Plans for the fall are coming along well. We are in constant conversation concerning the opening of school, the process for religious education for the parish children, adult faith-formation, and the normal functioning of parish life. We know it isn’t easy, but it all must be done.
The challenges of the present have provided us with many opportunities to see ministry in a new way. The Summer Religious Academy, which was done through on-line programming, went very well. There are always some glitches when technology is involved, but a loud cheer for Mrs. Dayton and Mrs. McKelvey for all of their dedication, planning, and intensive work during the weeks of the program. They managed to get it all accomplished. I would also like to thank all of the parents involved. If on-line school wasn’t enough they took on religious education as well. Over three hundred children participated in the program.
We are planning on all religious education this fall to be virtual. However, with the importance of community building and community service as an integral component of the Confirmation preparation for our seventh and eighth grade students, we are also hoping to be able to have a hybrid program for them. As there are so many moving parts, we will do what we can, realizing that adapting to new paradigms in short order will be required. With God’s grace we trust that this means easing and not tightening restrictions as we move forward to the fall season.
We will offer some on-line adult programming, and hopefully, this will include an ability to gather together in church – maintaining a safe distance as well – for some programs. If you have any particular areas of interest, please let us know.
We are installing a new permanent camera in the church to improve the feed for the live-streaming of Mass and other ceremonies and events. We plan on the broadcast of the 8:00 a.m. Mass going forward. While we have had some requests about the Vigil Mass we are going to allow that to grow in person instead of on-line. If the situation gets worse, then we will rethink the program.
As you probably expect we are not able to hold the parish Carnival this September. We had been holding out canceling just in case things would ease up, but by now we realize it’s not possible. However, we are planning something on a smaller scale and will see where that ends up.
In the next week or so you should be receiving the tickets for the annual 50-50 Raffle. Even absent the carnival the raffle will assist us with the financial stress of the lockdown and the preparations for opening school. Thank you for your support with this fundraiser.
We began First Holy Communions last weekend and we will continue with them for as long as necessary. Just to be clear, as there is some confusion about this, protocols in place require that the minister of Holy Communion, and in this case the priest, must wear a mask when distributing Communion. We have scheduled our Confirmation for the recent class of eighth graders for October 1 (school) and October 8 (RE). As of now the same protocols will be in place. We are hoping that by then we are allowed more people in church than we are now. Too many moving parts!