Name of Church St. Monica
Address 4301 88th Avenue SE, Mercer Island, Washington 98040
Phone number (206) 232-2900
Website www.stmonicami.org
Mass Schedule Saturday vigil, 5 p.m. Sundays, 9 & 11 a.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday, 8 a.m.; Fridays during the school year, 8:30 a.m.
Confessions Saturdays, 8:45 a.m. & 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Names of priests Fr. Patrick Freitag, pastor. In a region of the country known for its liberalism, the St. Monica’s priests have remained reliably orthodox through the years. (Listen to one of Fr. Freitag’s recent sermons below)
Special activities and groups Friends of the Needy & Monica’s Table (feeds the needy), Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, Respect Life, Scripture study, SacraMentors, Rosary Makers.
Music Lectors and choirs, depending on the Mass.
Fellow parishioners Mercer Island is an English-speaking, wealthy community (for example, former Microsoft head, Bill Gates, lives there). The parish also draws conservative Catholics from the surrounding communities.
School Yes, K-8.
Parking Ample.
Cry room No. But parents with noisy children can sit in vestibule, which is separated from the main body of the church by glass.
Acoustics Good.
Additional observations St. Monica’s is located in the Archdiocese of Seattle, about a 20-minute drive from downtown Seattle. It is Mercer Island’s only Catholic church, surrounded by beautiful trees and expensive homes. The church is traditional in style; there is an outdoor shrine and Stations of the Cross to the side of the church. There is a perpetual adoration chapel to the right of the front entrance; ask the parish office for the code to get in.
Suggested minor fix: Bill Gates does not live on Mercer Island (he lives on the East Side of Lake Washington in a community called Medina, not far away), but his former Microsoft founder/partner Paul Allen does live on Mercer Island.
Lectors as part of the music? I thought they did the readings and possibly the announcements. Perhaps Cantors?
Why? Looks pretty much like all “Eucharistic” hall, Novus Ordo-type spaces.
St. Christopher, you’re a one-note-johnny.