Catholic Churches

T.-
We are members of an absolutely AWESOME Catholic church. It is St. Matthias in Parma, on Broadview and Sprague. It is everything you are looking for. Father Ray Sutter is the pastor and he is wonderful and dynamic. We have both a choir and a small band for masses and then there is a larger band called Joyful Noise that plays at special services. Since lent is just begining tomorrow, now would be a great time to try out St. Matthias. There are weekly discussions during lent and the church also offers a group called "Alpha" that is designed for catholics or christians who are looking for a way to learn more about christianity. We were married there and had our children baptized there. St. Matthias does not have a parish school but is partnered up with St. Columbkille and Assumption for elementary school. St. Matthias is a smaller parish but the people are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They have an EXCELLENT program called "Catechesis of the Good Shepherd" which is a Montessori based cathechism class for children 3-9 yrs. Not sure how old your daughter is but I can't say enough about the children's program. I encourage you to at least try visiting us for Mass a couple of times to see what you think. Masses are Sat. 4:00 PM, Sun. 9:00 & 11:00. I believe the small band is at 11:00 but I know they do change around. We have numerous ministeries to get active in. I had a baby in Aug. 2007 and our baby was 3 months early. St. Matthias meals ministry provided us with full meals 3 times a week for 6 weeks!! Just another example of our generous and family-like parish. Good luck to you and I hope you are able to attend St. Matthias and see for yourself what a great parish it is. I just can't say enough about it!!

R. B.

Hi T.
I can HIGHLY recommend Hope Christian Church in Avon. It is located on Detroit just west of the Winking Lizard. I know that it isn't Catholic but it has a nice blend. We also attended Church on the Rise as well as Providence Church and Christ the King Church in North Olmsted. None of them compare to Hope.
I hope that this helps you.
L.

I attend St. Raphael's in Bay Village and I love it! There is not a band, so it may not be what you are looking for, but I love the pastors and I love their homilies. Another church that I would HIGHLY recommend is Bay Presbyterian Church in Bay Village (although, not catholic). I attend bible study there and I know they have a great contemporary service that may be what you are looking for. I cannot remember which service it is on Sunday (9:30 or 11), but if you call them they can let you know. Their other service is more conservative. Good luck!

Hi T.,
The church my husband and I go to is not Catholic, but it is an awesome church. It is Family Fellowship in Amherst. It is down the street from where the Kmart is. It is a Foursquare denomination, but they have an AWESOME kids program! Alot of people from other churches will send their kids to the church for the programs they provide.
When we moved to Avon Lake, we tried every church around since the drive is a bit out to Amherst. We did not feel "home" anywhere but at Family Fellowship. The name of the church says it all! The people are freindly, and not "religious" and they offer TONS of classes outside of just the Sunday service. For example, my husband and I are currently taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University thru the church. You can go to the website at www.familyfellowship.net to find out a bit more about them. Service times are 9:00am and 10:45am on Sundays. They serve a breakfast in between services at 10:15. They have a nursery, toddler room, kids classes, youth classes...you name it, they've got it. Feel free to email me and I'd be happy to give you more info or meet you and show you around. Remember, it's not the "place" or "type" of church you attend, it's where you feel you get fed. You need a place you can root, grow, and bear fruit. A place when you walk in you go, "yeah, this feels like home." God bless

St. Marks has a nice Mass and father John isn't boring, but it isn't contemporary either.