St. Clare Of Assisi,   

St. Elizabeth of Hungary,  

Holy Spirit &  St. Thomas a'becket

                                                          PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE DIOCESAN GUIDELINES

APPLYING DIOCESAN GUIDELINES IN OUR PARISH GROUPING

CHURCHES OPEN FOR PRIVATE PRAYER 

• HOURS for Private Prayer at each Church: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, Monday – Friday. There will be seating in designated areas only so that cleaning and proper sanitation can be
  carried out on a regular basis.  The areas open for private prayer will be clearly marked.  In addition to daily cleaning and sanitizing, the use of masks and social distancing (maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet) is required for any use of the Church buildings.

• ENTRANCE into and out of the Churches will be as follows:  St. Clare of Assisi – use the side entrance closest to the parking lot, near the Tabernacle; St. Elizabeth of Hungary – use the side entrance closest to the school parking lot; Holy Spirit – use the main entrance doors; St. Thomas à Becket – use the main entrance doors closest to the Chapel. 
• RESTROOMS in the Church need to remain locked, as it is not possible for staff to clean and sanitize after each use. 
• SIGN-IN Please sign-in upon entering the Church.  If someone becomes ill with COVID-19, those in attendance will be contacted to be alerted of the potential risk. 

CONFESSIONS
The Sacrament of Reconciliation will continue to be offered on Saturdays from 10:30 - 11:30 AM in the parking lot of St. Thomas à Becket Church. Two priests will be available to hear Confessions. Those receiving the sacrament, will pull up to the station where the priest is seated and remain in their vehicle (maintaining at least a distance of 6 feet). Due to the limitations of the outdoor arrangements, anonymous (behind the screen) confessions will not be an option. The use of masks and social distancing is required.
 
FUNERAL MASSES
Limited Funeral Masses with cleaning/sanitizing guidelines in place, expanding to groups of no more than 25 people.  The use of masks and social distancing is required.
 
WEDDINGS
Limited Weddings with cleaning/sanitizing guidelines in place, expanding to groups of no more than 25 people.  The use of masks and social distancing is required.
 
BAPTISMS
Due to the extensive protocol outlined in the Moving Forward Together Reopening Guide, the scheduling of Baptisms will be postponed until we are confident that we can fulfill all of the health and safety precautions and requirements.  When Baptisms resume, the use of masks and social distancing will be required, with groups of no more than 25 people. 
 

 
After review of the Moving Forward Together Reopening Guide, the Administrative Priest Team has decided that more time and planning is necessary in order to meet the health and safety requirements (i.e., implementation the COVID-19 Safety Team, Cleaning and Sanitizing Teams), before a date can be set to resume the  public celebration of the Mass.  The public celebration of the Mass in our Churches will not be on June 1 or the weekend of June 6 and 7, but will resume at a later date to be announced.  As a reminder, until all restrictions of the pandemic are lifted, the faithful are dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass during this phase.
 
 LOCATION OF SACRAMENTS         
We all seek to return to normal relations with other people during these difficult times.  As we make decisions as to the location of Confessions and Mass, this is done from the perspective of how we can best minister to you, given the logistical constraints that none of us are used to (i. e., Confessions in the parking lot and possible outdoor Mass).  Some of the factors we must take into consideration are ease of access, accommodating two stations for confessions, the layout of the parking lot and developing a regular schedule/site in order to establish some sense of routine.  We ask you to be mindful of three important considerations: First, these accommodations are temporary; second, we are becoming one parish and we are presented with daily opportunities to grow, go beyond our comfort zone, which will help us more fully live this reality; and finally, Jesus waits and is longing to embrace us through the sacraments – calling us ever into a deeper unity in the Body of Christ. 
 
REQUESTING CANDLES LIT IN OUR CHURCHES
 If you would like to have a candle lit for a special intention, please mail your intention(s) with a check/cash to the Church Office.  You can also call the Church Office to request that a candle be lit for a special intention. In order to prevent possible transmission of germs from touching the candles and/or candle stick lighters, candles will only be lit at your request, by staff.
 
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
We are all excited about reopening the Churches.  However, if you are not feeling well or you are vulnerable (over the age of 65, have a compromised immune or respiratory health issue, or another risk factor), you are encouraged to continue praying from the privacy of your home.  We ask that everyone follow the standard prevention protocols: wear a mask; maintain social distance of 6 feet and practice frequent hand hygiene. Any time you feel ill, please stay home.
 
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are needed to help us sanitize and prepare the churches for worship and prayer. The more volunteers we have, the more smoothly things will go as we look forward to eventually opening for Mass.
 

BECOMING ONE

Six weeks to go for the merger of our parishes into a new reality.  The Ascension of Jesus into heaven was a new reality for the disciples of Jesus. They needed to adjust to not having Jesus physically present to them. They felt somewhat lost and confused; they needed to move forward following His calling. Like those disciples, between His Ascension and the gift of His Spirit on Pentecost, we too continue to patiently wait and pray that the Holy Spirit will descend upon us to transform us into energetic followers of Jesus. With Mary, our Blessed Mother, and all the angels and saints watching over us, let us pray that our new parish will be a new reality that is alive and vibrant, with effective ministries and enduring faith.
 
Some have asked, when do we find out our new parish name? When will the pastor of our new parish be named?  We anticipate that by the end of May, we will have our new parish name as well as know who the Pastor/Administrator of our parish will be.  We will keep you posted!