St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church — Local services in Avondale

We would have loved to have shared good Friday, holy Saturday and Easter Sunday with you all, but when we called Friday morning for the times of the services, a very rude woman chided my mother for using the improper terminology, belittling her with her over eccentric rude "holier than thou" attitude, which pushed us away from your church. This is the 2nd time we've had rude treatment by the church via a woman on the telephone. You're supposed to bring people to the church, not push them away. Why judge someone seeking the Lord because they asked for Fridays services schedule in a way that there was the need for a semantic belittling session, whether on Good Friday it's called services or Mass got this woman in such a mood that she was talking to my mother in a very inappropriate fashion for even a normal person let alone a church.

Perhaps it may behoove you all to have whomever is the 1st point in contact for your church not some rude judgemental woman shunning and belittling others in a vain attempt to seem holy and good. Do you truly believe God wants you to berate a cancer survivor and someone who's served the Lord all her life and our country for over 40 years for wanting to come to church at your parish?

This is the 2nd time a woman answered the phone and treated my family rudely. You need someone inviting to bring people to the church, not shun them to boost your self with literal "holier than thou" attitudes.

Kinda counter intuitive to teach love kindness respect acceptance and the Golden rule if you can't live by those...

As an active parishioner here at St. Thomas Aquinas, I have to say this is a wonderful church. Mass here is very beautiful. My fellow parishioners and volunteers in the faith formation have been nothing but generous to my family and I.

However, with that being said, I am very disheartened to hear how my mother-in-law and grandfather-in-law were treated by the receptionist in the parish office today. They walked in the parish office with much excitement after initially seeing the beautiful church, campus, and its surroundings; having never been there before. Unfortunately, that excitement stayed at the door the moment the interaction with the receptionist began.

With regards to questions about baptism and hoping to get a sponsor form signed, they were treated condescendingly towards their lack of understanding about certain terms, like 'parish' or 'sponsor'. I also understand not being able to assist in their particular situation, however there was no need for the receptionist to patronize them in that manner.

This receptionist literally made my mother-in-law cry on the way home, feeling denigrated about not knowing simple terms. Now, I'm here picking up the pieces trying to convince her that not everyone at this church is like this and it's actually a very welcoming place to be.

To anyone who happens to come across this snooty woman, I'm sorry. All we can do for people like that is to pray for them. Just know, not everyone here at St. Thomas Aquinas is like this. Even good apple trees have a few bad...

What a sad excuse for a church. My mother in law passed away yesterday. A wonderful person and a devout catholic all her life. She joined st. Thomas after she moved here in 2012. A few days before her death my wife called the church and tried to get a priest to come to her house for her final communion and confession. After a long process of leaving messages ,call backs and having to actually put my dying mother in law on the phone to talk to the office staff we were told,”sorry, it’s the priests day off”. The next day a priest did come to the house but according to that priest my mother in law was “not conscious enough and too far gone for communion”. But he did bring along with him a home health care sales person that wanted to talk with us about in home health care! Fortunately a family friend found a wonderful priest from a catholic church in Buckeye who delivered her last rites. After which she was clearly put at ease and rested comfortably until she passed. Shame on you St. Thomas Aquinas! Your parish is a shameless, money grabbing palace of snobs! My mother in law was so impressed by the St. Thomas church too,it’s so sad she was let down like that on her death bed....