As St. Mary’s begins our weekend Masses again, you will notice a few differences.  Our Bishop is requiring that all parishioners, over the age of two, wear face masks upon entering the church.  This requirement will continue until mid-June, when it will become optional.  Masks will be available in the entryway of the church if you do not have one.  If you take one, please keep it with you to use the next time you come into the church (they are still difficult to get).  Some have asked me if this is mandatory.  Let me say, the Bishop has required it.  I will say, I highly encourage it.  People are asked to do this out of respect for others.  The masks, as we know, do not prevent “us” from getting ill.  But they do help prevent us from spreading the disease to others.  And because at least half the people with the virus do not experience any symptoms, and because they can still spread the virus to others, even without having any symptoms, it is a sign of respect to the people around us, when asked to wear a mask (at Menards, or beauty parlors, or at church), to consider their wishes.  The mask is a sign of our care for those around us.  That being said, I know that some folks have a very strong aversion to wearing a face mask.  You will not be asked to leave the church if you do not wear one, although someone may mention to you that there are some available in the entryway.

Every other pew in the church will be roped off, to ensure social distancing.  There will be no communion with the Precious Blood or Sign of Peace during Mass until further notice.  Please receive Communion in the hand.  If you have a strong aversion to this, and strongly desire to receive on the tongue, please wait until everyone else has received and then you can come forward to receive on the tongue.
No bulletins will be handed out after Mass.  To limit direct contact between people, we will continue to mail them to all our parishioners on Fridays (when we receive them here in the office).  Some folks will get them Saturday, some on Monday.  The Bishop has required that all missalettes be removed from the pews until after July.  Which means, we will be singing a lot of the old standards.  I hope you don’t get too tired of “Amazing Grace” or “Holy God We Praise Thy Name”.  Bear with us, as we’ll sing songs that hopefully most of you know well enough to sing along.

For people’s safety, the entire church will be cleaned and sanitized at least once a week.  After each of the Masses, the doors, the entryway, bathrooms, door knobs, push bars, etc. will all be sanitized.  There will be pump jars of hand sanitizer at the front doors of the church for those who wish to use them, coming or going.  Please do not take them home with you!
Before Mass and after Mass, please do not congregate in the entryway of the church.  It is a confined space.  If you wish to talk with friends, please do so outside if the weather permits, or within the church itself, where there is room to allow social distancing.

The parish office is open now at regular hours, but we ask that you conduct business by phone or email as much as possible.  If you need to come, and to keep the office space safe, we will speak with you through the outer glass door of the office.  The food pantry has been operating in this way for the past number of weeks.  Folks have been very understanding, and it has kept the office space safe for the office staff