Beautiful Sheepshead Bay Churches To Attend For Christmas Mass
The most important holiday in the Christian faith is two Sundays away, and people all over the neighborhood will be lighting the third candle on their Advent wreath this week. Have you decided where you’ll be attending Christmas mass?
You have some stellar options here in Sheepshead Bay. Here’s a list of some breathtaking churches in our neighborhood:
St. Brendan Catholic Church
1525 East 12th Street, near Avenue O
This church hosted its first mass on Christmas Day in 1908. A house of worship established amidst the wave of Catholic immigrants landing in New York, it has beautiful stained-glass windows and arched ceilings that direct light onto the altar. St. Brendan’s will have masses on Christmas Eve (5pm in English, 7pm in Spanish, a choir performance at 11:30pm, and a midnight mass) and a mass on Christmas day at 11am.
United Methodist Church
3087 Ocean Avenue, near Voorhies Avenue
United Methodist was built in 1869, and later renovated in 1925. This historical gem has had its bumps and bruises in the past. In 2011. the steeples were in danger of being torn down after an effort to renovate them ran aground. The congregation was able to get wires attached to the red-trimmed spires as a temporary fix. While some repairs are needed, the church is more than ready for its 147th Christmas. They will have a candlelight service at 11pm on Christmas Eve, and a mass on Christmas day at 10:30am.
Saint Mark Roman Catholic Church
2609 East 19th Street, near Avenue Z
Saint Mark church’s iconic bell tower rises above the surrounding buildings like a flag marking Sheepshead Bay. It’s one of our neighborhood’s oldest and most iconic churches. The parish has been in the community for more than 150 years. They will have a Christmas Eve family mass in which children will portray the living gospel. On Christmas day they’ll have masses at 8am, 9:30am, 11am, and 12:30pm.
Good Shepherd Church
1950 Batchelder Street, near Avenue S
Another historic Catholic church in our neighborhood, Good Shepherd was established in 1927 to accommodate the growing Irish and Italian populations moving from Manhattan into southern Brooklyn. The church burned down, however, in 1939 and had to be rebuilt into the structure that stands today, according to Good Shepherd’s website. On Christmas Eve they will hold mass at 9am, 3:30pm, 5pm, and midnight. On Christmas there will be mass at 7:30am, 10am, and 12:30pm.