For those who are coming to church for Mass this weekend, welcome back! To those who are unable to gather, that’s perfectly fine too. Bishop Zubik has made clear that to watch the live stream Mass at home satisfies the Sunday obligation. We will continue to live stream the Mass not just on Sunday but everyday.
As we began to celebrate Mass publicly during this past week, it gave us a chance to look at our new operating procedures and to make tweaks where needed. We will continue to make tweaks as needed both to our procedures and to the Mass schedule as needed.
Here are a few initial observations. It’s different now in church than it was a few months ago. Please follow the directions of our volunteers who are signing you in and seating you. We are seating from the front to the back of the church. This past week, we had a few people bristle at where they were asked to sit. We have both a capacity issue and a cleaning protocol to follow in church after each Mass (and before the next Mass). If we only need to clean part of the church, it saves a lot of time and effort. Likewise, if the Mass is full, then we need to use every available space. Again, please follow the direction of the volunteers.
Regarding reservations, they seem to be working well. I never dreamed of needing to have a reservation system for regular Mass. But right now reservations serve two important purposes: first, we can use them to manage our occupancy, and second, they give us a record of who attended a particular Mass for contact tracing, if someone should test positive for the virus.
While I noticed a bit of nervousness this past week in people who attended Mass, I also noticed most people wanting to do the right thing and be safe. After a time or two, the new procedures will become second nature. It’s been great seeing everyone. At the same time, the virus can spread in church as easily as anywhere else. We always have to be on guard. If you are unable to gather at this time or unwilling to follow directions, then please continue to watch the live stream.
Lastly, for those unable to gather, we had a little communion service outside after the 9:00 am Mass this past Wednesday, which seemed to work well. We will continue to do this after the last morning Mass on Wednesdays going forward, so that you are able to receive the Eucharist as well.