Pastor’s Letter & May 16 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & May 16 Bulletin

14 May 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The May 16 bulletin is available online.

Dear friend,

As Illinois enters the “bridge phase” to the “Phase 5” full capacity reopen, there a few changes we will make at St. Philomena. As announced last week, we will no longer use Eventbrite to schedule weekend Mass attendance. The scheduling process worked well throughout the year, but the hassle started to outweigh the good. Last week the 9am Mass filled in about one hour. That is just a little too much scheduling pressure to have on anyone who just wants to attend Mass. In general, the process worked so well that we may use it for large Masses in the future, such as Christmas. Thanks for the patience and cooperation with the pew reservations. Since we no longer need people to check in with a greeter, all of the external doors for the church will be now be open.

As we cross the bridge to Phase 5, large meeting areas are allowed to have 1,000 people or 60% of capacity. The use of facemasks and social distancing still applies indoors. To accommodate more people while maintaining necessary restrictions, we will remove the pew restrictions on the center aisle pews. The two main aisle sections, B and C, will allow seating in every pew. However, we ask that those sitting in even numbered pews (2, 4, 6 …) sit close to the center aisle. Those sitting in odd numbered pews (3, 5, 7…) sit near the outside aisle. Please continue to leave pews A-1 and B-1 for those who have mobility challenges. Some families will fill an entire pew; but, in general this seating map should allow more people to sit in church while maintaining appropriate distance to the next closest family unit. The side sections, A and D, will still only accommodate seating in every other pew. Those who are comfortable with our previous seating are invited to sit in the side sections A and D.  (click here for an updated map of the church)

The distribution of the Holy Eucharist will continue in the same manner as we have been doing. While it takes a little longer, distribution of Communion by more than two people at once results in too much cross traffic in church. Maintaining good social distancing is important as we seek to open up more. We will continue to distribute Communion outside in the parking lot after the three Masses that are Live Streamed, (4:30pm Saturday, 9am and 11am Sunday).  As everyone is used to the process of walking to Communion, we plan to remove the signage from the carpet. While these are a few small steps, I am hopeful that they allow us to feel safe in church, while returning to some normalcy. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns.

The Feast of the Ascension represents the completion of the Lord’s earthly life and mission. The readings this weekend give us a little summary of the whole story of salvation, especially how it all centers on Christ. Not only is the world Christocentric, but Christ gave the world a mission post His Ascension. Jesus Christ calls us to follow him, which is a call to a changed life. When we truly meet Christ, everything changes. As we envision the angel telling the disciples to stop staring into the sky and get to work evangelizing, may the Lord continue to strengthen our hearts in the confident hope of His forgiveness, guidance and blessing.

God bless,

Father David