May 1, 2020
Dear Friends,
Peace of Christ, and know of our continued prayers! We hope you and your loved ones are doing well in these challenging times. We would like to share a few important updates.
Archdiocese of Milwaukee ‘Catholic Comeback’ Plan. Yesterday, Archbishop Listecki provided Directives, Guidelines, and Considerations to priests, deacons, and parish directors for the return to public celebration of Sunday Mass. Archbishop Listecki writes: “We understand the seriousness of this pandemic. We also understand the strong desire of our people to come together to worship God and these directives provide both a reasonable and responsible way to make that happen in the coming weeks.” Please kindly read the full text of this important communication, which can be found here.
The Catholic Comeback Plan will allow for the public celebration once again of Sunday Mass beginning on Sunday, May 31, 2020 (Pentecost Sunday). A number of measures are required for public celebration of Sunday Mass to take place such as reduced maximum capacity, social distancing, proper sanitation, distribution by the Precious Body only, continued suspension of a physical Sign of Peace, etc.
At our parish, we have created a task-force from our staff that will work specifically to ensure that our celebrations of the Sunday Eucharist can take place in a responsible way that adheres to these directives and guidelines from the Archdiocese. We understand the variety of important reasons which may keep someone from returning to the public celebration of Mass, so please be aware that the Archbishop has lifted the obligation to attend Sunday Mass through Sunday, July 5th. We will communicate more information as quickly as possible on all of this in the coming weeks as we organize our parish’s specific plan to transition back to the public celebration of the Mass.
Video Mass for Sunday, May 3rd. Here is the recorded Mass celebrated by Fr. Tim and Fr. John for this upcoming Sunday (the Fourth Sunday of Easter). We provide a worship aid to help you better enter into the prayer of the Mass. We are so thankful for the amazing work of our liturgists Brian Eggers and Mary Robertson, and our cantor Amy Sobczak! Thanks also to David Vartanian and his son Blase of DV Productions for their continued assistance in helping to make these filmed Masses possible.
In light of the above ‘Catholic Comeback Plan,’ we plan to have filmed Masses available for the Sundays of May 10th, 17th, 24th, and possibly beyond. Continue to look for these videos and worship aides through our website and weekly e-mail newsletter. We are committed to staying connected to those unable to return to Sunday Mass and all those in need during this time.
Parish Financial Support. We are so grateful for your financial support of the parish during these tender and tenuous times. Thank you so much, it has been amazing to witness the generosity of so many! Please continue to mail in your envelopes and contributions to our parish office (Old St. Mary Parish, 835 N Milwaukee St, Milwaukee, WI 53202), and our parish staff will process these.
Please do not hesitate to contact either Fr. Tim (Cell: 414-762-7986; kitzket@archmil.org) or Fr. John (Cell: 414-305-3824; baumgardnerj@archmil.org) if you need anything! Be assured of our love and prayers.
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim and Fr. John
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