San Judas Tadeo Catholic Church

San Judas Tadeo Catholic Church is located in a small park in the middle of the Sabalo Country Club neighborhood.  The park and the church were built at the time the Sabalo Country Club housing edition was developed.  There are many churches in Mazatlan most of which are Catholic.  The most popular with North Americans is The Vineyard Christian Fellowship.  The church is very active in mission and outreach to the poor of Mazatlan and other parts of Mexico including Reynosa, Mexico on the Texas border.  The Vineyard Christian Fellowship is located in the main part of the golden zone of Mazatlan.    Here in Mazatlan we do not have any Methodist churches although the Methodist church is active in Mexico.  The closest Methodist church is Durango or Sonora.  There are no Methodist churches in the state of Sinaloa in which Mazatlan is located. I have gone to the Vineyard several time and am always warmed by their mission and outreach efforts.  Every since we bought our condo three years ago I have sought a church to regularly attend.  Although I enjoyed the Vineyard Fellowship, I missed the traditions of the Methodist church.  The Vineyard does not have regular communion and I also missed to opportunity to participate in that sacrament.

 

This past summer I visited San Judas Tadeo church.  I have Mexican and U.S. friends that attend the church.  I talked to my Mexican friend about attending church there and was very encouraged by his comments.  San Judas Tadeo has mass at least once a day.  Communion is offered to the congregations at all of the masses.  On Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. in the summer and 9:00 a.m. in the fall/winter, the priest presents the mass in Spanish with an English interpreter.  The first mass I attended, the priest preached on serving Christ and service to others.  I really enjoy the service and the message.  In the summer there are no more than 25 in attendance and the majority of the 8:30 a.m. congregation are Mexican.  Starting in November there is about 100 at the 9:00 a.m. service and the majority are North American.  The priest is warm and inviting to all that attend his mass.  He does speak some English but is more comfortable speaking Spanish.