Musings of Fr. Bryan T. Reif
We have received some guidance from the Archdiocese and the State of Ohio regarding non-sacramental gatherings, meetings, and so forth. As you know, the public celebration of Mass and the Sacraments has resumed as of May 25th, but up to this point, there had been no guidance on non-sacramental gatherings. We now have some guidelines to follow, which convinces me that the majority of our activities will continue to not be held at least for another month, to be re-evaluated at the end of June, or as more information or guidance becomes available. The gist of the advice we have received is this: Social Distancing norms (the minimum 6-foot distance rule) is to be followed, and a maximum capacity determined for a space given the 6-foot rule. For Plagge Hall, that would be approximately 40 people, but there is more. All surfaces must continue to be sanitized after use, every use, and employees must wear masks, while guests are highly encouraged to wear a mask. Employees continue to be encouraged to work from home as much as is possible, therefore, I am encouraging our staff to do the same, therefore our offices will not always have a staff person present. Messages and voicemail will continue to be retrieved, and forwarded to the appropriate staff person. We encourage the use of email as much as possible to communicate with our staff, and with me. We continue to encourage folks to not just stop by, but to call first before coming to the office for any reason. We are asking this in the interest of protecting everyone’s health and safety. We apologize if any inconvenience created by this situation, and continue to ask for cooperation and patience, as well as prayers.
Many of our summer activities we usually enjoy have been cancelled. Our festival has been cancelled, our vacation bible school has also been cancelled. The state has allowed our Old-Timers to play softball following specific restrictions and protocols. Our First Communicant class (less than 6 people) will be finishing up their catechesis and receiving First Communion at a private Mass this July. Other parish activities and events are still cancelled, including women’s group, book club, and Youth Group. I am currently hoping to be able to resume parish leadership (pastoral council and finance council) in-person meetings in July, but this is still to be determined, based upon how things unfold with the pandemic, and any guidance we may receive in the coming weeks. Private events, such as family reunions, or other parties for Plagge Hall are still cancelled through the Fourth of July holiday, and this situation also will be re-evaluated monthly, based on guidance from the state and Archdiocese. We are doing this because of the necessity of deep cleaning and sanitizing after every event, and the requirement to social distance. We feel it is in the best interest of the parish and region at this time to continue to keep the Hall closed.
This continues to be a developing situation, and we are doing our best to serve in a way that is in the best interest of everyone, and in a way that safeguards the health and safety of our staff and parishioners.
Take Good Care,
Fr. Bryan T. Reif