Great Church with a surreal atmosphere and some of the most loving and truest Christians the I have…read moreever met! Pastor Travon is a humble man of God and clearly is preaching an inspired word every time he speaks! Great place for those who are lost, broken, and tired of living the life that they are living without Christ to connect with Jesus in a safe atmosphere! By far the best congregation that God has made me a part of this far in my walk!

This was the parish of most of my youth, especially my teenage years. There were and still are…read moremany fond memories here and some sad ones too as I recall the many wonderful people, friends, priests and sisters that I knew and that contributed in an important, positive way in forming my values, ethics, and Christian spirituality. I owe them more than I can ever repay. They taught me how to live and the importance of how to love as Christ meant us to love. Today the demographics of the parish are different as is wont to occur with the normal passage of time. But the church is still majestic and a true sanctuary of peace. While the surrounding neighborhood has become much more violent, "urban" and uncomfortable, St Mary's of the Lake still sits like a beckoning oasis of peace in the midst of chaos. Build in the late 1880s, the architecture is impressive with alcoves, stained glass windows, hand carved stations of the cross, and statues and art from antiquity. While the marble altar rails are now gone, they were there when I attended Mass there as late as 1997. The most inspiring aspect of the interior is the rich marble work of the tabernacle and high altar, and the beautiful fresco of our Blessed Mother, Mary Mother of God, being assumed into heaven, with the skies opening up to receive her! This fresco is so beautiful, it must be seen to be fully appreciated. In the late 1990s there grew a blossoming Polish population so now there are a couple of weekend Masses in Polish in addition to English. These wonderful folk brought with them a beautiful reproduction of Our Lady of Chestakowa also known as the "black Madonna" due to the original work being damaged over the past 1000 years due to fires, invasions, wars, etc... This is certainly one of the oldest churches in Ocean County, and definitely worth a visit. May you find peace and comfort here as I did during my turbulent growing years. Thank you for reading my review. Pax et Bonum.

A church dedicated to glorifying God in all that they do. The pastors are amazing. The community…read moreoutreaches include free clothing and a food pantry that serves a huge number of people. The Spanish ministry is thriving with a Spanish service every Sunday at 1:30.

Really nice church on the inside and out the service was really good as well. Bunch of parking.read more

I found this church last Fall and am so grateful! Yes the music is great! The sermons are…read morewonderful. I look forward to going all week long. The church is filled with people of all ages. There are many families with children of all ages. This is a place of openness and love. I often attend the contemporary service at 5:00 on Saturday evenings.

This is a close knit church that cares about its community. There are many options to get involved…read moreor study your faith. I especially enjoy Deacon Mike's homilies. He is a good man who does a lot for the church community. And Father Mike has also been welcoming to us and truly cares about his parishioners. I do wish the Children's Liturgy could extend beyond 2nd grade. My children loved it so much and got so much out of it that and they wanted to continue after communion. I understand wanting them to experience the full mass, but without a children's mass option, this gave them a piece of that.

Since 2016, my husband, my daughters and I started coming to the church of Epiphany. We volunteer…read moreat the church, make donations and helping the community. Three days ago I went to the office and spoke to Rev. Michael Santangelo the pastor of the church and one of the secretary's asking for a letter of recommendation for my husband that got detained by ICE. They promised me to send the recommendation to our lawyers office. Never happened. I felt like the church turn their back on my Family on something extremely important for our family. I'm very disappointed. Today Sunday I went again after mass I spoke to Rev. Michael Santangelo , his answer was let us se what we can do. (Meaning is not going to happen) I was on shock by his answer, Unbelievable how can they denied help when God love us equally..... #maybe because we're Spanish I don't know. But I'm not going back to this church .. I'll continue to my previous church who happily help my family with the letter... God bless this church.

As kid a I've been coming to this church. I served here as an altar boy. Rang the bell during the…read moreEucharist and walk in and out of the church-service with the priest and deacon. Felt proud doing it. Probably in my mid-late teens. I step away from coming here. In my group of friends no-one really went to church or heavily in depth to the faith as I did. Rather it wasn't "pushed" on them as much as my parents did. I Thank God and my parents for the amount of support telling me to go back to church and READ the scriptures. Arguments broke out and disappointments arose. In my view how my parents looked at me and truly how I looked at myself in self reflection. I went back for several weeks, had confession with I believe Father Tom. I believe the Holy Spirit dwells within him. I never believe in coincidences. From being aware in my day to day life to what he says is not coincidence. The holy spirt fills me every time I'm there. Please go, meet Father Tom and just listen and believe. Thank-you Jesus Christ. Thank-you for reading. God Bless, Be Well.

Fantastic kingdom people.Great bible teaching!Highly qualified pastors.PRAYER ON SACRED GROUND.read more

Love the welcoming atmosphere, come as you are accepting of others. Impassioned pastors who make a…read morepoint to know you and your mission . I have never felt so loved, respected and worthy of Gods love until I connected here.

While I am not a member of this church, my late aunt was, and Pastor Sue Jones was wonderful to her…read morein the final years of my aunt's life. She did so much to help my aunt and our family (who all live far away) that we will be forever thankful. The memorial at the church after my aunt died was not traditional but was exactly the type of event that she wanted. We found the congregation to be so friendly and supportive that we were glad my aunt had been part of such group. I can't imagine a more friendly church or a better pastor.