St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church's parish are welcoming, friendly, and dynamic. When I hear the Sunday Gospel and then Father Rolo's homily, I always take something from it. He has a gift of conveying what the Gospel is saying, explaining it, and connecting it to us. Also, it is apparent in his words and actions that he has a deep love of God, the church, and the parish. I'm grateful to my friend who invited me to attend my first Sunday Mass many months ago, and I feel at home with St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

As a member of the parish pastoral council, choir, and other similar activities I have had the great fortune to be part of a wonderful parish community. Fr. Rolo and the staff are caring people that have the best interests of the parishioners guiding them in this important work. I highly recommend SJE!!

Only usually offers one mass for Holy Days And other special days (like Ash Wednesday) so it makes it incredibly hard to get there. This Ash Wednesday, they only offer one Mass but two “ecumenical” services. This parish is more focused on ecumenism and social justice than on the Eucharist and raising an authentically Catholic community, focused on Jesus and the sacraments. Also, the website is incredibly difficult to navigate, not user friendly, and poorly designed. Not a lot to offer for young families.

It is a good parish community, very positive, but it’s lacking in respect for the liturgy. The first mass my wife and I went to was invalid (priest improvised the words of consecration). Several masses involved other liturgical abuses. When we pointed this out to the priest, he didn’t deny going against the GIRM but simply said he would continue these practices until the bishop told him otherwise. Now, on the feast on the parish’s patron saint, there is no mass offered, and no mass tomorrow either. On Jan. 1st (a holy day of obligation) there is only one mass at 10am..... too bad for those who sadly have to work. In our experience of living in town for over a year and a half now, we’ve seen daily masses cancelled on a regular basis and Sunday masses canceled several times due to weather, even though many times the weather wasn’t that bad, especially considering many families including ours can walk a block or two to mass. Confession is only offered for 40 minutes a week outside of request.......nnI could go on but hopefully the point is made. Again, this is a lovely community of positive people, but the liturgy itself is neglected and in some cases abused. The frustration my family feels is felt by many within the community and on the parish staff. Prayers to the Holy Spirit to ignite a flame of inspiration and reverence for the liturgy!!!

My Wife and I have been attending St John for the past 2 1/2 years. I am converting to the Catholic faith and my with is reverting back to the Catholic Church. Everyone we have come in contact with has been very welcoming to us. We have been attending the RCIA classes which focuses on Catholic doctrine and tradition including a series on the Mass. These classes have been a Godsend for us as we have moved into the Catholic faith and has given us a deeper understanding of why we do what we do and a solid spiritual base as we continue our journey into the faith. Everyone could benefit from these classes. We cannot thank the RCIA team enough for their support. Father Rolo has been a great inspiration for us as we have moved through the conversion process and helped to encourage us keep a positive outlook on our future at St Johns.