Allelluia!
I am happy to inform you that this coming Tuesday the 26th we will begin the gradual reopening of our parish.
One of the expectations of this gradual reopening is to limit admittance to one-third of the seating capacity of the Church. That means about 100-115 people.
The weekend plan is to have two (2) Masses on Saturday and three (3) on Sundays. Saturday Masses will be at 5pm and 7pm. Sunday Masses will be at 8am, 10am and 11:45am.
IMPORTANT:
5pm Saturday Mass will be inside the Church
7pm Saturday Mass will be in the parking lot
8am Sunday Mass will be inside the Church
10am and 11:45am Sunday Mass will be in the parking lot.
Please “bring your own folding chair” to the parking lot Mass.
Some pews will be sectioned off while others will be open, in order to ensure social distancing inside the Church building. I strongly encourage you to bring your own Hand Sanitizer since our supplies are limited due to the high demand in the market, right now. The church will open one hour before Mass and parishioners will be directed to their seats by the ushers. Again, we can only use one-third of the total seating capacity of our Church; thus, come early if you choose to participate in the Mass in person.
At this time of planning and organization, I need ushers to volunteer for the different Masses to direct the traffic and assist me with the attendance. We are not assigning ministries to anyone at this time. It is up to you to decide if you are ready to resume your ministry. However, I will need help if you want to help as an usher or minister of hospitality.
The wearing of masks is encouraged but not mandatory. Please know that I, as a presider of the Mass, cannot wear a mask because it is anti-liturgical.
*Liturgical guidance for priests:
A priest with a respiratory infection of any kind or any illness must avoid celebrating public Masses. The same holds true for other ministers who might serve at a Mass (deacon, servers, lectors, etc)
The celebrant and other ministers must not wear face coverings or gloves during the celebration of the Mass.
The celebrant must sanitize his hands before and after each Mass.
If you are not feeling well, or are concerned that attending Mass poses too great a risk of getting sick, I encourage you to please stay home. The parish will take all reasonable, precautionary measures to keep parishioners safe, but we know that absolute control belongs only to God!
Let us prepare ourselves to worship again as a community in the house of The Lord. May God bless us as we enter this new phase of worshiping together.
God bless and I hope to see you soon,
Fr Omar