St John Vianney Church

Cons: You will often hear Democrat talking points (gun control, environmentalism, corporate greed, minimum wage). Youth ministry participation can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you have a lot of kids. I didnt like how much meditative yoga was pushed (not comfortable with that). No communion on the tongue allowed. There’s a very strong sewer smell outside the Church — not sure what’s up with that. You might be turned off if you have conservative values or want to see pro-​life initiatives, standing against gay marriage, etc (non-​judgment zone… dont dare bring these topics up for fear of offending anyone). Went to a marriage vow renewal ceremony and was surprised to see a gay couple kissing behind us — everyone seemed enthused by their presence. Priest was quoting Buddha, which kinda freaked out my evangelical wife.
Pros: Welcoming to all, and actively reaches out to others. Strong on social justice. Homilies are very interesting and priests are very loving, sincere and animated — you are truly moved. Good music. Loving atmosphere. Church finances seem to be very well managed. Facilities are good. Reconciliation hours and mass times are convenient
We might go back from time-​to-​time, but I don’t think it’s the right place for us.

Today’s homily was heart touching. The Father was very engaging, & was current with the issues he spoke of which he was able to relate to today’s Lent gathering.
It was a little quick but it is the lunch hour, and for some it was obvious it was their lunch break. I believe this was his way of being able to accommodate them.

I am trying to stay away from reviewing parishes for which my review would be negative, so here goes a good review for a Catholic church. I actually have gone here more than once across the years when in Walnut Creek which, along with some friends, I refer to as «The Creek» or «Creek o’ Nuts.» No, the people in this area are, for the most part, fairly conventional. I think that the long-​time residents bought 1-​story homes back in the day, had gold watch type employers when those existed, and then, overnight, the area got expensive and the Jarvis Amendment had no choice but to kick in. I think that Bay Area folks who have this need to diss on anything «east of the tunnel» need to lay off.
I don’t like extremes in parishes, that of being either overly liberal or overly conservative. I would say that this parish is slightly left of center, but mostly one that focuses on being real and humane. As with any organization, culture flows from the top down. Here, that’s a good thing, while at other parishes, not so much.
I was in San Francisco on a January 9. How do I remember that? Well, that’s Nixon’s birthday, as in «I am not a crook» Nixon. I was celebrating something, so I had a great lunch in North Beach, went west toward the GGNRA and Seacliff to take pictures, went to Coyote Point south of SFO to «planespot,» and then headed back across the Bay Bridge and wanted to go to Mass.
I got a good feeling from this place. It was intangible, yet very tangible at the same time. The crowd was demographically diverse and very relaxed. A woman standing next to me started talking to me before Mass began, found out I was from out of town, and introduced me to her kids and even pulled over her brother-​in-​law. She said something like ‘if you end up moving here or are back in the area, you should come back.’ I got the feeling that this sort of attitude prevails here. So, in the end, this is a parish that puts a good spin on Christianity and a parish that, for folks who are on the cusp of burnout on Catholicism, could be an antidote.

Father Jim is awesome! He is caring and even humorous which made the baptism I attended fun and laid back. The church itself is less ornate and more cabin in the woods style compared to most I’ve been to.
I was surprised there was no place to light candles.
Overall you can see that Father Jim takes special care to focus on love, which is what it should be about!

I got married at this Church!
Father Jim McGee is a wonderful man, warm and caring with a great sense of humor. He certainly made the ceremony much easier when I was extremely nervous about everything… Let’s just say I haven’t been going to Church every week… errr… month… errr…year rather for a little while now.
They just built a brand new building for receptions next to the church. It is a beautiful building with tall windows and a beautiful view of Mount Diablo. I’ll attach some pictures since it’s worth a 1000 words.