Chesterfield, MO/Chiropractors

[PaschalCatholic]

Hey, so I wasn’t quite sure where to post this, but I will most likely be moving there in june of next year to attend Chiropractic school. I’m looking for a strong faith community or even any catholics that can tell me about the area. I will probably be bringing my girlfriend (by that time hopefully my wife) and we’re looking for a place to continue nurturing our faith before I start my career and discerning children.
God bless,
B

p.s.- shout out to catholic chiropractors, i’m really considering Logan, they know what students are looking for in a school

 

[PaschalCatholic]

bump…

 

[ChiroCatholic]

Just sent you a private message. Prayers for your success in school and beyond!

 

[whm]

You must be attending Logan College.

Chesterfield is part of the wonderful St. Louis Arch Diocese (Rome of the West).

Ascension, Chesterfield is a pretty good church. It is in a very wealthy area. St. Joseph Cottleville is also good (where I go). There are some excellent priest there, really top notch. The music is a bit on the contemporary side. If you are fairly orthodox, there is a brand new parish that doesn’t even have its own building yet, St. Gianni - very traditional NO Mass, a lot of the ladies wear chapel veils, organ music etc.

 

[agapewolf]

St. Joe cottleville (who has my old pastor) and St. Gianna are both waaaay out west

 

[Rach620]

I’m from the St. Louis area and lived for several years in Chesterfield. St. Louis is a great place–big small town feel, lots of different neighborhoods, great traditions, great baseball, “Rome of the West”…Feel free to PM me about it.

Incarnate Word is the other parish (besides Ascension) in Chesterfield. It is located at 141 & Olive Blvd, a couple of miles north of Hwy 40 (and a bit east of Logan). Ascension is farther west. IW has one of the most active Life Teen programs in the Archdiocese, and I believe they have a fairly active young adult ministry along with that, though I’m not entirely sure. I think that most of the 20-somethings are involved in running the teen ministry, rather than in 20-something only events, if that’s what you’re looking for. Both IW and Ascension cater to families of school-aged children, as both have large elementary schools and most of the parishioners are families with small children. IW also has adult sports leagues and singles events (though that doesn’t seem to apply!), adult bible study, and a men’s group, along with a perpetual Eucharistic adoration chapel. It’s a strong parish, and I belonged there when I was growing up.

Others have mentioned St. Joseph’s in Cottleville, which is in St. Charles County (FAR away from Logan…20-30 mins), and St. Gianna (which is brand new and in Lake St. Louis, I think…also probably 20 minutes from Logan). Another large and active parish relatively near Chesterfield would be Sacred Heart in Valley Park.

I’m not sure what your girlfriend/fiancee plans on doing, but Chesterfield is pretty far out in the western suburbs of St. Louis. It’s a great area, but the cost of living there is certainly higher than in other parts of the county, and it is more common for families with children to live there than young adults. Students and young professionals tend to live closer to the city, often in trendy areas like the Central West End and U-City/Delmar, or in some of the new loft districts downtown. I say this not to necessarily endorse those as places to live (they definitely have higher rental rates than most places in Chesterfield), but to mention that some of the most active young adult ministries are down in that section of the city (at the Cathedral parish and at St. Francis Xavier, which is adjacent to SLU’s campus). I just don’t think that there are as many opportunities for young adults (20s and 30s) in parishes out in Chesterfield, as there just aren’t that many of them living out there.

St. Louis is a great Archdiocese, and there are a couple of archdiocesan-wide young adult groups and plenty of volunteer opportunities. Check out archstl.org or the archdiocesan newspaper, the St. Louis Review. You can search for parishes within a geographic radius on the archdiocesan website. St. Louis is definitely a place where there are ample opportunities to nurture one’s faith.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I now live about as far away from St. Louis as one can be and still be in the state. However, I once lived there; my son went to school there and I have relatives there.

St. Louisans all have their favorite parishes, and that’s to be expected. There are a LOT of them, and they all have a distinct sort of “flavor”. St. Louis is really just a big concatenation of “neighborhoods”. I will say that I can’t imagine how a student there (whose parish is not geographically determined) would ever be able to decide on a parish without spending a fair amount of time going from one to another to another. Prepare to be impressed.

Myself, I usually went to the College Church at St. Louis U, or the “New Cathedral” (the Cathedral Basilica) which is Byzantine in decor and absolutely beyond beautiful.

Enjoy searching. I rather think you will.

 

[whm]

Let me elaborate, The reason for mentioning St. Joe’s Cottleville ( which is 12 miles or about 15 minutes from Ascension), is that Chesterfield is a relatively expensive place to live. If he/she is looking for a nice, affordable place to live, they could save a lot of money living 15 minutes to the west in St. Charles County (especially if they are buying, renting is not so much of a difference).

Ascension is a fine parish. It is the richest parish in the diocese though (and can feel a bit stiff). A lot of expensive cars in that parking lot. We attended it for about 2 years before switching to St. Joe’s.

I mentioned St. Gianna in case they are looking for an ultra conservative/traditional parish . It was established to be a conservative/traditional haven by Arch Bishop Burke.

 

[PaschalCatholic]

Thank you all for the information, it seems like Incarnate Word is probably going to be the first place I give a shot based purely on proximity to campus. Also, what you all have described about the community has been reassuring, it sounds similar to my home parish. I really liked the descriptions of St. Louis as the “Rome of the West”. I mean I wouldn’t call myself ultra-orthodox or anything (I’ve never been to a Tridentine Mass though), but the Vatican and the Pope have a special place in my heart. I came up through the Lifeteen system so I appreciate it for what it is and definitely would like to give back to the program through involvement. I have also seen what it lacks, and that is preparation for those students who don’t attend a seminary or strong catholic school for college. To me, that isn’t necessarily a drawback, so much as a challenge. Being a big fan of Pat Madrid and apologetics in general, I think if students have a firm foundation, understanding, and passion for the ABCs (Apologetics, the Bible, and Catechesis) they should fair well even in a Newman Center at a public school, or a school with no formal catholic community.
If any of you want to talk further, I’d love to, private message me.
God bless,
B

 

[Thomas63116]

Another St. Louis-area local chiming in to let you know that there is a strong and vibrant Catholic community here, ranging from the ulta-Orthodox to the “why are they still Catholic?” fringe. I’m a city-dweller, so I know far less about parishes in the far west suburbs like Chesterfield. But if you decide to venture in a little further, I’m happy to offer some suggestsions. Fell free to send me a PM.

 

[PaschalCatholic]

Another St. Louis-area local chiming in to let you know that there is a strong and vibrant Catholic community here, ranging from the ulta-Orthodox to the “why are they still Catholic?” fringe. I’m a city-dweller, so I know far less about parishes in the far west suburbs like Chesterfield. But if you decide to venture in a little further, I’m happy to offer some suggestsions. Fell free to send me a PM.

Haha, I like the joke about the ranges, I’ve experienced both ends. I think I mentioned this before, but I’d consider myself orthodox, just not to the extent of Tridentine mass or Pre-V2. I just have a lot more respect for the Eucharist, the Pope, and the teachings of the Church than the other end of the spectrum.
God bless,
B

 

[Rach620]

Haha, I like the joke about the ranges, I’ve experienced both ends. I think I mentioned this before, but I’d consider myself orthodox, just not to the extent of Tridentine mass or Pre-V2. I just have a lot more respect for the Eucharist, the Pope, and the teachings of the Church than the other end of the spectrum.
God bless,
B

From my experience, in general this is what you will find in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. There is the fringe element and there is a traditionalist segment here stronger than most other dioceses, but St. Louis in general is solidly orthodox and appropriately embraces Vatican II. You should feel at home here

 

[PaschalCatholic]

From my experience, in general this is what you will find in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. There is the fringe element and there is a traditionalist segment here stronger than most other dioceses, but St. Louis in general is solidly orthodox and appropriately embraces Vatican II. You should feel at home here

I totally agree with, and appreciate the use of the word “appropriately”, thank you for the reassurance. I was reflecting last night and I came to some fairly obvious conclusions, but if we put them to work in our heart, they can make change that we maybe never noticed we needed.
If we rely only on faith we are Luther
If we rely only on knowledge we are atheists
If we rely only on works we are Pharisees
If we rely only on social justice we are humanists
But if we rely only on the True Presence of Christ we can hope to be saints.
God bless,
B

p.s.- don’t get me wrong, in fact all of those are necessary in the Church, but an appropriate approach is to access those things, THROUGH Christ

 

[Rach620]

I totally understand what you’re saying. Great observations. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and a mature faith

God bless!

 

[PaschalCatholic]

I totally understand what you’re saying. Great observations. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and a mature faith

God bless!

Haha, I don’t know about either of those, but I hope whatever I have God can turn it into something worthy of Heaven when I die.
God bless,
B

 

[kwitz]

From my experience, in general this is what you will find in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. There is the fringe element and there is a traditionalist segment here stronger than most other dioceses, but St. Louis in general is solidly orthodox and appropriately embraces Vatican II. You should feel at home here

I’m glad to see that others’ perceptions are similiar to mine. I read about some of the wacky, weird fringe elements (on both sides of the traditionalist spectrum) and I’ve just not seen much of it in my world. Sometimes, I’ve wondered if I’m just oblivious to “heresy” so it’s good to hear that for the most part, others are seeing what I’m seeing in the St. Louis area.

Kris

 

[mamacita]

Just be careful not to join a certain parish where the priest brings his dog to Mass (it’s not near Chesterfield, so you’re probably ok). No, it’s not a seeing eye dog. Yes, he has it up on the altar w/ him during the entire Mass. Why this is allowed in STL I have no clue. Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

St. Joe cottleville (who has my old pastor) and St. Gianna are both waaaay out west

Others have mentioned St. Joseph’s in Cottleville, which is in St. Charles County (FAR away from Logan…20-30 mins), and St. Gianna (which is brand new and in Lake St. Louis, I think…also probably 20 minutes from Logan). Another large and active parish relatively near Chesterfield would be Sacred Heart in Valley Park.

When did my parents join this forum

I say that because when they were in St. Louis once (they are from a small town where Wal Mart is a 5 min drive away) and I told them we were going “just down the road” to get some where, it took 20 mins to get there (which to me and my wife is nothing) but they acted as if it was across country.

To the OP:

A lot depends on what you are looking for in a parish. I for one came up through Life Teen as a core member at a local parish when I moved here. While I, like you, see the good and the bad in it, I think that there are many parishes here locally that have that option if that is what you are searching for in a church. But as it was mentioned there are many others out there that are within a small drive from any location that you choose to live. I will echo those that tell you that Chesterfield is a bit on the pricey side whereas other places like Valley Park, St. Charles are less expensive.

 

[PaschalCatholic]

When did my parents join this forum

I say that because when they were in St. Louis once (they are from a small town where Wal Mart is a 5 min drive away) and I told them we were going “just down the road” to get some where, it took 20 mins to get there (which to me and my wife is nothing) but they acted as if it was across country.

To the OP:

A lot depends on what you are looking for in a parish. I for one came up through Life Teen as a core member at a local parish when I moved here. While I, like you, see the good and the bad in it, I think that there are many parishes here locally that have that option if that is what you are searching for in a church. But as it was mentioned there are many others out there that are within a small drive from any location that you choose to live. I will echo those that tell you that Chesterfield is a bit on the pricey side whereas other places like Valley Park, St. Charles are less expensive.

Where I am from, it is generally uncommon to seek out parishes in different cities, most people just attend the one (in some cases there are 2) parish in town. Things aren’t necessarily small in the sense of a small town here, but there is less space between things than there is there (at least in the Chesterfield area). The towns boundaries seem to be larger in STL area as well (are there multiple high schools established in a school system?) so we don’t usually have to drive far to go to church, get groceries (2 Giant Eagles and an Acme within 10 minutes of my parent’s house), etc. So this isn’t necessarily a foreign concept to me, but it is a little different.

To mamacita:
HE DOES WHAT?! I thought I had heard/seen quite a bit, but that seems pretty inappropriate…He seems like he needs prayers.

God bless,
B

 

[mamacita]

Where I am from, it is generally uncommon to seek out parishes in different cities, most people just attend the one (in some cases there are 2) parish in town. Things aren’t necessarily small in the sense of a small town here, but there is less space between things than there is there (at least in the Chesterfield area). The towns boundaries seem to be larger in STL area as well (are there multiple high schools established in a school system?) so we don’t usually have to drive far to go to church, get groceries (2 Giant Eagles and an Acme within 10 minutes of my parent’s house), etc. So this isn’t necessarily a foreign concept to me, but it is a little different.

To mamacita:
HE DOES WHAT?! I thought I had heard/seen quite a bit, but that seems pretty inappropriate…He seems like he needs prayers.

God bless,
B

There is a parish in north St. Louis area where the priest (he’s the pastor of this parish) brings his dog to Mass, and it lays on the altar next to his ‘chair’. Yes, he does need our prayers. What if a consecrated host were to drop to the floor and then the dog ate it? What’s next? Bring your parrot to Mass so it can join the choir? The story was in our major STL newspaper. I can dig it up and post it on here, very disturbing that it’s even being permitted in my opinion. Apparently the parishioners are ‘ok’ w/ this. My DS has severe dog allergies, I myself would not be ok w/ it if I were in his parish.