IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CHURCH

Governor Cuomo has told us that NYS will gradually reopen in four phases according to the regions of the state. On Tuesday, May 26, he allowed all of them except the City of New York to enter into phase one and tentatively set Monday, June 8 as phase one for New York City. When New York City enters phase two, parish offices will be open to the public, and all precautions must be taken (wearing of masks, maintaining a six-foot distance, frequent washing of hands, and sanitizing surfaces). Once we reach phase four, houses of worship will be able to resume their services. Our first priority is the safety of the clergy and people, and self-care of all ministers. The second priority is to resume in-person worship. According to Faith Forward, there will be five levels to gradually get us to the ultimate goal of Sunday Mass with a congregation. As you know, we have been at level one for quite some time. Churches are open to our people for private prayer and confession. No booklets or fliers are NOW allowed in the church. We have suspended our missalette subscription until further notice. Level two will allow for the sacraments of baptism and marriage. At the moment, there is a maximum of ten attendees. This will be followed by level three with the celebration of weekday Masses and funeral Masses with limited attendance. Level four will permit Sunday Mass with supervised attendance. Entrance to churches will be through one door only. A greeter will be present to count the faithful as they enter, and there will be a strict cutoff when 25% of the church capacity is reached. At that point, it is up to the pastor to decide what to do with the overflow – hold a simultaneous Mass at another location, live stream it, or ask the people to attend a later Mass. Now is the time to prepare your parishioners on which method you have selected. That will be one of the topics at our virtual Parish Council Meeting this Sunday. The final level, the fifth, will see us resuming our full parish Mass schedule and sacramental activity