6 others in the choir today for a total of 9. The guitarist was much better than average and I especially enjoyed his use of runs.

At the end of Mass Fr. Jim (Rev. James Kolb, O.S.P. -- a Paulist rather than a diocesan priest), asked if there were any visitors. I raised my hand with at least one other. Then he asked the other visitor to introduce herself. Afterwards, he asked if there were another visitor. This time I did not raise my hand, as I did not want to introduce myself or tell people I was doing a blog and thereby put them on the defensive. I know it was intended to be friendly, however, and by by not exposing myself in that small way, I lost a chance to meet members of the church, which was one of my goals starting this project.

St. Andrew

2010-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

St. Andrew, 806 NE Alberta Street

St. Andrew (which everyone calls St. Andrew"s) is located in NE Portland. The first thing one notices is the beautiful old church building. It was built in the Gothic style, with light brown bricks and concrete adornments. Additionally, there is an attractive modern building that appears to serve as a community outreach center next to the church and what appears to be the rectory.

The interior of the church is cavernous, devoid of columns one might expect in a Gothic style church. The interior gives a visitor the first clue of the the parish's outlook. The pews, rather than all facing the altar, circle around an oval area which has an altar at one end and a reading podium at the other. Many of the pews lack kneelers. And , during the portion of the Mass where one typically kneels, only a small portion of the congregation did so.

Although the church has many large traditional stained-glass windows depicting Saints, the view of these windows is partially obscured by long green banners hanging from the ceiling and many small speakers, also hung by wire from the ceiling. On this cloudy day, the church also lacked sufficient interior lighting to show off the charms of its interior. Lastly, the light pink and light green paint scheme looked ready for a change.

Normally, there is a 9:30 English Mass and a 12 noon Spanish Mass. However, because of a church picnic this afternoon, Mass today was at 10:30. The Mass was 60% in Spanish and 40% in English. Fr. Chuck (Monsignor Charles Lienert) gave two homilies, one in Spanish followed by one in English. Fr. Lienert did a good job making an effort to pronounce the Spanish words properly.

This parish strongly emphasizes social justice. My experience with social justice churches -- and people in general who care deeply about social justice -- is they are far more concerned about systemic problems or systemic evil than they are about the evil in an individual. Fr. Lienert's sermon today makes my point. The Gospel reading was the parable of the wedding banquet where Jesus admonishes his listeners not to choose the best seat at a wedding, lest the host ask the guest to give up his/her seat for a more important person. It seems to be a lesson on humility; in fact the host in the parable says,

"For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:1, 7-14 was today's reading.)

However, Fr. Lienert said that the parable is not principally about humility, but is instead about how systems should treat people. He said that Jesus' admonition in the Gospel reading to, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind" when you hold a banquet, was directed toward what "systems" should do. While I cannot say with any authority who the passage is primarily directed to (the individual or the system/government), I do think it is quite telling that Fr. Lienert downplayed the most obvious interpretation and said that the passage was primarily directed to "the system."

Fr. Lienert next told a story about a priest on a committee at the Second Vatican Council who proposed abolishing all titles in the Church. In fact, under this priest's proposal people would be forbidden from referring to the Pope as "your holiness" or "your eminence." Fr. Lienert said that that priest was now 80 and it was his wish that there be a Pope John 24 who would establish just such a rule. Fr. Lienart, apparently a fan of the proposal, said it would, among other things, promote equality for women in the Church. At this, half the congregation erupted in applause. When the homily finished there was more applause.

It struck me as odd that in a time when many in the Church are saying that Vatican II went too far, here was a group that thought that Vatican II did not go far enough. I wondered if St. John Vianney, St. Francis, St. Bernadette and the other Saints on the stained-glass windows would think that abolishing titles would be a good idea. I also thought of the parallels of this idea with the ideas of Communism, and how a hierarchy formed in Communism despite the purported aim of equality of men, with the party apparatchiks at the top.

While perhaps commendably idealistic, the idea seemed naive to me. It, and everything about St. Andrew seemed to me to be informed by the 60s. Women's Liberation, stopping the oppression of minorities by white men, "black power," "viva la raza," etc. Long hair for men has been replaced by facial hair. If any of these things resonate with you, you will love this church. On the conservative-liberal scale it is on the far end of the liberal side. Compare it to Holy Rosary, which is old-fashioned to the point of not having a "handshake of peace" during the Mass. At St. Andrew, the handshake of peace lasted five minutes! (The highlight of which for me was shaking hands with Sally Cohen, who recently made it to the finals of American's Got Talent as a "hand-whistler.")

A final example of the left-leaning political bent of St. Andrew is that during the prayers, the woman leading the prayers prayed for "the people of Iran and Iraq." Not a word about American soldiers in harm's way.

To be fair, I think this church meets the needs of many. Furthermore, my guess is that the church "walks the talk" when it comes to social justice. The parish website mentions several such ministries.

Korean Martyrs Catholic Church

2010-08-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Korean Martyrs Catholic Church, 10840 SE Powell Boulevard

This small church is located just east of I 205 on Powell Blvd. There is a 10 am Mass that is partly in English and partly in Korean. There is an 11 am Mass that is entirely in Korean. I went to the 10 am Mass.

I was one of two non-Koreans at the Mass. The congregation was rather small, but with a large contingent of teenagers. The teens handled the music, providing singing accompanied with drums and keyboard. There was a single Korean nun, the pastor and two alter servers. The church is named after the some 8000 Christians martyred in Korea in the 1800s, of whom the church declared 103 to be Saints in 1984. There is a statue in front of the church depicting Father Andrew Kim, the most famous of the martyrs.

The Mass was said mostly in English. The pastor, who the Archdiocese's website lists as Rev. Peter Ock-Jin Cho, gave the sermon in Korean. Additionally, early in the Mass Father Cho interrupted the singing of the Gloria to say something in Korean. Then the music and singing started again and again he interrupted. He seemed to be addressing only the group of parishioners in the front right hand side of the church. This happened maybe four times before he went on with the Mass. I figured it was some sort of "teachable moment" but I could not figure out what he was saying.

One interesting thing about communion was that the alter servers each held a small basket full of lollipops, which they handed out to the children, presumably those children too young for their First Communion. I guess they had too many small children upset about taking the trip to the alter and coming back empty-handed.

Shortly after the sermon the entire congregation stood and began filing toward the front of the church. I had no idea what was happening and I stayed put. First I thought they might be forming a circle around the alter. Then I saw they were approaching the front of the alter in two lines as if to accept communion. I thought they might be kissing a cross. Finally, I saw people bowing and pitching something into a small basket and figured that this is how they gather the offering. At that point I was embarrassed for not contributing.

At the handshake of peace all who were near me took my hand warmly and wished me peace. After Mass, no one caught my eye or asked why I was there. I took a few pictures and left.

St. John Fisher

2010-07-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

St. John Fisher is located in SW Portland near Gabriel Park, not too far from Wilson High School. The church is a modern design and was built in 1968. It is quite attractive on the outside but it appears dated on the inside. The wooden wall behind the alter is made of long vertical boards painted white, and the spaces between the boards can easily be seen. A little plaster or spackling paste plus new paint would be a huge and inexpensive improvement.

Although there is a K through 8th grade school next to the church, the 11 am Mass had few children. The parishioners were nearly all white. The neighborhood, while strictly speaking is Portland, is essentially a suburb. This Mass had top quality musicians leading the singing: there was a pianist, a drummer, vocalists, trumpets and more.

There was only a small crucifix, behind and to the left of the alter. Instead the centerpiece was a large green-blue circle with a cross in the middle on the ceiling, with long pieces of thin plastic or glass hanging down from the circle on clear monofilament. In appearance it is like a wind-chime. It is very abstract-arty and certainly is representative of the era of the church's construction.

St. John Fisher's longtime pastor recently died and Monsignor Timothy Murphy has been assigned to replace him. I believe today however, a visiting priest was saying Mass. People were friendly enough to the stranger among them snapping pictures, but as in most cases, no one inquired if I were a visitor or why I was taking pictures.

Holy Cross

2010-06-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

Holy Cross Catholic Church, 527 N. Bowdoin St., Portland

Holy Cross is located one block south of N. Lombard Street near Portsmouth Street. It is pretty well hidden from view and I am sure most Portlanders have never seen it. It is just a few blocks from University of Portland.

Father John Wironen, CSC, of The Congregation of
Holy Cross is the pastor. In Portland, Holy Cross priests staff the Downtown Chapel, Holy Redeemer Church, the University of Portland and Holy Cross Catholic Church.

I went to the 10 am Mass. Fr. Wironen commented during his homily that each Mass is essentially a different congregation. The 10 am Mass was well attended with many families with young children.

It was a day to thank parish volunteers and Fr. Wironen asked each volunteer to stand as his or her volunteer activity was called. By the end almost half the congregation was standing. The congregation was about 80% White with the rest roughly an equal mix of Black, Asian and Latino parishioners.

There is a kindergarten through 8th grade school next to the church called Holy Cross School. This explains the high number of parishioners with young children present during the Mass.

More than any other I have visited so far, this church had a insular, neighborhood feel, as if it was very unlikely to attract parishioners from outside the immediate geographic area. Nothing wrong with that per se and hopefully it means that the parish community is a tight-knit one.

Southeast Asian Vicariate

2010-05-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

Southeast Asian Vicariate Church of Our Lady of Lavang 5404 NE Alameda Dr., Portland, OR 97213

You can see this pink structure on the north side of NE Sandy Boulevard near NE 54th Street. It used to be a convent. I believe the present site dates to 1999, while the vicariate itself was founded in 1981. It supports the Portland Vietnamese who began to arrive here in large numbers after the fall of Saigon in 1975. You can read more about the vicariate in this article from the Catholic Sentinel.

The grounds are very large, taking up at least a square block and consisting of many buildings in addition to a large church.

The grounds are landscaped with palm trees, giving the impression that you might actually be in southeast Asia or some other tropical clime.

The service was packed with nicely dressed parishioners predominately wearing black, with a smattering of white and to a much lesser extent prints and colors. On the patio west of the church a fiesta of some sort was taking place. Five priests con-celebrated the Mass. Of the 200-300 people filling the church and another 100-200 outside participating in the fiesta, I was the only person not of Asian descent.

Mass was entirely in Vietnamese, the only words of which I know are chan muối, which is a salty lime drink. I thought I even heard the word muối during the sermon, but it may have been my imagination.

Although I clearly stood out, no one stared at me. I stood in the back the entire service so as to be as inconspicuous as possible. My fellow wall-standers to my right and left shook my hand during the handshake of peace. Other than that, I was left alone during the service. As I was leaving two little girls in the parking lot said hello and giggled.

To me the most amazing thing was to see all these immigrants, speaking a foreign language and living thousands of miles from their homeland,
who clearly have been able to make a living in their new country and to form a vibrant community.

St. Sharbel

2010-05-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

1804 SE 16th http://www.saintsharbel.com/

I arrived a few minutes late, having had a little difficulty finding this church tucked in the leafy Ladd's Edition neighborhood. After a two-hour service I had to leave a few minutes early to make it to a Mother's Day brunch; consequently I only was able to snap two quick photographs. Next time -- and St. Sharbel deserves a next time -- I will make sure to experience the Mass from beginning to end.

St. Sharbel is a Maronite church. It is an Eastern Rite church, with rituals somewhat similar to to an Orthodox church (a friend calls them "bells and smells"), except unlike the Greek or Russian Orthodox churches, the Maronite church is in full communion with the Holy See. The service was conducted half in English and half in Arabic except for the consecration, which was in Aramaic, the language Jesus is said to have spoken.

The Maronite church began in Syria in the 5th century with St. Maron, but soon spread to Lebanon. Many, but certainly not all, in the congregation today were Lebanese and could speak Arabic. The family behind my friend and me helped us when we got lost in the hymnal, one of which was entitled "The Cedars of Lebanon Hymnal."

The church is a handsome stone edifice but cannot be seen well because of a large tree in front of it. The inside is a cozy medium-sized space, roughly square. The altar is in a corner rather than against a wall, and the altar rail is a curved semi-circle. There are many statues and paintings in and near the altar area. The pews are made of oak and curved as well. The floor slopes down toward the corner where the altar is, giving the room a theater-like feel.

The service is quite a bit different than the Roman Rite, but not as different as St. Irene Byzantine Church's. Maronites cross themselves in the same manner as Romans -- touching their left shoulder and then their right at the end of the sign of the cross. During the handshake of peace a charming gesture was introduced to me. The alter boys went into the congregation and offered their hands with their fingers pressed together as if in prayer but pointed toward persons at the end of the pews such as me. The parishioner then put their hands around the alter boy's hands also with fingers pointed forward and then pulled their hands toward themselves, wiping their hands against the other's as they separated. Then the congregation did this with each other. I saw variations of this such as a person extending just one hand and the other clasping it with both hands while gently pulling away. It was unclear to me who should be the one offering their hands and who should be the one clasping and pulling away.

(This gesture reminding me of another gesture from a foreign culture that the reader is probably equally unfamiliar with: Filipino children will take an adult's hand and press the back of the hand to their forehead in greeting. Both are touching (no pun intended) gestures.)

The pastor, Abouna ("Father" in Arabic) Jonathan Decker, S.J.M.J., has a New York accent, wore a skull cap, had a long beard and wielded a silver cross with a long blue tassel in his right hand nearly the entire service. He spoke English and Arabic and blessed us with the the cross throughout the service. There was also a cantor and a violinist who were in an adjacent room, separated by a screen from the congregation. Fr. Decker greeted all the visitors, singling out each one, including me. The congregation was also quite friendly.

All Saints Parish

2010-04-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

3847 NE Glisan

All Saints Parish is located in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. The church is a modern design that I can see being preserved someday as an example of modernism. The parishioners were mostly white -- okay, they were 100% white. The parishioners for the most part fell into two camps: those of retirement age and those with young children. At this Mass at least, there was not too much in between.

The pastor, Father Richard Thompson, gave the homily. The Gospel reading was about Jesus' post-resurrection appearance to the disciples while they were fishing on the Sea of Tiberias. (You may ask yourself, "what is this Sea of Tiberias? I thought the disciples always fished in the Sea of Galilee? Well, it turns out the two are the same, and are also known as the Lake of Gennesaret.) Father Thompson raised the interesting question of why the disciples were back fishing after spending so much time with Jesus, knowing he had been resurrected and knowing he had already asked them to become fishers of men. To my disappointment, however, Fr. Thompson did not answer the question.

After Mass I grabbed a bulletin. Interestingly, it contained a short hagiography of Saint Adalbert of Prague. I wonder if, being named All Saints, each week there is a biography of a different Saint in the bulletin? St. Adalbert's day in April 23, so maybe the pastor picks a saint from the upcoming week to write about. In any case, I like reading about Saints, as long as the story doesn't seem too much like a legend.

St. Clare Parish

2010-03-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

St. Clare Church

St. Clare is located in the suburbs of southwest Portland just a block off Barbur Blvd. It appears to have been built in the 1960s. It has beautiful blond woodwork in the interior and an abstract metal crucifix sculpture behind the alter with the organ's pipes as part of the work of art. My camera's battery was dead so I could not get a picture of the interior. Maybe I will make it back for a quick photograph.

Father Tom Farley gave an interesting sermon about today's Gospel reading -- the story of the prodigal son. He compared the prodigal son story to the movie Ulee's Gold, where Peter Fonda plays the part of Ulee, a beekeeper father of two trying to keep his highly dysfunctional family together. Despite his grown children's transgressions and against all odds, Ulee patches his family back together again.

St. Michael the Archangel

2010-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.stmichaelportland.org/

St. Michael the Archangel is located in downtown Portland on the southwest side, not too far from Portland State University. It is kitty-corner from St. Mary's Academy. It's location is important to its character. Before Urban Renewal changed the face of this part of Portland in the 1960's, southwest Portland was home to large Italian and Jewish populations. That St. Michael's was predominantly an Italian parish can be seen from the names of Italian families that sponsored the stain-glass windows of the church.

Although tucked into downtown Portland onto a crowded half-block, the church contains a special surprise for garden-lovers. Someone has planted and maintained fruit trees, bushes and plants of all sorts along the edges of the property. There are many types of fruits: espaliered pears and apples, kiwis, raspberries and more. On a early summer day, the garden is a delight and it alone is worth a visit.

Father James Mayo is the current pastor of St. Michael's. Fr. Mayo is a friendly and caring pastor and his sermons reflect his love of learning.

St. Michael's ministries include reaching out to the poor by providing sack lunches from 10 to 11 am each weekday. Confessions are heard six days a week.

St. Ignatius

2010-01-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

St. Ignatius Catholic Church

St. Ignatius is run by the Society of Jesus (the "Jesuits") and is located on SE Powell Blvd., just east of SE 39th Avenue.

The St. Ignatius church building is fairly plain on the outside and even more humble on the inside. However, I found the service (10:30 am) to be warm and family-friendly. Perhaps because the priest conducted three baptisms today, there were many families with young children.

The parishioners are ethnically mixed, interestingly with a some African parishioners.

St. Birgitta

2010-01-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

St. Birgitta Catholic Church
11820 NW Saint Helens Rd
Portland, OR 97231

St. Birgitta is probably best known for its Latin Mass. It is at 8 am on Sunday. There is also a Latin Mass at St. Birgitta's on first Fridays, first Saturdays and on holy days. There is a website dedicated to this Mass.

I attended the English Mass, which is at 10 am. The church is located on St. Helens Road just past the town of Linnton. It looks like a plain country church on the outside. The inside is quite beautiful though: unpainted wooden pews, walls and ceiling lend it warmth, charm and beauty as only wood can. The inside is very much like St. Thomas More's and I would not be surprised if the same architect and construction company built both churches. (St. Thomas More's website indicates it church as built in 1940 by Pietro Belluschi. I do not know who built St. Birgitta's, however.)

The most remarkable thing about the service was the singing. Most Catholic churches do not do a good job of singing. In fact, a book on the subject has been written: Why Catholics Can't Sing. But this church sang pretty darn well. The key was a four-person choir accompanied by an electric piano. That choir sang loudly, clearly and beautifully and, most amazingly, most of the rest of the church joined in. If only more Catholics in Portland would actually sing instead of just listening to others sing.

St. Stanislaus

2009-12-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

ststanislauspdx.com/
3916 N. Interstate Avenue

St. Stanislaus, named after a Bishop of Krakow, Poland, in the 11th century, is another hidden gem. Although located on Interstate Avenue in north Portland (just north of Kaiser Hospital), you would likely drive past without giving it a second thought. The outside of the church, though well kept, is modest.
The inside, however, shows beautiful attention to detail from the brass and glass light fixtures to the dark wooden pews. The statuary and walls are clean and freshly painted.

I went to the 11 am Mass, which is a Polish Mass. Rev. Tadeusz Rusnak, the pastor, conducted the Mass in his native language. After the Mass I heard some speaking English, but I believe many could speak only Polish. The Mass closely paralleled an English Mass, with a few songs thrown into the liturgy that are apparently part of the Polish tradition.

St. Stanislaus also has an English Mass and a Croatian Mass. Every year the church has a Polish festival, selling trademark Polish foods such as pierogi and kielbasa.

St. Rose of Lima

2009-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

2727 Ne 54th Ave

St. Rose of Lima was a 16th century saint from Lima, Peru, known for her ascetism. She is said to have slept on boards covered with shards of glass. Opposing her parents' desire for her to marry, she cut her hair short and disfigured her face to discourage suitors. When young, she brought the sick and hungry to her parents' home to minister to them.

The church is in northeast Portland across the street from the Southeast Asian Vicariate and there were a scattering of parishioners who appeared to be Southeast Asian immigrants -- likely from Vietnam. The exterior is reminiscent of the Spanish-inspired church architecture of California. Perhaps this is why it is named after a South American saint. Overall, the church felt very much like Holy Redeemer church, also in northeast Portland, with plenty of young families from the surrounding neighborhoods of Hollywood and Rose City.

The most memorable thing about this church was the sermon given by its pastor, Fr. Peter Smith. Father Smith begins at an advantage having a South African accent. His sermon was at the same time academic and folksy. The readings contained admonitions to be prepared, especially concerning the end times. He began sharing historical information about the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in approx. 70 AD by the Romans. Next he told a story of driving in the country in South Africa when a herd of elands came unusually close to his car. By the time he had activated his camera he had missed the rare chance to photograph these retiring animals, the largest of all antelope. He then told a second story about his being ready to seize an opportunity (this time to pick up a check from friends who never allow him to do so). The moral of these stories was to be prepared to take advantage of spiritual opportunities God may bring our way. His sermon was really excellent on many levels.

St. Charles Borromeo

2009-11-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

www.stcharlespdx.org/

St. Charles Borromeo, like St. Philip Neri church, is named after an Italian saint. Charles Borromeo was a 16th century bishop of Milan - a reformer with a heart for the poor.

The present church structure at St. Charles was built in 1954 "in the style of California mission churches" according to the parish website. The exterior is brick and although adorned with multiple brick crosses, I could not see a cross on a steeple. The interior walls are made of cinder blocks and yet it is a handsome interior. The stainglass windows are made with large divisions of glass, which cause the images to appear abstract.

The church was remodelled in 1995 "in a style to draw the people together as a family around the Table of the Lord's Word and Sacrament." What this means is that the pews no longer face the crucifix at the end of the church. Instead, the pews face across the the short side of the church and the alter has been moved to where the pews face. The area where the alter is almost the entire length of the church and fit a piano, three song leaders and the altar with plenty of spare room.

The most striking thing about St. Charles Borromeo is the diversity of the parishioners. Like a mini-UN, there are Latinos, Whites, Blacks, Asians and Pacific Islanders. As the parish bulletin puts it: "Saint Charles Borromeo is a Catholic parish for people who enjoy the celebration of the Eucharist in a culturally rich and diverse community."

The people were friendly and seemed actively involved. Looked like a fine place to go to church.

St. Philip Neri Church

2009-11-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.stphilipneripdx.org/

St. Philip Neri Church is located near SE 18th and Division. It was once a predominantly Italian-American parish. The present church building was built in 1950. The interior is a cavernous space with a ceiling that must be 60 feet high. The interior is spare and the acoustics are supposedly excellent. Today, however, the PA system was intermittent, with the right-hand speakers going on and off.

A man I assumed to be the pastor, Father Gerald Tully, CSP, (Congregation of St. Paul -- The Paulists) asked visitors to raise their hands and then asked everyone to introduce themselves. My pew neighbors were quite friendly. Dress was generally informal, with lots of jeans. On the conservative-liberal spectrum, I would say this church tends toward the liberal side.

The St. Philp Neri parish emphasizes faith-building, outreach and social justice. Next to the church there are buildings dedicated to these goals called the Paulist Center. It has its own website explaining its works.

The most unique part of the Mass was that the homily was given by a woman, not by the presiding priest. This, to say the least, is not a common practice in Catholic churches. I am not sure I have ever heard a woman preach the sermon in a Catholic church before. I do not know whether she was a lay person or a religious. She was not wearing a habit but not all nuns do. She gave an informative and rather academic exposition mainly concerning the Old Testament reading, which was from the book of Daniel. Should you think that everyone believes women should be preachers, however, just do a web search on "should women preach" and read what you find. There are plenty of bible versus that can be used to argue that women should not preach. The opposing arguments are likely to be that those verses were written in a time and in a culture very different to our own, and should not apply today. I leave it to others to decide this question.

St. Philip Neri made an impression on me as a friendly church and with the Paulist Center, like an excellent place to get involved in church activities outside of Mass.

Saint Patrick Catholic Church

2009-11-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

http://sites.google.com/site/stpatrickpdx/

St. Patrick Catholic Church is another beautiful Catholic church. Unfortunately, progress has left it positioned almost directly under the Highway 30 exit from Interstate 405 in northwest Portland. Ignoring that unfortunate fact, it is a handsome historic stone edifice in what was once a working class neighborhood. Built in 1889, it is the oldest Catholic church in Portland.

There are only two Masses: an 8:30 a.m. Mass in Spanish and a 10:30 a.m. Mass in English. I went to the 10:30 Mass on a cool and rainy November day. The sun came out intermittently during Mass, though, highlighting the stained glass windows.

Monsignor Timothy Murphy presided. Father Murphy is as dry as the Sahara. At first his delivery was so clipped and monotone I thought he might be angry or depressed. He could give Ben Stein a run for his money.

Not recognizing me as one of their own, the parishioners treated me like the dangerous unknown entity that I have come to expect to be treated like at these unfamiliar Catholic churches. Northwest Portland is now home to the fairly well-to-do. I am curious to see if when I visit some poorer churches on the east side the natives are any friendlier.

Holy Rosary Church

2009-11-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

holyrosarypdx.org

(I didn't really go to church twice today. I am just a little late in getting around to posting this visit.)

I go to Holy Rosary quite often - almost as much as I go to St. Mary's Cathedral. It has quite a few Masses so it's easy to find a convenient time. I like the 1 p.m. Mass. There is also a Gregorian chant Mass each Sunday and once a month a latin Mass in the Dominican rite.

Holy Rosary is old fashioned. First, you will see many women with their heads covered, just as in the old days. Second, you will see families with 5 or 6 children, all under the age of 10. Where else in Portland do you still see large families? Third, during most all the Masses there is no kiss of peace. After the congregation says to the priest, "and peace be with you," the priest just continues with the Mass. There is no pause for handshaking or greeting your neighbor.

Another thing that sets this church apart is lots of times for confession. A priest (or sometimes two) hears confession virtually every day of the week. I think this emphasis on confessions is very good and holy.

Holy Rosary, although part of the Archdiocese of Portland, is staffed entirely by the Dominicans, the Order of Preachers. They live together in community at the rectory. Holy Rosary was damaged by fire in the 1990's and has been remodeled. It was beautifully done.

Almost in keeping with the 1950s old-fashion style of the place, the parishioners are far from outgoing. It's really a flaw of American Catholic churches in general, but I think the parishioners at Holy Rosary are particularly distant. I have been there scores of times and only once did a parishioner speak with me - an usher asked if I would like to volunteer as an usher. Except for that one time, the parishioners are truly Catholic in their reserve.

As a stranger to a Baptist church, I have been greeted by three different people on a single visit asking about my status and inviting me to join this or that group or committee. I think it is perfectly possible to go to a Catholic church every Sunday for a year and not meet another parishioner. Catholics are not taught to be outgoing or even friendly, much less evangelical. The Catholic Church in the United States mostly grows through birth and immigration, not from the evangelical efforts of its members. But I will leave the remainder of that discussion for another day.

As I said earlier, though, I go to church here quite often. I think I do because of the atmosphere at Holy Rosary, and the word that best describes it is "holy."

St. Mary Magdalene Church

2009-10-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.themadeleine.edu/church_new/welcome.html

This is another church with a nickname. In this case, it goes by the name of The Madeleine. Madeleine, my online sources tell me, means "woman from Magdala."

The first thing that struck me about the church is how nicely everyone was dressed. Many men had suits or sport coats and many women were wearing tasteful, dark dresses. The dress code in Catholic churches has become decidedly informal and in this respect the Madeleine is a throwback. Also, stuck between the Irvington, Alameda and Beaumont neighborhoods, this is not a poor parish.

The second thing I noticed was the large wooden carving and crucifix behind the alter. It is an impressive piece of work.

Having slept until almost 9:30 am I made it to the 11 am Mass. By all indications this is a lively, healthy parish, but the worshippers this morning were pretty scarce. The bulletin is thick as a small town telephone book and we had no less than three people address us at the end of Mass about their organizations. So, I am left thinking that because there is a school adjoining this church (The Madeleine School), many or most of the parishioners have children at the school and come to the 9:15 am Mass. In any case, there was plenty of pew space.

Father Mike Biewend, with his completely bald pate and energetic delivery, asked everyone to introduce themselves to their neighbors. I did so and was greeted by a blond woman about my age and a good looking family of three children all less than nine years. We shook hands and exchanged names. Later, before the kiss of peace, Father Mike asked us to bow or touch the shoulder of the other rather than shake hands so as to avoid spreading germs. (H1N1 precautions, you know.) Since we had already shaken hands at the beginning of Mass, I thought that train had left the station and even had the bad manners to say as much during the kiss of peace ceremony.

After meeting my neighbors, Father Mike asked who was a visitor, then he asked a little about the visitors. At my turn I mentioned that I was on my pilgrimage to visit all the Catholic churches in Portland and this was my fifth. He seemed a little worried he might get an unfavorable review and jokingly told the others to grab my camera.

Today was Priesthood Sunday, a new day in the Catholic calendar meant to recognize priests. For his homily, Father Mike gave us a "day in the life" vignette of his busy yesterday. He mentioned he started the day with a run at 4:30 am. What is it about these early risers that they always have to let you know just how early they rise? I am sadly deficient in this area and was not sure I enjoyed being reminded that I'd only been awake a bit more than an hour and that the day was almost half gone. Are there any famous and successful late risers in this world that aren't rock musicians? Please tell me that there are.

The best part of his Saturday was visiting an elderly woman with lung cancer and hearing that her first concern was her 21 year-old son not being alienated from his father, who had left them both when she was 59. It was a touching story. But I could not get past how busy his day was and how many things and people were pressing for his attention that day. Now I felt bad and selfish for how relatively empty my Saturdays (and even many workdays) are.

Afterward a couple of parishioners wished me well. One asked if her church was going to get a good grade or something like that. I assured her that my purpose was not to rank the churches but to simply experience and enjoy them. The other parishioner told me to come back if I got around to going to each church a second time.

St. Irene Byzantine Catholic Church

2009-10-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.saintirene.org/

This is likely going to be the most different of the catholic churches I will visit during this process. It is not a Roman Catholic Church, it is a Byzantine one. Although I suppose in many ways it is similar to the Greek or Russian Orthodox churches, it is -- unlike the orthodox churches -- in communion with the Roman Church. That means its clerics answer to the Roman hierarchy at some point and they recognize the primacy of the Pope. It also means that as a Roman I can receive communion in a Byzantine church and a Byzantine can receive communion in a Roman church.

I arrived at the service at 10 am. It is relatively unattractive from the outside. The building was once a Roman church and dates to 1923. However, it was totally remodeled in 1958 and has cheap siding on its robin's egg blue exterior.

I went inside and was pleased that it is far more attractive inside. However, it was almost empty. The church seats about 250 and there were only about 20 people there. (After about 15 minutes the number of worshipers doubled to about 40.) The alter is screened off by see through fencing upon which are hung icons, written on wooden boards shaped like small surfboards. I took a liturgy book from the back of the church and I was glad I did. Using it I was able to follow along and participate in the service.

While the service is mostly in English, there were plenty of prayers and responses in a Slavic language I am told is called Old Church Slavonic. In fact, as best as I could tell, we sang the Our Father first in English and then a second time in a different melody in Old Church Slavonic. About half the parishioners looked as if they could speak a Slavic language and their pronunciation of Slavonic sounded good to me. I could not find any of the Slavonic parts written in the liturgy book, however.

Most of the service was sung rather than recited. Before the first reading began, a parishioner stood in the middle of the aisle facing the alter and chanted something in Old Church Slavonic for a minute or two. The first reading was done by another parishioner also standing in the middle of the aisle. Then the priest , who was visiting from Washington state, read the gospel.

The priest's sermon was about twice as long as I am used to in a Roman (Latin rite) church. It was interesting, however. It was about the tension between church and state, especially as to abortion and gay marriage. He mentioned how in Canada one can be accused of a hate crime for saying that homosexuality is wrong.

Following many unfamiliar prayers sung from the liturgy book, I decided to take communion. Before reaching the priest however, there was an icon of Mary (the Theotokos as they say in the eastern churches) that people venerated by kissing. I, not being fond of kissing icons (or crosses on Good Friday), failed to participate in that ritual. Not out of any theological reluctance -- it is just embarrassing for me to kiss inanimate objects. I quickly got enough embarrassment to last a week, however.

I watched closely as the others received communion. The priest was using tongs or a spoon to place the host in the mouth of the communicant. each communicant was lowering his or her head a little to make this easier. At one point the visiting priest stopped and brusquely admonished everyone not to kneel but to stand up and to not touch the spoon. When I got closer I saw that the host was in small cubes in a red liquid (consecrated wine) and I was unsure whether I was to take it on my tongue or mouth. I positioned my head at what I believe was the correct level and opened my mouth, leaving my tongue somewhere between forward and back. The priest told me to tilt my head back and the host fell from my mouth back into the chalice! Then, in a firmer and what was to me a harsh voice he again told me to tilt my head back. I tilted it back until I felt it was almost too far and feeling foolish and embarrassed I successfully received the wet host into my mouth this time. Filled with a sense of shame and embarrassment, I returned to my seat.

Afterwards, a parishioner invited me to join the others for coffee, but feeling like quite the outsider, I declined. If I had brought a friend perhaps it would have been fun. Another parishioner smiled warmly at me.

Overall, I found the parishioners friendly and welcoming. The service, being so different, would take some getting used to. It lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes. I would definitely go back.

St. Mary's Cathedral

2009-08-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

1716 NW Davis Street http://maryscathedral.com/

The full name is St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, but nobody calls it that. It's called either St. Mary's, The Cathedral or St. Mary's Cathedral.

I went to the 5:30 pm Mass on Sunday. This is a last chance Mass. The music is uptempo and -- for lack of a better descriptor -- contemporary. The Mass has a younger, single or newly married crowd, but not entirely so by any means.

This is the bishop's seat, so to speak, and it looks the part. The church was remodeled about ten years ago and the interior looks very nice -- at least to most people. A friend who is an interior decorator thinks it's gaudy and uses too much gold. But, it is clean, spacious and reasonably friendly. Drawing from the West Hills, it is undoubtedly one of the wealthier parishes in Portland.

I go here so often it is hard to comment on it; it's so familiar to me. Each Mass time is a little different: 5:30 pm vigil is middle of the road; 7:30 am is quiet; 9:00 am is for families with children and features donuts and coffee afterward; 11:00 am has a full choir and has the most pomp and circumstance; and 5:30 pm I spoke of above.

I imagine that this church gets more out-of-town visitors than all the others and I think it shows Portland well.

Holy Redeemer

2009-08-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

25 N. Rosa Parks Way http://www.holyredeemerpdx.org/

My adventure of visiting every Catholic church in Portland continues. However, in a way it has not fully started since each church in this blog thus far I had been to before. When I start visiting churches I have never been to before, such as the Church of the Korean Martyrs or St. Irene Byzantine Church, it should get more interesting.

Today I went to the 10 am Mass. This is a mostly white parish located in a mixed race , lower middle class neighborhood . It has a school adjoining the church and consequently there are lots of families with young children who attend here. There is also a Spanish Mass said at 12 noon on Sundays. I have been to that before and while it is fun to experience Mass in a different language (my Spanish is so so), doing so exacerbates feelings of not belonging.

The church has a brick facade and two bell towers. There is also an attractive white rectory next to the church. The inside of the church was remodeled recently and looks wonderful. It has golden yellow walls, gold trim and a royal blue ceiling. Also the parish recently installed a large baptismal fount at the back of the church. (Father Joe, who has since moved on, used to delight in dunking the babies in the new fount.)

The church was first built in 1906 by the Redemptorists, a religious order. Hence the name Holy Redeemer. The present building dates from 1926. About 5 years ago, the Redemptorists were apparently downsizing and priests from the Congregation of Holy Cross took over the parish. They are the same order that runs University of Portland and Notre Dame University.

Immaculate Heart Catholic Church

2009-08-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

2926 North Williams Avenue, Portland
This little church in North Portland is a gem. Its pink and white exterior is attractive but the inside is the best part. The ceiling is arched and painted sky blue. There are columns throughout like a miniature European cathedral. Behind the alter (in the apse perhaps?) is a statue with the Virgin Mary looking somewhat reminiscent of Superman with red, blue and what is almost yellow. The wall of the apse is painted gold.

But the heart of a church is its people and not its structures, as inspiring as they may be. The pastor is Father Nicolaus Marandu, ALCP. He is a member of the Apostolic Life Community of Priests – Holy Spirit Fathers and is from Tanzania. I had met Fr. Marandu before but I do not think he recognized me. The neighborhood is predominantly black and the congregation was about half black. We sang from the African American Catholic Hymnal. There are icons depicting saints of African descent.

Immaculate Heart also has a Vietnamese priest and Masses in Vietnamese. I would highly recommend visiting this comely church in the heart of North Portland.