Pastor’s Letter & December 13 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & December 13 Bulletin

11 Dec 2020 | Posted by: chadmin

The December 13 bulletin is now available online. 

Dear friends,

As we continue our Advent journey, our plans for Christmas are different in many ways this year. Families and businesses have changed plans for parties and gatherings. The physical separation between our normal human contacts is apparent to us all. As we hope toward an end to this pandemic, the reality that the last nine months have changed all our lives dramatically is on the top of all our minds. In general, I think we can have much thanksgiving and admiration for the medical field and the scientific development of a vaccine. The country has sought to come together to protect one another. As people who like facts and clear direction, this pandemic has challenged our patience with the ever-changing information. Much like our spiritual lives, we all are called to focus on making the best decisions for our lives each moment. As we all balance our need for human interaction, may the Lord continue to guide our charity for ourselves and others. The human spiritual need to pray together in church guided our reopening of church back in June and has helped us plan for Christmas.

Last week, we opened registration for Christmas Masses to all people who had previously registered online for Mass this year. My hope was to get people familiar with our protocols and currently celebrating the faith a chance to get registered. As with all things in this pandemic, we don’t always know what to expect. We simply don’t know the number of people who hope to attend Mass in person this Christmas. The current plan is to offer six Masses between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and distribute Communion in the parking lot at 5 of these Masses. This will allow us to offer the Eucharist to anyone in our community that seeks Communion this Christmas. As I want to error on safety for everyone, we may not be able to accommodate everyone in our church who desires. However, we don’t know this for certain. It is important that parishioners communicate with the parish office. If you are trying to register for a Christmas Mass and are struggling with the process, please call the office. Rhonda Parker has become an expert at using Eventbrite to accommodate parishioners safely in our pews. We hope with a few weeks of scheduling, we can get as many people safely into church as possible. If you book a pew but plan not to use it, please cancel the registration either online or by calling the office. We are here to help us all have a prayerful Christmas celebration together.

For those who don’t get a registration for Christmas Mass, whether by choice or if we fill all the registrations, we will live stream 5 of the 6 Masses. This will enable parishioners to watch at home and drive over for Communion at the end of Mass. We also have a Wi-Fi network in the parking lot which would allow you to watch the Mass on Facebook or YouTube and then receive Communion at the conclusion of Mass. We plan to have a worship aide for Christmas that will include the music, readings, and a description of how to access our Wi-Fi network. I currently plan to release a video to the parish to provide any further updates and explain the parking lot Communion distribution procedure. Please don’t hesitate to communicate with the parish office with any questions, comments or concerns at the time. We truly want to make our celebration of Christmas as prayerful and smooth as possible. Prayers for a continued peaceful Advent Season.

God bless,

Father David