Pastor’s Letter & August 23 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & August 23 Bulletin

21 Aug 2020 | Posted by: chadmin

The August 23 bulletin is now available online.

Dear friends,

School is off to a great start.  It’s wonderful to hear all the voices on campus again! The kids are just so happy to see each other.  Our principal, Mr. Jack Dippold, our secretaries Mrs. Judy Schmidt and Mrs. Megan Loquist, along with our teachers and staff all did a phenomenal job getting ready for this year. I think we are prepared for about anything this year, knowing that adjustments will likely come. For communal health reasons, our biggest goal is to keep sick kids out of school. No matter the illness, we hope this will help us have our healthiest year ever!  Please continue to pray for the teachers and students. The new procedures and keeping each classroom together in their own cohort is an adjustment for everyone, but something we hope will keep us all healthy. We had a bit of a challenge with our first day of school drop-off, but think we have it worked out. We had cars backed up from our gym doors all the way to War Memorial. It was quite a sight. Nice to have people eager to get to school.

With the beginning of the school year, I will begin saying the 9am Friday School Mass. Ordinarily we invite parents and the public to attend the school Masses. With our COVid-19 restrictions on number of persons in church and our social distancing, we are starting the year without parents or parishioners attending the school Mass. This allows us to spread the kids out more in church. We are starting with one class from each grade level, 3^rd-8^th, to attend Mass every other week.  The Mass will be live streamed into the classrooms, for those classes that didn’t attend that Friday. Immediately after Mass, Mr. Dippold and I will bring Communion to the 3^rd-8^th grade classes in their school classrooms. Hopefully as conditions with the virus change, we will be able to make adaptations. Second grade is a big year of sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion. As we settle into the year, we will work with the 2^nd grade teachers, and younger students, on how best to get them incorporated into the Mass.

Just about a month ago, we held our Confirmation Mass for those members of the RCIA class from last year. The Rite of Christians Initiation of Adults is the ordinary way for adults to learn about and join the Church. Typically people join the Church and receive the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil. With the COVid-19 shutdown, we were unable to celebrate the Easter Vigil publically. While the delay was difficult for them, we had a beautiful Confirmation Mass in July. As we approach September, we are beginning plans for next year’s class. We will have an informational night and introduction to the RCIA process on September 15^th at 6:30 pm. If you are, or you know anyone interested in receiving the sacraments, please contact us to register or with any questions.  You can email the parish office at parish@stphils.com or go to www.stphils.com/church/faith-formation/adult/become-catholic-rcia/   The RCIA class is for those who are not Baptized that would like to receive Baptism, for Baptized Christians that want to become Catholic, and for Baptized Catholics who have not received Confirmation.  Please feel free to reach out to us if you are interested.

God bless,

Father David