Musings of Fr. Bryan T. Reif
Last week, the Ohio Bishops extended the suspension of public Masses and liturgies, and by extension parish events and activities through and inclusive of May 29th. I don’t know about you, but I have experienced a bit of cabin fever in the midst of all of this, and I am looking forward to being able to celebrate Mass again publicly in our two parish churches. In the meantime, I continue to celebrate Mass privately every day, and I stream those Masses live on Facebook every day except Wednesday. The technology we have allows me to do this, though it certainly isn’t perfect, nor is it professional production quality. The stream is simply using my laptop webcam, or my phone on Sundays, using WIFI in the rectory, or my personal cell data on Sundays to try and make the celebration of the Mass accessible to our parishioners. You do not even have to have a Facebook account to view the live stream (I just found this out last Sunday). I hope that for those who have been watching either live, or a replay, find something beneficial in it for their souls.
I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have continued to support and give to the parishes financially during this time of unprecedented isolation, and suspension of public worship. There have been many who have clicked the links on the livestream, or on our webpages to give electronically, as well as many others who have mailed in, or dropped off in the mailbox their envelops and Sunday donations. This has been extremely helpful for us to continue to remain current on our bills and operating expenses, and for this I am very grateful. We continue to publish weekly giving in the bulletin, which anyone can see online through the parish websites.
Given the extension of the “Stay at home order” and the suspension of public Masses, I was compelled to cancel the Regional Festival this June. I hope to enter into discussion with our Pastoral Councils once we are able to meet again, about alternatives or possibly rescheduling it, or doing something else in the fall. Will have to see what Council has to say and recommend in that regard, as well as see where we are with the pandemic, and how this will continue to unfold. Needless to say, we will certainly feel a pinch with the loss of that revenue.
Finally, I want to assure you all of my prayers for you, and to encourage you all to hang in there. We will get through this, and we will once again gather together as a faith community for worship in our pastoral region. God’s blessing, and His grace is still flowing to us, may we trust in Him!
Take Good Care,
Fr. Bryan