I think that it is safe to say that we are very happy to know that we shall soon be able to have public Masses again here at St. Agatha Church. This past Wednesday we had an extensive staff meeting to discuss the process of re-opening our beautiful Church building. Many are wondering when exactly our Church will be open again for Mass. We are hopeful that on Pentecost Sunday the last day of May we will have fulfilled all the requirements necessary to help ensure the safety and the health of all who come to St. Agatha’s for Mass. And, if we are able to do so by next weekend, that is when public Masses will resume. We are including in this bulletin the 21-point checklist that we have to attest has been fulfilled before we are able to open our Church. In addition we are hoping to put together a video to be posted on our website prior to the May 30–31 weekend, so that parishioners will be able to view how it is envisioned for them to enter and exit the church, and go up to and return from receiving Holy Communion. I want to make mention of some of the items on the COVID19 Checklist. Our upper Church’s maximum permitted occupancy is 858 people. We are permitted to have 40% of that number, but with the caveat that the six foot social distancing be observed. That amounts to 343 people, but because of the proximity of the pews to each other, we have to have 2 pews empty for each pew that is occupied, which of course reduces considerably the number of people allowed for each Mass. So, many pews will be roped off to prevent anyone from sitting there. We’ll also likely have to mark some pews as family pews: meaning that members of the same family household can sit together and remain closer than 6 feet apart. Other pews will have room for fewer people because of the 6 foot distance required between people. All people coming to Mass must wear face coverings or masks, with a couple of exceptions. People who cannot wear a mask because of a medical reason are exempted from this rule, as are children under the age of 2, and between age 2 and 5, at the parent’s discretion. There will be a number of signs outside and some inside the Church, as well as markings on the floor to indicate the direction for folks to travel into, out of, and within the Church building so as to maintain the 6 foot social distance requirement. This also means that only some of the Church doors will be unlocked, again to ensure the orderly entrance of people into the Church. We are asking parishioners, in addition to wearing a face covering, to bring some hand sanitizer with them. The Church will also have some sanitizers available for those who need them. If soap and water are needed, there will be access to the restrooms on the lower level. Those of you who might have been considering making your offering to the parish electronically are respectfully encouraged to do so. For others, there will be collection baskets placed in several places in the Church into which your offering can be dropped. You will note that hymnals, Bibles, and any other written material have been removed from the pew racks, so as to minimize the possibility of carrying contamination. At Mass, in addition to the priest-celebrant and possibly the deacon, there will be a reader and perhaps another Minister of Holy Communion. There will be an orderly flow to Holy Communion with signage and perhaps ushers assisting, again keeping the 6 foot distance, and Communion will be received in the hand (without a glove), but both the one distributing and the one receiving Holy Communion will wear a mask. After receiving the Sacred Host, the communicant will step to the side, remove the mask, and swallow the Host, and then proceed back to his or her pew. People who are not receiving Holy Communion are also asked to come up in procession, and then continue back with the flow to the pew. At the end of Mass, people will be expected to leave fairly quickly, in an orderly fashion, following the signage and /or the direction of ushers. Once everyone has left the Church building after Mass, the building will be cleaned and disinfected before the people for the next Mass are admitted. While some of our Masses will have instrumental music and cantors, there will be no choirs or congregational singing, so as to minimize the possible spread of the virus. There will also be no altar servers, because of the necessity of keeping the 6-foot distance requirement. At this time we are anticipating having 4 weekend Masses: at 4:30pm on Saturday, and 8am, 11am, and 5pm on Sunday. We expect that there will be instrumental music and a cantor at all the Masses EXCEPT the 8am. The reason for the reduction of Masses is because we need to clean the Church building thoroughly after every Mass. Cardinal Sean has extended the suspension of the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, so people in vulnerable categories or with compromised health should not feel compelled to come to Mass. In fact, we’ll continue to livestream our Masses throughout this next phase. Of course, we are looking forward to gathering with one another in our Church and worshipping our Lord, and sharing in the Holy Eucharist once again as a community of faith. And, if our staff and parishioners working with us this week can accomplish all that needs to be done to ensure the safety and good health of all those returning to St. Agatha Church for Mass, what a joy it will be to celebrate the Solemnity of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday! While this new experience of coming to and exiting from Mass might rightfully feel somewhat regimented because of the COVID-19 protocols that we are asked to follow, I’m sure you can understand that all these requirements are so that the good health of our community of faith can be maintained. I feel confident, however, that after we all adjust to these novel developments, the joy, peace, and strength that will be ours from our worship together of Almighty God will far outweigh any inconveniences along the way! Have a happy Memorial Day weekend and a blessed week!

Fr. Palardy

Click here to download COVID 19 checklist for places of worship...