Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places/ Third Place Stories
A few months after I moved to Boston, another newcomer suggested we visit a church to get to know more people. I was skeptical. Other than for funerals, weddings, and the occasional baptism, I had not attended a Catholic Mass in years. My childhood practice came to an abrupt end during my sophomore year in college. My roommate and I, raised Catholic, became disenchanted with stories of sexual abuse and Church positions on reproductive rights and the role of women. One Sunday we stopped attending Mass, tacitly acknowledging that we had participated due to sense of obligation, not a real connection. We had always rewarded ourselves for meeting this obligation by getting almond croissants after Mass; the rewards ended too.
Despite my reluctance, I agreed to go to Saint Cecilia Parish once. What an overwhelming welcome we received that day. Our first act was to stand and “greet our neighbors.” Unlike the pleasant nods we might have experienced elsewhere, we received warm introductions and genuine smiles. The Mass was a revelation. God’s goodness infused the entire space. It was infectious because of its charismatic pastor and, importantly, the parishioners. This truly felt like a community united in a desire to live the gospel.
Since then, the Parish has worked hard to be even more welcoming, to grow its already robust social justice ministries to greater strengths, and to demonstrate a recognition that the abundance accruing to Back Bay since Saint Cecilia’s founding is meant to be shared well beyond its neighborhood.
Even before that intentional strengthening of mission began in earnest, this community had grabbed me. I became more connected to my faith, gained greater knowledge during MA studies in Theology and Ministry at BC, and learned ways to navigate the tension between certain Church teachings and some of my beliefs. That led to training in hospital chaplaincy. Through volunteer work in hospital, hospice, and parish settings, I try to live my faith more fully each day, often falling short but always aware.
And, there is no need for the weekly almond croissants; attending Mass itself is the reward.
-Amy Russo