Dear Sacred Heart and St. Ann Parishioners and friends:
Returning to Public Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart and St. Ann on Pentecost
Masses will be celebrated with congregations on the regular schedule at Sacred Heart and St. Ann. (I am at Sacred Heart on Sunday. Fr. Schmitz is at St. Ann for the two Sunday morning Masses.) We will live-stream the 4:00 p.m. Mass at Sacred Heart and it will be available in the archives on our Youtube website thereafter by highlighting and clicking on the following address: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg or by accessing the live stream Mass on either of our parish websites. Remember that NO CATHOLIC is obligated by Church Law or moral obligation to attend Sunday Mass due to the suspension of the precept by the Bishops of Ohio for at least the next month or so. If you are feeling ill with anything that could be contagious, PLEASE do not come to church. If you are medically or psychologically compromised or susceptible by virtue of age or medical condition, PLEASE watch the Mass on our Pastoral Region Channel and call me to bring communion sometime the following week. If you are compromised medically in the least, please do not leave quarantine too early. I know everyone is afflicted with cabin fever, but I can tell you that most of the senior residential facilities are still on lockdown for COVID. Use reason rather than emotion to determine when to emerge.
Bring your MASK with you to MASS! This is my contribution to the next COOL saying. Each parish has a “limited” number of masks. Remember that masks are like your personal toothbrush; once opened and used, no one else other than you should ever use it. If you don’t have a mask, any breathable covering that extends over the nose and mouth simultaneously is adequate. A bandana works great. Even a makeshift nose/mouth veil made from a clean paper towel with two rubber bands for ear pieces works fine. If you don’t have rubber bands, even a clean paper towel suspended by a string tied over your ears and behind your neck will work. Remember that a mask does not have to be air tight to keep you from infecting anyone else, just enough of a barrier to capture and stop any microscopic droplets that come forth from all of us when we sing, speak, or (heaven forbid) sneeze or cough. Think of the face covering like the foul ball net behind home plate. It does not have to “dead stop” the ball in flight! It simply slows the velocity and stops the ball from hurting anybody it could fly through the air and hit. That is why if everybody wears a face mask, practices social distancing, and follows all the other hygienic rules (like sanitizing hands); it is likely that no one else will become infected.
Social Distancing! At Sacred Heart, I have measured behind the pews to the wall. If all the pews are filled (following the social distancing rules), a sizeable number will be able to stand with backs against the wall and still being six feet away from the last person in a pew. If we need “standing room only” we will be able to accommodate a large number around the perimeter walls and socially distanced in the Narthex. The only downside to standing through Mass is that you cannot fall asleep (even during my sermon) without falling to the ground.
Similarly at St. Ann, if the pews should become fully utilized by socially distancing people, a person standing with back to the wall should meet the six feet requirement.
REMEMBER: Even those standing must wear a mask or nose/mouth covering!
I look forward to the resumption of Sunday Masses this weekend (May 30 & 31). Please note the music for Pentecost
Music for Pentecost (words on song sheet for gathering and closing).
Gathering: Send Us Your Spirit
Psalm 104 Lord Send Out Your Spirit
Mass of light
Instrumental for preparation of the gifts
Communion: Spirit and Grace
Closing: Send Out Your Spirit
Remember: you will see the following sign when you enter church at either parish:
For Mass Today, are you coming as:
An Individual No other members of your household are with you at this time
A Couple One other person who lives in your household is with you
A Family all persons in your group live in one household
Then remember:
Individuals MUST socially distance from everyone else!
Couples do not need to socially distance from each other, ONLY from everyone else
Family members living in the same household do not need to socially distance from one another, ONLY from everyone else
Instructions
Every other pew is marked in RED This means Do Not Sit in a RED pew!!!
Sit as an individual, family, or couple in any non-red pew but be sure no other individual, couple or family is within six feet of you.
At present, every other pew is taped off in both churches. When you as a family, couple or individual sit down, remember not to encroach within six feet of your nearest neighbor. Again, this is a matter of courtesy.
I am attaching another copy of the full list of instructions of how to attend Mass during these trying times. If you have trouble sleeping, simply start reading my boring recitation of all the rules for St. Ann and Sacred Heart. These precautions explain more than you really ever wanted to know; but they will be helpful if you plan to attend.
Your pastor in the Lord Jesus
Fr. Larry Tharp