May 13, 2020

Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima

Dear Members of St. John the Apostle Parish:

 
Greetings to all of you on this beautiful Feast Day of the Blessed Virgin Mary!  I write to provide an update to my previous communication of May 9, 2020…in which I had related the exciting news that we would soon be able to open our Churches for public worship once again based on the guidance provided by the State Government, and the Diocese.  This guidance would have allowed for us to prepare to open up again, on a limited basis and adhering to established safety and health protocols, on the upcoming weekend of May 16-17, 2020:  however, as many of you are no doubt aware, a number of counties, townships and cities throughout the Northern Virginia area raised concerns, citing many factors, about such an opening being premature…and requested a delay…and the State Government has agreed to delay reopening for another two weeks and to then re-evaluate at that time.  So it seems our new target date for reopening will be the weekend of May 30-31, 2020.  Let us continue to pray for patience and resolve, even after so many weeks of closure, staying at home, and live-streaming Masses, and focus on the hoped-for date when we will be able to join together again to celebrate the Eucharist and the other liturgies of the Church, as well as opening our parish offices, meeting spaces, etc.

In order to make all of this possible, we will be working, over the coming days and weeks, to address the many logistical and practical details and requirements that need to be implemented prior to reopening, and how they will be maintained as we go forward.  To achieve all of this will require not only planning, but also the work of many volunteers (who will be needed to assist at each Mass with monitoring attendance and seating, periodic disinfecting of surfaces, etc.)…and we are already reaching out to some of the groups in the parish to help us to achieve a safe, and smooth, reopening to the public.

The guidance from the State and Diocese in Phase 1 reopening will allow for us to celebrate Masses with attendance of up to 50% of our seating capacity (the Church seating capacity is 1233) so this would be 616 people:  however it is likely this number will be lower as we strive to work out the implications of social distancing spacing.  With regard to the public celebration of Masses,  in order to more easily comply with the recommended social distancing and other protocols, all daily and Sunday Masses will be held in the Church until further notice.  Our intention, if all goes well,  would be to resume our regular weekday and weekend Mass schedule starting with the 9am Mass and 530pm Vigil Masses on Saturday 5/30, and then the regular Sunday schedule Mass schedule on 5/31, with the one exception:   the 10:30am Latin Mass on Sundays will, until further notice, be held at 4pm in the Church…(subject to cancelation if a priest celebrant cannot make it).

 With regard to attendance at Mass once we begin to reopen:  during the initial reopening phase the Bishop will continue to suspend the “obligation to attend Mass on Sunday” for all, particularly those who are most vulnerable to this virus (anyone over 60, anyone with ongoing health or medical issues)….these individuals should not attend public Mass, but continue to join us via ‘live-streaming video’ (which we will continue to provide during the reopening period) on the parish website and Facebook site; likewise, anyone who feels uncomfortable or afraid to attend larger public gatherings should likewise participate via the ‘live-streaming video’.

For those planning to attend public Mass once again, while we are indeed desirous for everyone to gather together, we know that we will, obviously, not be able to accommodate more than the capacity we establish over the coming weeks, thus once that number is reached at any given Mass….we will not be allowing any more people into the Church; in light of these gathering restrictions…we ask that people try to spread out their attendance to all of the scheduled Mass times and not concentrate only on the more popular Mass times exclusively (namely 9am and 1045am)…patience and cooperation on the part of all will make this easier for everyone.

We will be making every effort to wipe down and disinfect doors, pews, etc.…between Masses; and certain elements of the Mass will be suspended until further notice (bringing up the bread and wine in offertory procession, sign of peace, shaking of hands after Mass, etc.), and congregational singing and the use of hymnals/missals will also likely be restricted.   We will have a fixed offertory basket put in the Church for people to place offertory envelopes and donations in (rather than passing baskets as we usually do) when they arrive or before departing.   Additionally, we are awaiting further guidance from the Diocese with regard to any protocols related to the distribution of Holy Communion, etc.   We encourage you, and your family members, to wear masks when you attend Mass:  please note, however, that we are not in a position to be able to provide masks or any other protective items to those who plan attend Mass.

Until we receive new guidance and determine protocols, etc.; the bringing of communion to the sick and homebound (by priests or Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist) will continue to be suspended (this is particularly the case for the Nursing Homes, retirement communities, and continuing care/assisted living facilities within the parish…most of which remain on lockdown and restricted entry).

The priests  still respond to emergency calls for the sick and the dying….seeking to bring the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and Viaticum to parishioners…when and where we are able to given the current circumstances and restrictions.  Likewise we have continued to hold funerals and/or graveside liturgies for our parishioners who have died…adhering to gathering restrictions and other protocols; and this will continue to be the case as things reopen.

We will continue to celebrate Confessions in the Parish Center, as we have since the outset of this Pandemic; with the times being on Wednesdays from 6:30pm until the lines are done, and on Saturdays from 4pm until the lines are done (the priest celebrant of the 530pm Mass will have to depart at 5pm to prepare for Mass):  the confessional lines form outside of the Parish Center entrance… and access is monitored/controlled by one of our seminarians (and likely future volunteers once the seminarians depart). 

We will be discussing how and when to reopen Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel with the coordinators of that Ministry:  there will need to be a canvasing of the current adoration roster to see who can/cannot, will/will not be able be able to participate in adoration and take time slots once we restart:  it could be that we will have to begin with a modified scheduled while we work to rebuild/strengthen that ministry with new participants, etc.:   I have in mind a  target date of 6/1/20 for the restart of Adoration (subject to change).

I plan to bring the Parish Staff (most of whom have been on administrative leave and continue to work remotely, etc.) back to work on 6/1/20…but as we will need a few days to get settled back in and caught up on things…we will be aiming to open up the office to the public later on that week.   With regard to opening up the rest of the Parish facilities and recommencing group activities; we anticipate doing this more gradually, as we still need to discuss various practicalities and protocols, etc.…with the staff and other program coordinators:  so further information will be forthcoming on these matters.

The staff and I will be in discussion, during their first week back, about planning and rescheduling the various Sacraments that were postponed during the time of closure ( Baptisms, Weddings, First Communions, RCIA Sacraments) and we will be communicating with those affected by the postponements…and get new dates/times scheduled in the coming weeks (again we ask for your patience as we work to accomplish this…as there are a lot of things to be reworked)…this rescheduling will be a top priority for us.

In closing I ask for everyone’s patience and support as we plan for, and eventually enter into, this re-opening period; there are bound to be some bumps in the road and a few unexpected twists and turns…but I am confident that we will be able make a go of all of this…even while trying to maintain, as best we can under the present circumstances, the health and safety of all concerned.  Please know of my sincere thanks for the many kindnesses so many of you have shown to us over these past weeks and months, and for the tremendous and generous support so many have continued to give to the parish!  I rejoice that we will soon be able to come together to celebrate the Eucharist and the other Sacraments…and I look forward to seeing you and being with you and your families in our Church.

Blessings and Peace;

 Fr. Kevin