Connectedness in Christ

Thankfully, many people are talking about keeping “apart together” or remaining “separate but connected” with others through this time of pandemic. Some have even replaced the term “social distancing” with “physical distancing” to emphasize how important it is to continue to socialize with others while keeping ourselves and others safe. Our faith gives added weight and strength to the importance of connectedness. Baptized into the family of the Church, we are all members of the mystical Body of Christ. We are connected in this Body, and we need one another! (See 1 Cor. 12:12, 20-27.) To live this spiritual connectedness in practical ways, our collaborative parishes have used electronic means
(emails, video Masses online, www.pwc.church, Facebook, etc.) as the quickest way to reach the most people possible.

Yet even with all these electronic ways we are staying connected to each other, we know there are many parishioners we have not reached yet. To supplement our regular email outreach to parishioners, a group of volunteers from our parishes have been trying to call
over 1,200 parishioners for whom we do not have email addresses. Often those they contact are very appreciative that someone from their parish is reaching out!  Sometimes it’s an opportunity to chat about how they are doing, to add them to our email list, or to help them find our Masses online or a TV Mass. 

Still our efforts to reach people are often frustrating: people change their emails frequently, and most people provided us with home phone numbers which may have been disconnected. Sadly, this often leaves some of our most vulnerable parishioners not feeling “connected” with their parish family and the spiritual support they need. This is where we need your help! 

Do you know anyone who could use a phone call?  Perhaps a neighbor or a friend from the parish, or perhaps you have not heard from us by email or phone. We are still working our way through the last few calls, but we may not have the right contact information for you or your friend. Please help by providing a current phone and/or email address. With our staff working from home it is best if you email the information to
stmarthaoffice@pwc.church or stmaryoffice@pwc.church, or you can call your parish office instead.  It may take us a little time to forward the information to our parish volunteers, so if it is an urgent concern please tell us and a priest or staff member will call
as soon as possible.

“We are many parts, but we are all one body,” we have sung at countless Masses over the years... Let us live as one body, reaching out to one another and lifting each
other up!