Serving Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
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The customary 11:00 AM Sunday Mass at Mary Immaculate resumed last Sunday, September 26. This is a significant event, allowing all of us an opportunity to reconsider how we fulfill the precept of the Church to attend Sunday Mass and keep the sabbath holy. With the returned grace of another Mass on Sunday in our church, we have an opportunity to evaluate our liturgical practices, both for ensuring the requisite ministers at the liturgy, but also how to best attend to the health and welfare of our congregation. If you have been a regular minister at the 11:00 AM Mass, please contact the parish office to let us know of your availability for service. Lectors, servers, musicians, ushers, and an occasional extraordinary minister of Holy Communion are all needed.
I have been reflecting during the past few months about the level of participation at the Sunday Mass. I am very much aware that the effects of the pandemic are still being felt in our community. We are not at the customary levels of attendance from before the pandemic, but I have not identified all the dynamics at play here. I do know for a fact that there are many parishioners who have grave concerns about their health and the health of their family and how we celebrate Mass impacts their participation.
The recommendation of public health officials is vaccination for those whose age and health requirements allow for it. The other recommendation is the use of masks in public spaces, especially when there is a mixed population of vaccinated and unvaccinated. Given the high percentage of unvaccinated in our county, the recommendations for mask use in social settings makes great sense.
There are many in our community, especially those families with children who are not vaccinated yet, or who are in close contact with people who require more stringent health precautions, who have not been able to attend Mass because we have not required masks. I have consulted with the parish council and some of the many health care providers in our community and realize that resuming our 11:00 AM Mass provides a good opportunity to allow for one of our Sunday celebrations to have everyone masked who attends. Therefore beginning last Sunday, September 26 at the 11:00 AM Mass, we require all who attend wear an appropriate mask or face covering as recommended by health care officials. Since we have a relatively small church and are unable to social distance, mask use does seem to be the prudent choice.
Please share this with your family and friends who are planning to attend Mass this Sunday. We will have some masks available for those who might not have known or are unprepared, but it would be very helpful if everyone provides his or her own mask. At this time we are not requiring folks to wear a mask at the 5:30 PM on Saturday, the 7:30 AM at St. Rose and the 9:00 AM Mass at Mary Immaculate, but I strongly advise you to wear one for the common good. Thank you so much for your cooperation on this extremely important matter for the good of our community.
