Reopening for Public Masses…

As a re-opening day for public Masses approaches, it is going to be very important that everyone understands that there are going to be some things that are different than they used to be. Social distancing will be observed, meaning we will be abiding by the 6 ft rule in the church. There will be a max capacity inside the church which we will not exceed, and we will only be using the front doors of the church so that we can monitor the number attending. We will have a max capacity of 60 at St. Al’s, and 120 at St. Simon. For those who can go to Mass during the week, you are highly encouraged to do so, rather than on Sunday, so that those who can only go on Sunday can more likely get in. Again, there is a cap on attendance which we will need to enforce. Remember, the Sunday Obligation is dispensed until further notice, so one can attend and receive communion any day of the week, not just Sunday. We are going to ask people to attend Mass to wear a face-covering or mask. We are very highly encouraging masks because this can help curtail the spread of COVID19 or any pathogen, which is still a threat. Also, please respect that we are asking that no physical contact be made with others. Our inclination will be to shake hands or hug those we haven’t seen in a while. Please refrain from that, to mitigate the spread of the virus. We are requiring no physical contact during Mass, the Lord’s Prayer, etc. There will be no holding of hands during the Our Father, no sign of peace, no communion from the chalice, and we ask that in the communion line, remain 6 feet from the person in front of you. There will be no hymnals in the pews, and I am leaning toward only having musicians sing because singing can put more exhaled air, potentially carrying the virus, into the atmosphere. Pews will be roped off in order to space people out for the purpose of social distancing. I am asking, please respect the social distancing guidelines and what we are trying to do to mitigate the spread of the virus. Those who are elderly, have underlying conditions, are fearful, or who are at higher risk should continue to stay home. Those who are sick, or experiencing symptoms of illness should stay home. Again, the Obligation to attend on Sunday continues to be dispensed until further notice. We are looking forward to seeing many of you in church again very soon, but we also need to be very careful since the virus is still out there, and we don’t want to have to suspend public Masses again because of a spike in cases.May God continue to bless all of us and carry us through this pandemic. More guidelines are likely to come.Fr. Bryan