MORE GOOD NEWS! Dear Parishioners, we can now offer new options and freedoms for those who worship in-person with us in Plainville and Wrentham because of continued improvement of virus statistics in our area. Most of these are effective immediately, and others will be implemented in the coming weeks.
Effective immediately at St. Martha Parish and St. Mary Parish:
Signup online and check-in at the door is ONLY for those who want to take part in contact tracing – everyone elsecan just show-up, sanitize their hands and proceed to be seated!
Elevators and more doors can be used for entrance and exit (very few doors remain “exit only”).
The congregation can now sing ALL hymns and other sung parts of the Mass.
We invite all ushers/collectors to return to passing the collection baskets (on poles) if they are comfortable doing so; this will take place during Mass as long as we have enough volunteers to do so.
Our Hospitality Volunteers & staff will still make sure that fresh air is flowing & surfaces are sanitized in accord with CDC guidelines.
Like most indoor gatherings, in church face coverings are still essential (at least until May 29). We are developing plans to accommodate all parishioners’ various preferences on masks and social distancing after they become a personal choice at the end of the month.
Thank you for continuing to love one another as this pandemic winds down, and especially for your immense patience with the need to protect the most vulnerable among us. We pray for countries where this pandemic is still raging. May the day soon come that all people of the world are freed from the burdens of this new disease, and we may all return to being able to be close to and embrace those we love and those who need our support.Amen.
BREAKING NEWS: if you want a look ahead, keep reading…
Just as I was finishing this announcement, we received guidance from the Archdiocese on future changes once the new state regulations take effect on May 29. Next week we will announce more specifics, but here is a quick summary of the next step in our gradual process (starting Saturday, May 29).
Three general principles guide these future archdiocesan policies: (a) people who are vaccinated do not need masks or social distancing (in accord with the new CDC recommendations); and (b) each parishioner or family "is expected to make a sound, reasonable decision about when they are ready to take off their masks and be near other people" - parishes will NOT be "policing" people’s decisions or asking vaccination status. (c) the Sunday Mass obligation still does not apply to anyone who should stay home due to feeling ill or being at serious risk.
Rest assured that we will be prepared to accommodate ALL people to attend Mass in-person - BOTH those who wish to continue practicing precautions AND those who no longer need face coverings and social distancing. This will encourage more people to return to worship with us and help those who have concerns continue to feel safe in our churches.
Especially as we go forth from the Solemnity of Pentecost this weekend, may we celebrate the many different gifts, personalities, ethnicities, and experiences that make up our Plainville-Wrentham Catholic Collaborative and Parish communities, allowing the Holy Spirit to unify us in the one Body of Christ, the Church. Come Holy Spirit! Enthusiastically yours, Fr. Joe