Catholic Churches

[skipatpeanut]

New to the Villages. Interested in a Catholic Church. Can someone give us some ideas of what is around and the times and types (solemn, guitar, etc)

[graciegirl]

New to the Villages. Interested in a Catholic Church. Can someone give us some ideas of what is around and the times and types (solemn, guitar, etc)

There is St. Timothy's near Spanish Springs. AND St. Vincent de Paul near the southern part of The Villages is just finishing a new church. And St. Marks is a little north and west of The Villages.

All more traditional. Not too much in the way of contemporary music. I long for a good hearty Amen, A aaaa men in music every once in awhile, but hey...I feel His presence. Welcome to you.

Hope you will love it here.

[zonerboy]

Have been to all three. All seem very conservative and traditional, compared to where I came from. St. Timothy seemed too formal (organ music, etc.). St. Mark's was very nice but the pastor seemed a little too rigid for me. St. Vincent de Paul seemed friendliest, new pastor gives thought provoking homilies, music is piano and guitar (with occasional harmonica), choir soloist is excellent. New church will open in August which should make things even better.
All three seem to be "no touch" churches, i.e. No hand shakes, let alone hugs (heaven forbid) at the sign of peace. Head nods only, please. Not used to this. Also, people back their cars in to spaces in the parking lot, to facilitate a quick getaway. Is this an east coast thing?

[zonerboy]

By the way, St. Vincent used to have 9 weekend Masses, 4 Saturday Vigil, and 5 on Sunday. Will be cutting back to 5 total once new church building opens.

[graciegirl]

I miss the hugging too, Zonerboy.

[rdhdleo]

We have been going to St. Marks since it opened it doors and had services in what is now the church hall for functions. We also felt St. Tims rigid and somewhat cliquish but that was us. We LOVE St. Marks and there never seems to be a shortage of hugs, like any place you are new to, give it time and really get to know the people, join in on some of the groups. We love the Pauline fathers at St. Marks they are actually less rigid than the diocesan priests and more humble. That said hope you find a church you feel good about :) I'm glad we joined St. Marks. Oh and Welcome to The Villages!!!

[Bruiser1]

We have been going to St. Marks since it opened it doors and had services in what is now the church hall for functions. We also felt St. Tims rigid and somewhat cliquish but that was us. We LOVE St. Marks and there never seems to be a shortage of hugs, like any place you are new to, give it time and really get to know the people, join in on some of the groups. We love the Pauline fathers at St. Marks they are actually less rigid than the diocesan priests and more humble. That said hope you find a church you feel good about :) I'm glad we joined St. Marks. Oh and Welcome to The Villages!!!


I have to agree with entry. I attended St Tim's but wasn't for me.

In my humble opinion :

I went to St Mark's the Evangelist and have been very pleased. The church,parish participation and ministries are first rate. MY opinion on the Pastor is that he is among the BEST I have seen in 61 years of Catholicism.
His sermons (to me) have always had a meaning. During the sermons he invariably tosses in a zinger that has the audiences laughing out loud .
That is good communication

The music has been good but due to a new music minister -I would say it is incredible. Guest musicians are welcomed and really add to the Mass

Yes some times Father does express his frustration that others don't have the same reverence as he does.

Perhaps if this offends you then there are many churches that can accommodate your unique needs.

If you want to dine and dash (put in a good 40 minutes)
then this church is NOT for you!

[zonerboy]

Perhaps I did not give St. Mark's a long enough trial. I found nothing "offensive" at all about the church, the people, or the pastor (reverence can be expressed in many different ways, IMHO). I just found St V de P better suited to my tastes, which are not that unique.
Different strokes for different folks, as they say.
Blessings,
Zonerboy

[folkh]

Perhaps I did not give St. Mark's a long enough trial. I found nothing "offensive" at all about the church, the people, or the pastor (reverence can be expressed in many different ways, IMHO). I just found St V de P better suited to my tastes, which are not that unique.
Different strokes for different folks, as they say.
Blessings,
Zonerboy

Did where you live in The Villages play apart in what church you attend?

[chachacha]

i think the "no touch" thing started a couple of years ago when everyone was scared to death about bird flu or some flu that was threatening the elderly....i see plenty of hugs at st v's after the mass among friends :) looking forward to the opening of our new church building!

[Lbmb24101]

Did where you live in The Villages play apart in what church you attend?

For me, yes.
St VDePaul is the closest.
I just wish it was cart accessible....

[Bavarian]

The restraint in the "Sign of Peace" comes from the Vatican. The Sign ofPeace was getting out of hand and the norm now is a quick nod or wave to others, only shake hands with those right next to you. Disturbs the sacredness of the time of the Mass. An otion discussed was moving it to before the Offeratory. Read it in "The Wanderer" Happy with this. One church back in St. Mary's County had everyone running around shaking everyones hand.

[Carmpat]

While St. Vincent de Paul's was under construction, we decided to try to attend St. Mark's. I found the church to be beautiful and very spacious. There was never a problem to find a parking space when the snowbirds came back.We always had to fight for a space at St. Vincent's. Some mornings we had to leave 40 minutes earlier just to get to church on time. There were times we had to sit outside on those very uncomfortable blue plastic chairs. Now that the new Church is opened we will try and go back to St. Vincent's starting tomorrow. We plan on going to the noon mass. I do realize that parking is limited at St. Vincent's as it doesn't look like the parking lot can accommodate all the cars but we will go and try it. We did feel like St. Mark's was a good fit for us and we enjoyed all the sermons. The choir director at St. Mark's has a beautiful voice and we love the song selection he sings. St. Mark's is much further away like 25 minutes away.. We did attend this church for 5 months.

[chachacha]

went to four pm mass saturday at our new church. did not have trouble parking but on grass...the church was packed as there are now only five masses per weekend and when snowbirds are here i fear we will be back to square one unless they add some masses for that season. as usual, father peter's sermon was great. the new building is simple and so far i miss the statues etc but maybe that will come...

[Markam]

Regardless of where you live in TV, I think you should visit all three a few times in order to determine which one provides the most uplifting services. We live closer to one but prefer another because we like their priest's homilies and their overall music style.

[Ruthtomnorma3]

Thanks for this information on the various churches ...
When I have my Catholic friends visit,I will have them read the comments for their interest.
I am still looking for a church too... HE will direct me eventually ....

[Cobh521]

. the new building is simple and so far i miss the statues etc but maybe that will come...[/QUOTE]

Last Sunday, Fr Peter informed us that they are waiting for the statues. They are coming from Italy

[mojoe]

I am so happy the new church finally opened its doors. My youngest daughter and her three children were here for the opening weekend last Sunday and they loved it and there was plenty of room. My granddaughter, Shannon, age 9, was thrilled to read the words on the large screen and she sang her heart out. We sat in the second pew over on the left side and there was a screen right in front of is. I have tried all three churches and I really do like St. Vincent de Paul. My sister and her husband belong there so that did factor into my decision. My cousins go to St. Marks and they are happy there. And I have friends who go to St. Timothy's and they love it there. So to each his own. I just hope that when everyone returns we will still have enough seating at St. Vincent's.

[Bavarian]

Went to the Consecration of new Church Wednesday. Crowded as usual. Bishop consecrated the Church, offered a special Mass of Consecration. The statues of Mary and St. Joseph were in place. Fr. Pietro was working on getting all in place for the Consecration, said the statues and the rest come later. Bad part is still parking. We who live North have to park in the grass, the parking lot cars must head South towards CR 466A.

[Bruiser1]

While St. Vincent de Paul's was under construction, we decided to try to attend St. Mark's. I found the church to be beautiful and very spacious. There was never a problem to find a parking space when the snowbirds came back.We always had to fight for a space at St. Vincent's. Some mornings we had to leave 40 minutes earlier just to get to church on time. There were times we had to sit outside on those very uncomfortable blue plastic chairs. Now that the new Church is opened we will try and go back to St. Vincent's starting tomorrow. We plan on going to the noon mass. I do realize that parking is limited at St. Vincent's as it doesn't look like the parking lot can accommodate all the cars but we will go and try it. We did feel like St. Mark's was a good fit for us and we enjoyed all the sermons. The choir director at St. Mark's has a beautiful voice and we love the song selection he sings. St. Mark's is much further away like 25 minutes away.. We did attend this church for 5 months.

We are fortunate to have three Catholic Churches in relative proximity. This allows for worship for the diverse audience. Again "seek and ye shall find" a home for your spiritual needs. But note the attendance does change as the season progresses.
Easter is much more crowded than the Christmas Masses for example.

[Carmpat]

Well we have gone back to St. Vincent de Paul. We left our house at 9:35 am for the 10 am mass and driving down Powell Ave we had to wait a few minutes to get inside of the parking lot and as usual it was very crowded but we found a spot to park. When we walked inside the church the first time, I found it to be very plain and we were stuck in the back of the church. The sound system was not great and we couldn't hear the priests or the lecturers doing the sermons. We had difficulty seeing the screens to read the music as the hanging lights obstructed the view of both screens.. If you have a tall person in front of you in a pew, then you can't see anything at all. I was told the church holds 1600 people. Last Sunday was the exact same thing, stuck in the back. I didn't get to see the statues. When you are in the back, you don't see anything. I thought the sound system would have improved but not yet. I do like the seats and the pews. They are very comfortable. What I liked about St Mark's is the floor was on a slant in and you could actually see everything up at the altar. With St. Vincent's de Paul it was all one way hard for viewing. I have noticed people are dressing up nicer at church which is important. It shows respect for God and his church. Patti