Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:are you allowed to choose your own parish in the NOVA area? i had heard that they were pretty strict about only accepting people who lived in a certain area.

They may give you grief about registering if you're out of bounds without some reason, but they won't ban you from attending.

Nativity specifically allows this. You are supposed to get a letter from your "in bounds" parish (i.e. the one you're supposed to be going to) and then Nativity will accept you. St. Mary's in Old Town will absolutely NOT take you in for performing weddings, or any kind of service is you do not live in the defined district. They will GLADLY accept your donations every week, they are happy to have you join their groups and take leadership roles, but as many couples who met there find out -- if you don't live in their zone, they ain't marrying you or baptising your kids.

I asked the secretary at Nativity about getting the letter and what it was for -- she said it was a form that basically releases you from your assigned parish. I said "What if I never really joined my assigned parish -- do I still need to get a form from them?" And that totally threw her off b/c the idea that I wasn't going to church EVERY Sunday was in her words "beyond her pay grade" to know whether they could take my family in as a member or not. Although I was SUPER impressed by the lead priest, the secretary's comments just reminded me how rule-based the whole thing is. We didn't end up joining, but on the rare occassion when we decide to go to church, Nativity is our preferred choice...... and we live near Ft. Belvoir... so it's a bit of a drive up the parkway.

I find it rather funny how the frequent "Help me find a not-too-Catholic Catholic parish" threads on DCUM have proved invaluable to our family in our search for a very Catholic parish to join when we move here. We would never have found a good fit without this forum. Thanks for the help

2nd the Nativity poster, it is inclusive. It is also HUGE so it may seem overwhelming at first, but give I a few weeks before making a decision. Yes, the Arlington Diocese is particular about attending your in bound parish. If you don't have kids and/or won't be receiving sacraments it may be less of an issue.

Anonymous wrote:I am looking for the same, Old Town area!!

St. Mary's is very very conservative, I'm out of place. It's all about the Right to Life, and nothing else.

Anonymous wrote:are you allowed to choose your own parish in the NOVA area? i had heard that they were pretty strict about only accepting people who lived in a certain area.

They may give you grief about registering if you're out of bounds without some reason, but they won't ban you from attending.

If anyone is in the Reston area, I highly reccomend St John Neuman Parish. awesome catholic parish!

are you allowed to choose your own parish in the NOVA area? i had heard that they were pretty strict about only accepting people who lived in a certain area.

St.Francis of Assisi in Triangle is more liberal than most, but that may be too far south for you...

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone here been to Nativity Catholic Church in Burke and could tell me about their experiences?

If you are looking for a more friendly and welcoming vibe (coming from the priest in charge), Nativity fits the bill. AVOID St. Lawrence in Alexandria/Franconia and St. Louis in Alexandria. Nativity is a breath of fresh air compared to the dry, BORING, catatonic services that I've seen in the latter-mentioned churches. Having been a lapsed Catholic trying to get back in the groove, Nativity was more of an open invitation... however, it IS still Catholic, so that ended up not working for me b/c I guess I've been away too long to go along with all the things I don't believe anymore. Nonetheless, Nativity really gave me a reason to think about whether we could do it so that the kids could have a parish family. The head priest gave a sermon or two that were DEAD ON speaking to me and talking about "as long as I'm in charge, the door will always be open" etc., etc. He was celebrating his 50th year as a priest, so I don't know how long he will be there, but clearly he is the cream of the crop.

There are a couple of parishes in Arlington that are VERY Vatican II (and beyond in terms of being liberal) (namely St. Chucks and Our Lady Queen of Peace). But, the vast majority of Catholic churches in this very conservative diocese (perhaps around the country???) are blatantly anti-liberal.

good luck

Has anyone here been to Nativity Catholic Church in Burke and could tell me about their experiences?

Anonymous wrote:You're asking for a miracle. The only not-conservative parish in northern VA that I know of is Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington.

St. Charles in Clarendon is also pretty liberal. In all fairness, I think there is a range of super conservative to more mainstream, for lack of a better word, parishes in the Arlington Diocese and to a certain extent I do think it mirrors the demographic of the parishes itself. We attend St. Ann in Arlington and love it. Homilies aren't all social justice, but they also aren't all lectures on abortion or gay marriage either. It's in a very family-oriented suburban part of Arlington and that seems to be reflected in the focus of the ministries, homilies and general tone of the parish.

You're asking for a miracle. The only not-conservative parish in northern VA that I know of is Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington.

St Joseph's in old town is very social justice oriented-it's run by Josephites and started as the AA church when Alexandria was segregated. They have a kick ass gospel choir. It's very small and seems to have a good community feel. They do a lot of work on affordable housing.

All that said, the priest is very old, and last time I was there the homily was all about gay marriage and following church teachings over your conscience. It was very different than homilies I've heard there in the past, and really put me off. So I'm not sure if it was more of an anomaly or if that's going to be there focus now.

I am looking for the same, Old Town area!!

We are new to the NoVa area and we are looking for a catholic parish in the Burke/Springfield/Fairfax area. We are looking for a friendly, inclusive parish that is more on the liberal side.