We haven't settled on one yet either, but our liberal neighbors tell us they love st John the baptist because it is more liberal (in addition to welcoming, etc).

Anonymous wrote:check out St. Camilius - in SS but close to Takoma Park. Vibrant community, multi-cultural and welcoming

Not Catholic, but I have heard this from several friends as well. Very liberal and welcoming.

^^^PP here, I should also note, there are lots of Catholics sitting in the pews at my Lutheran church every Sunday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck with that, they are all conservative.

You could try St. Michael's in downtown SS but I think that's similar.

For these reasons, after visiting all of these and more, and notwithstanding my strong Irish Catholic self-identity, I went Lutheran.

Op here, I left the Irish-catholic part out of it, but I figured some would read between the lines, do you still find that sense of community at the Lutheran church? Or is it just where you go on Sunday mornings

PP here and yes, I do - and fwiw I have far more of that sense of community in my Lutheran church than I ever did in our Catholic parish. I attend services every Sunday, but am also involved in many other ways (church-wise and socially with other families there). And it is great for our kids.

The fact that the liturgy is virtually identical helps a lot - it feels like *home* since these are the same prayers/creed/words I've been saying since childhood each Sunday.

It was the best decision I've made re: religion.

Anonymous wrote:Im looking for info, I'm thinking either St John the baptist, St John the evangelist, st Andrews, st Bernadette
Am I leaving any others out?
TIA

We belong to St. John the Baptist, and I (NOT the best Catholic) don't find it to be very preachy. My daughter is in 2nd grade and loves the school. And so far, we've been happy with her academic progress and her network of friends. As always, you'll find nut jobs who live for the church, but my friends are not in that camp!

Anonymous wrote:Good luck with that, they are all conservative.

You could try St. Michael's in downtown SS but I think that's similar.

For these reasons, after visiting all of these and more, and notwithstanding my strong Irish Catholic self-identity, I went Lutheran.

Op here, I left the Irish-catholic part out of it, but I figured some would read between the lines, do you still find that sense of community at the Lutheran church? Or is it just where you go on Sunday mornings

Grew up catholic, raised my kids catholic and now I am a Methodist. I regret not raising my kids as Methodist.

check out St. Camilius - in SS but close to Takoma Park. Vibrant community, multi-cultural and welcoming

St. B's is very conservative.

FYI, St. Bernadette has a pretty sizable Opus Dei population.

Good luck with that, they are all conservative.

You could try St. Michael's in downtown SS but I think that's similar.

For these reasons, after visiting all of these and more, and notwithstanding my strong Irish Catholic self-identity, I went Lutheran.

Holy Trinity is not so far away...

That may be step 2, if I can't find what I am looking for. But I was baptized catholic and so were my kids. All my family and a lot of friends are catholic too. It may sound provincial but it's more than just a religion, it's a community-albeit possibly a conflicted and dysfunctional community, but thats all a part of it.
I know tons of people like me who are very liberal, but still catholic. Just looking for the differences between these specific churches

So I have to ask: if you don't want to join a conservative congregation, why stick with Catholicism? Have you visited an Episcopal church? Lutheran? Services are very similar.

Im looking for info, I'm thinking either St John the baptist, St John the evangelist, st Andrews, st Bernadette
Am I leaving any others out?
TIA