St Joseph the Worker Catholic Church

Jane Nasset

So far I've been to mass every weekend this year! Lol (If this doesn't show the date, I'm typing this on the first weekend of the year.) Due to my alarm not going off in time for any English masses in Battle Ground or Vancouver, I ended up going to this tiny church out in Yacolt. (My local options were attending mass in Spanish or Vietnamese.) This tiny church out in Yacolt is exactly the kind of church I've been looking for! Instead of roughly 500 people attending each impersonal mass, this place had one mass, and including myself, the priest, the musician, the usher(s), the alter girl, eucharistic ministers... there were only somewhere between 30 and 40 people in the entire church. Upon walking up to the entrance of the church, a father (an usher, not a priest) welcomed me, and his son, who looked to be no older than 10, opened the door for me to enter. There were people of all ages scattered about within the pews. I took a seat in the back left corner and to my surprise and delight, there was a floor vent for a heater under my seat, so my toes weren't icicles for long at all. I could tell it'd been a while since I attended mass, since some of the responses have changed (for example: "and also with you." is now something sounding more like "so too with your spirit.") I was among the last to enter and had the row to myself. During the "Our Father" the lady in front of me reached back to hold my hand even though others weren't reaching across rows to each other, she made sure this newcomer was included. To my surprise, I didn't receive even a single judgmental look for having multicolored hair, in varying shades of blue and purple, or even any odd looks for being a stranger in this tiny town located out in the middle of nowhere. Everyone was extremely warm and welcoming. Totally worth the 24 minute drive to get out there from Battle Ground! The drive was pleasant too. The sky drizzling down through the evergreens just enough to warrant turning on my wipers, interspersed with pastures breaking up the coverage. Every so often I'd spot a horse or two enjoying the light rain, taking it all in, just watching the cars drive by while enjoying being out in nature. It was a nice reminder to slow down and enjoy the little moments. Of all the Catholic parishes in the area that I could've ended up at, I'm glad this was the one I ended up going to when deciding to go back to church after all these years. They've made my transition back from being a nonpracticing Catholic a surprisingly pleasant one! :-D Even the presiding priest, whom was called up out of retirement to be there, (to cover things, like a substitute, while the usual pastor is in Uganda,) seemed joyful to be there!

Mark Smith

Come join us for mass Sunday 8:30 - 9:30.