Parish Pandemic Response Update #2 from Fr. Mike

• Our weekend Mass attendance has increased every week since reopening in June and, as a result, necessitated two additional weekend Masses.
• Our Academy has finished over a month of classes, with 94% of the school participating in-person.
• The diocesan guidelines now allow us to reinstitute Nuptial Masses for wedding couples and to reopen a limited number of Parish spaces for group meetings.
• Plans are in the works to reinstitute the 7:00AM weekday Mass very soon.

• Our facilities have limited capacity and can be used only under particular circumstances. The Indoor Meeting Guidelines that we have put in place for the use of our facilities have the dual purpose of trying to keep everyone as safe as possible, while also dealing with the maintenance and sanitation requirements that the current reality presents us.
• Access to the church for devotional practices and extracurricular events will be limited and could change on short notice. Particular liturgies take precedence: parish Masses, Funerals, Weddings, and already scheduled Sacraments. Each of these requires a certain amount of time to celebrate, but also requires time for sanitizing (which includes the time for the disinfectant spray to dry properly). There is also the concern that using these disinfectants multiple times every day may cause permanent damage to our recently reupholstered pews.

The progress made is not a reason to let down our guard. We don’t want to ever have to repeat the Spring of 2020. As a parish, we continue to do the best we can to allow all that we can, but must remember that any time we gather in numbers, especially in an enclosed space, there is still risk involved.  We are constantly balancing what is necessary and beneficial to the sacramental, evangelical, social, and spiritual life of the Parish, with the responsibility to be safe and prudent in our practices.

I thank you every day for your patience, your generosity, and your desire to be an active, prayerful, and loving parish community, and I ask for your continued prayers as we navigate the waters of the next few months, especially as we approach the holiday season. God bless you.

Fr. Mike