Pastor’s Letter & May 9 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & May 9 Bulletin

7 May 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The May 9 bulletin is now available online.

Dear friend,

This will be the last weekend we use Eventbrite to schedule pews for Mass. The system has worked well and allowed us to successfully accommodate as many people safely in church as possible. Thank you so much for your cooperation as we’ve tried to bring the Eucharist to as many parishioners as possible. Rhonda Parker has done a phenomenal job for the parish organizing and maintaining the scheduling system since last June. As the coronavirus has subsided and the vaccine is more readily available, many more people are seeking attendance at Mass. This has made it increasingly difficult to schedule Mass attendance. The social distancing requirements have decreased for masked individuals in schools and indoors and of course for vaccinated individuals. As more and more of the population have either the antibodies or the vaccination, the risk continues to decrease.

While no new directives were released by the state or the Diocese, clearly things are starting to open up. Recently Governor Pritzker stated he anticipates a return to stage 5 normalcy in July. As we make these changes, the challenge will be for all of us to be smart and safe, while also continuing to move closer to normalcy. As the Bishop has requested, we will still wear masks during Mass for the time being. The change to the mask requirement will likely come from the governor first.

For the time being, we will continue to have every other pew closed. This will allow parishioners to seat themselves as you arrive at Mass. For later arriving parishioners, it is always easiest if the earliest people start filling seats closer to the altar. We will try to have ushers keep an eye on open pews for a while to assist with seating. More and more people are comfortable sitting with others in the same pew, especially with the mask mandate and the relatively short time one is seated in the pew.

For the three Masses that we Live Stream, the broadcast will be played in the Parish Center Banquet Room. This will be the 4:30pm Saturday Vigil, as well as the 9am and 11am Masses on Sunday morning. This over flow seating will hopefully accommodate everyone who seeks to come to church.

I will continue to bring the Eucharist to those lined up in the parking lot after Mass. I anticipate offering this until we are able to fully reopen. Please feel free to communicate with me any questions or concerns you have during this time. I am hopeful we will be able to work together to ease into some normalcy at St. Philomena.

On Tuesday night, Fr. Chase Hilgenbrink will offer a Eucharistic Holy Hour at St. Philomena. Fr. Chase is the Vocation Director for the Peoria Diocese. The Holy Hour will specifically pray for vocations to the priesthood in our Diocese. Please come join us to pray. The Holy Hour will be Live Streamed to the Diocese of Peoria Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/FollowMePeoria/)

Happy Mother’s Day! This day always gives us the opportunity to celebrate the women who nurtured us into this world and throughout our lives. While we all think about the goodness of our mothers much more than on this annual Mother’s Day, it does give us the opportunity to show our deep appreciation and gratitude. I love my own mother deeply and I hope you get the opportunity to share some love with your own mother this weekend. And to all the mothers in our parish, Thank You!

God bless,

Father David