Well, it’s good to be back. Let’s not mess it up.
As I mentioned, there will be rules. The most controversial, and this was set by the government and not by me, was that we have to limit the number of people who are actually in church. The rule is 10% of your maximum capacity for a building over 10,000 square feet. That would be 80 people per Mass. This weekend we will see how it goes.
People can be socially distant out front and I will bring you communion after Mass. You can even stay in your car and watch on your phone and I will bring you communion. Or, a good option still for a lot of you, you can still watch the livestream.
You will have to wear a mask in and out of church and when you go to communion. Let’s talk about masks a bit. Almost all the masks people are wearing and NOT going to stop a virus. Someone compared it to putting up a chain link fence to keep out mosquitoes. That is accurate. HOWEVER, this is the formula for catching Covid 19: Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time. Consider this: a
single breath can release between 50-5,000 droplets. A sneeze can shoot 200,000,000 viral particles traveling at 200 miles per hour across a room. Wear a mask please. If you don’t have a mask, we got masks. They aren’t perfect, but…
We will still need to social distance. I ask that you enter the pews from the side aisles and sit in a pew marked with a piece of blue tape. Blue means “go.” We will see how it goes this week. We may need to ask singletons to sit on the Joy Avenue side of church. Families, of course, may sit together.
The biggest rule, DO NOT GIVE THE USHERS TROUBLE. The ushers have been informed that if there are any issues, I am to be notified immediately. I really do not expect any problems, but you never know.
If you are still unsure about coming to Mass, please stay home. As I said last week, the health and welfare of the parishioners of Holy Redeemer is uppermost in my mind and heart.
We will get through this. We will get through this together.
Finally, if you are a regular 5 pm on Saturday Mass goer, please note that we will be bringing our new converts into the Church on the 30th of May, along with Confirmations and a First Communion. We may not have enough room for you that evening.
Father Kevin