Re-opening announcement
/My dear parishioners,
Archbishop Coakley has announced a timeline and procedures by which our parishes can resume public Masses and sacramental life. This is joyful news! We are able to re-open, but things will not be normal. We will need charity and patience as we must cooperate with severe limitations upon re-opening. We here at St. Monica will have yet another limitation due to road construction on Western Avenue, beginning incredibly today. The following are important notes for public Mass at St. Monica.
Dispensation from Mass Obligation
The general dispensation from attending Sunday/holy day Mass given by Archbishop Coakley remains in effect indefinitely, and applies to ALL Catholics in the Archdiocese regardless of age. Masses being offered again publicly does not mean that the Mass obligation has returned.
Health Risk Categories
To those in the age risk category (65+ years), those with pre-existing health/immune complications, or if you live with and/or care for someone in one of those categories: I am asking you to voluntarily stay home. You are already dispensed from Mass attendance. Please, I ask you and I encourage you to remain at home.
If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or exposed to someone with untested flu-like symptoms and illness, or if yourself are ill or have had flu-like symptoms at any time in the last 14 days you MUST stay home. Do not come to church. Contact and follow your doctor’s instructions and please stay home.
Social Distancing
Social distancing procedures remain in place. You and your families must follow them on church property both indoors and outdoors at all times. This is for your safety but additionally for respect to others who may be uncomfortable if these precautions are ignored.
Face Masks, Sanitizer & Disinfectant Wipes
You are encouraged to wear face masks at church. Please bring and use our own hand sanitizer. Please bring and use your own disinfectant wipes (non-bleach only) to wipe down the pew BOTH upon entering and before exiting. Please bring your own ziploc bag(s) to gather and to dispose of your used wipes.
We Need Volunteers: New usher training May 20
We desperately need volunteers who are at least 18 years old and less than 65 years old, men and women, to be ushers trained in these specialized procedures who can commit to serve for the foreseeable future. Call the Parish Office to volunteer (405) 359-2700. There will be a new usher training this week, Wednesday, May 20, at 6:00 pm in the main church. If you meet the age requirements above please come and volunteer! We must have help.
Entrance, Movement Inside, Exiting Church
Ushers will be managing entry into the church, seating of all persons, directing movement within Mass, and directing exiting. You must follow usher instructions. There will be no open seating or choice of pew. Please be patient and cooperative with ushers and these procedures.
Nursery and Cry Rooms
Please note that the nursery will not be available at this time. You will not be able to take your children to the cry rooms as they will be used for seating managed by the ushers.
Restrooms
You are asked to plan ahead and use the restroom at home before you arrive. You will not be free to leave your pew and move about the church. Plan ahead. If absolutely necessary, the restrooms may be used for serious need. The restrooms should never be used during the consecration and Holy Communion to avoid distraction during this most solemn part of Mass.
Parish Donations
Electronic giving with Faith Direct will continue to be the most safe and efficient way to manage your parish giving. Collection baskets are still not being passed around. Baskets will be out in back of church for gifts to be left there as you enter church. But electronic giving is a more secure way to guard your gift. Follow this link.
Or Text-to-Give option: Text the dollar amount of your donation to 405-358-2120. Thank you!
Live Streaming
Live streaming of at least one weekend Mass will continue in this time frame. Since public Masses have resumed, daily Masses will no longer be live streamed.
Radio Transmission to the Parking Lot
FM radio transmission to cars in the parking lot will also continue for all Sunday Masses in this time frame. Tune your radio to 100.7.
Confessions
Our confession schedule remains unchanged. Confessions are heard in the main church to allow for more spacing. Confessions are Tuesday-Thursday at 4:15 pm and Saturday at 3:00 pm. Spanish confessions are Tuesday at 6:30 pm.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
I am most grateful to our many adorers who commit to a weekly time of adoration in the St. Augustine Chapel. Thanks to our many long-term adorers and several new ones who have recently signed on, we have managed to keep adoration going uninterrupted even in the period of closure. Now would be a great time for you to make a return to the Lord by committing to an adoration time each week or finding a friend to share an adoration time with. Call the Parish Office (405) 359-2700 for information and to sign up.
Mass Schedule & Holy Communion
The weekend schedule has to account for many factors with time-consuming procedures requiring many staff and volunteer ushers. The weekend schedule will be evaluated and adjusted based on actual attendance. The schedule is temporary, provisional, and subject to change. The
schedule will be communicated week-to-week. For the first weekend, there will be two bilingual Masses on May 24, at 7:30 am and again at 10:00 am. Doors open 30 minutes before each Mass. Entry to church will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Once capacity in the church has been reached, there will be overflow seating in the parish hall. The parking lot with FM radio transmission will be another overflow option. For all eligible Catholics attending Mass on campus there will be the possibility of receiving Holy Communion.
Daily Masses will follow a special schedule this week and should allow our staff and ushers to practice all the new procedures associated with COVID-19 protocols before the first weekend Masses. All of the procedures and expectations listed here apply to daily Masses as well. Daily Masses are typically smaller events. It should be easier to gain access inside the church should you desire to attend daily Mass. Daily Masses will be held inside the main church to allow for more social distancing. Daily Masses will be in English. Doors open 30 minutes before each daily Mass. The temporary and provisional daily Mass schedule this week is as follows: May 19, 21, & 22 Mass begins at 6:00 pm. May 20 Mass begins at 12 noon.
Western Avenue Closed for Construction
On May 18, both lanes of Western Avenue from NW 197th Street (Danforth Farms neighborhood entrance) to Danforth Rd./NW 192nd St. will be closed for at least one year. The campus will only be accessible by traveling south on Western from Covell Rd. Upon departing the campus, you will need to turn left, northbound on to Western Avenue, to go to your destination.
I am so glad we can re-open and I look forward to seeing you. These weeks have been hard on all of us. But we are not back to normal. We each need to remember that fact. I beg you to be patient and charitable with me and with our volunteer ushers. We are all doing the best we can. You will need to be adaptable and to accept changes that are stressful for everyone. You will need to put aside your personal preferences and to think of others first.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Stephen V. Hamilton, S.T.L. Pastor