Hubby Tony and I decided to attend Mass this afternoon, but when he pulled up the website of the parish close to our new house (which uses an online reservation system to control the number of people who attend) he found out they had already reached their limit. We modified our plans to drive to the church near our old house, where we attended for more than 30 years.
All parishes were mandated by the Archdiocese to make modifications before they can reopen. They had to limit the number of attendees to maintain social distance, remove hymnals and missalettes, and limit the music to a musician and cantor. There can be no collection basket passed and no sign of peace. Communion traffic patterns must be one-way, and offer the opportunity to leave the building immediately afterwards.
Based on my sample of two churches, each following the regulations to the letter, there was still room for individuality. Our first experience involved open seating in a socially-distant manner, but at today's mass they added a zone system for singles, couples, and families. At Communion time today each of the two priests stood behind a large plexiglass safety screen, reaching under it to place a host onto each person's hand.
Wow that is interesting to see how the churches have prepared to achieve social distace.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is.
DeleteIt's complicated, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteOur church has small "takeout" communion packets with juice and wafer all wrapped together. I could pick them up at church to use at home, but I have grape juice and bread so prepare our communion elements just as I did when I was in charge of preparing the elements when we could still meet together.
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky that you have what you need so readily available.
DeleteModern times ... let us pray for a return to normal.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
our new age
ReplyDelete