I'm not a big church guy but this is a pretty nice place and they don't carry on and on.read more

I have been attending Oak River Church for a little over a year now and from the very first visit I…read morewas welcomed like family. I can not say enough about how wonderful the leaders, worship team, and members are! As a transplant from out of state, it was truly a blessing to find ORC when I did. I can not say enough good things about it!

I have gone to this church for over 5 years now and they are the most welcoming church I have ever…read morebeen to! If you have felt like you didn't fit in at a previous church I would recommend you try Fairport Congregational Church. They strive to be inclusive and recently attained the status of Open and Affirming.

Attended the Greek Festival this year. We were overcharged $10 for dinner. Attempted to resolve…read morethis with the church and the church ignored us! Also not one church employee knew when the band was going to perform.

The Annual Greek Festival is an annual summer tradition in Cleveland. If you get there, plan on…read moresharing the generous dinners served inside the church- lamb shanks, calamari (special on Thursday and Friday only), Greek beef stew, breaded chicken with lemon and others. Get a to-go box of the pastries! Outside there are gyros, pork and chicken souvlaki pitas, greek style meatballa, fresh cut fries, and saganaki (flaming cheese). Credit cards are taken at the main stands, but bring cash for the small drink and juice stations. Always stay to cheer on the kids who make up the festival dancers. The boys and girls work so hard to put on a great show.

Wonderful church with an excellent Bible expositorread more

I had a terrible experience with Fr. Tom Fanta, who is the priest of this Church. Initially, he…read moreseemed like a very nice guy. When I first moved to the area I found out about St. Dominic's and asked for a private appointment with Fr. Tom. I explained to him that I have a gastrointestinal condition that makes it difficult for me to sit through a mass, but that I wanted to receive the Eucharist, and asked if he would be able to give it to me at his office on a bi-weekly basis because I believe receiving the Eucharist is very important, and he agreed. I've investigated and practiced many religions and faith traditions in my life. A little bit after this initial meeting, I felt drawn to Hinduism, a faith tradition I've practiced in the past, specifically Gaudiya-Vaishnavism. After a time, I felt called home to Catholicism, and wanted to talk to Fr. Tom about my conflicting beliefs, so that I could work them out in my head and receive guidance from him about how to unify my thoughts and theological understanding of god to focus on the Trinity. As someone who is autistic, my mind goes from thing, to thing, to thing, and I was hoping he could help me come back to Christ in a strong and positive way, instead of continuing to stray. After explaining how I personally view the Trinity - which is a bit unconventional - I was hoping he could reorient my brain toward the correct view. Instead he gave me a borderline disgusted look and said, "I'm not a Hindu priest. It's not my job to sit here and philosophize with you," and I was in complete and total shock. I have never in my entire life had a priest speak to me that way, or look at me, a seeker, with such disdain. He then told me I had to go to three in-person Masses - which I'm not able to do very often because of my condition - and told me to call three people and do nothing but listen to how they are doing, and what is going on in their life, without talking about myself. That's insane to me because if he knew me in real life he'd know that's exactly what I do nearly every day. I live in a group home and most of my days are spent talking on the phone with friends, asking about their lives, and helping them with whatever issues they may have that I feel qualified to assist with. I wrote him an e-mail following this encounter expressing my hurt in a polite way, and he never responded. I decided to call the Archdiocese and file a formal complaint. I believe that the priest I spoke to was named Fr. John, but I can't remember. He told me he would look into it, and got back to me a few weeks later and said Fr. Tom Fanta stated he did not feel the need to respond to the e-mail, and furthermore, Fr. Tom said he had seen me out at Van Aiken with friends several times, so clearly if I'm able to go out to Van Aiken and hang out, I am not as impaired and unable to go to Mass as I said. Again, I was shocked. This was an outright, boldfaced lie. I don't ever go to Van Aiken. I loathe crowds and shopping centers. I don't even have any in-person friends to go to Van Aiken with if I wanted to! All my friends are virtual, I'm a very reclusive person. Fr. Tom may have seen someone who looks similar to me at Van Aiken, and mistook them for me, or he was literally lying through his teeth to justify not giving me private communion, when I could easily have my gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic write an official doctors note confirming my medical claim. Fr. Tom was either mistaken, or blatantly lied. I have no clue. This man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Is he charismatic? Can he deliver a good homily? Absolutely - I've been to their Mass on one of my "good days" regarding the GI stuff and seen him speak. Then again, Satan is also charismatic and eloquent, so I'd be curious to see what Fr. Tom Fanta is like in his private life, or what skeletons may be in his closet if he feels the need to degrade someone coming to him for guidance, proceed to ignore an e-mail expressing hurt from someone who wanted to be a part of his flock, and then go on to blatantly, disgustingly lie about seeing me in a shopping district that I've only been to once many years ago. My whole experience with Fr. Tom wounded me deeply and I still think about it sometimes. I wish him well, but I wish that he be well far, far away from me, because in no way did he act in a Christlike way with me. It was one of the biggest rejections I've experienced in the past decade.

I enjoy this church. The priest always speaks a good word. It's the megachurch of catholic…read morechurches with dozens of services throughout the week to accomodate all the members. If you like big churches, you will enjoy it. The people are nice, just too big for me. Lotsa kids too. Great for new families.

Run Wife and I did…read morethis in 2016 At first a great experience...the weekends were great, energizing, and engaging. But after .... all I can say is stay away. Our groups really gave credence to the maxim: aint no hate like Christian love. I found out from my wife ... after the weekend we presented...that one of the guys in my group was sharing all details with his wife. Then his wife would repeat each witness, with names, and verbatim. The weekends were done and we were still in that glow. My daughter, then in HS, had an overdose ... attempted suicide... while she was in hospital we encouraged her to reach out to the church for prayer and counsel. We found out later that the parish secretary called two other attendees in my group about this. They didn't know (shame,guilt, and lack of trust ... it was their wife repeating all these witnesses). They said nothing to us, nor did our daughter. However, another started to leave notes in our mailbox. Unaddressed and unsigned... vaguely accusing the reader of some heinous sin. Of course, we didn't know daughter called for help, nor did we recognize the writing or the writer. To this day we don't know specifically who ... just that it was one of the men in my group. Another man in my group let us know that someone was praying...not for strength or healing ... but that their children didn't grow up like mine. That was 2018. My daughter has healed and continues therapy. But the damage is done. My daughter and son saw the letters (6 of them left in mailbox...all Unaddressed and unsigned...not even in envelopes). We all left the church... If this group preaches and teaches hate to the hurting, I want no part of them. And don't say it is only a small group or just our parish ... it's all these judgmental CRHP or Welcome groups... put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. If you're contemplating...stop, pay attention, and run as far away from this organization as you can.

It saddens me to see negative reviews for this retreat when I had a miracle come from it. Christ…read moreRenews His Parish saved my life. As a single parent my daughter was everything to me. I provided very well for her. She was raised in a house so she would have her own room and would be safe under my roof. Every night I thanked God for keeping her safe under my roof! But when she turned 20 she met a man, moved out of my house and all her attention went to him. She didn't allow me in her life. Because I had built my life around her when she left, I was devastated and knew for sure I would die from a broken heart. I was in such a deep depression. One Sunday after church they were having a festival and I walked around and found a booth about a retreat coming up, Christ Renews His Parish. By nature, I am very shy and reserved so it's difficult for me to be around people I don't know. But I was grasping at anything to help with my grief, so I attended the CRHP weekend. While I was there, I met a devoted woman I became friends with. When we met, she had a one-year-old daughter and was pregnant with her second child. Now, 10 years later she has 5 children who I adore, and I am so blessed to be part of their lives. My friend and her family gave me purpose when I lost it with my own family. I honestly believe CRHP saved my life! The poor reviews I have found talk about specific expectations they had prior to the retreat. I think it's important to keep an open mind with this event and trust God is working through the hands of the women who devote their time to present. I feel it's more about building relationships with attendees. Everyone needs people who care in their lives, and it meant so much to me that all the women who attended my weekend were beautiful and accepting. I believe even today they would be there for me if I needed anything. Isn't this what love and family (family in the church) is about?

The few times I've been here I feel welcomed. Plenty of members are standing around to offer…read moredirections and answers questions. Today I went to the annual Christmas concert. The music was contemporary with loud excitement in the voices. These singers had seemed to enjoy performing. Pastor Begg opened the show by welcoming us. Toward the end he gave a brief message. Parkside is very big church. The sanctuary holds hundreds. The parking lot is huge. The building is handicapped accessible in every way. Get here early. Be prepared to sit in traffic on the way out.

Theologically sound preaching. What a blessing. The praise music team seems focused on glorifying…read moreGod and is weak prepared.