In a few short weeks the world has turned upside down. We shelter in place and keep a social distance in a desperate bid to slow the advance of this coronavirus. And we pray our efforts are more successful than in Italy and New York. It is critically important that we all abide by the order of the State to “Shelter in Place.” I realize that this is a great sacrifice for all of us. You miss coming to Mass on Sunday and believe me, I truly miss you in the Church. It is incredibly difficult to celebrate Mass alone in such a large Church. But be assured that the community is still praying together virtually through our livestream on YouTube and Facebook Live. Please continue to join us at 9:30am online every Sunday, 8:30am Monday through Friday. It is truly powerful that we have over 2,000 people watching the Mass online. The sacred place of our Church continues to hold us, call us and pray for us as we are away. It will welcome us home when we are able to return.

One of the sad consequences of the pandemic was the decision to suspend Village House shelter operations indefinitely effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Although our hearts are truly saddened, the events of the past few weeks have left us all with few options. The action to suspend operations was made in concert with all the partner churches and was made out of concern for the safety and wellbeing of the women in the shelter as well as for the many volunteers. The Steering Committee has decided to use Network reserves to house the women in local hotels until permanent housing or shelters is available for each of the 10 women currently housed in the shelter.
As we scramble to protect ourselves by sheltering in our homes, how easy it is to retreat inward, to hide in our shells. As Catholics, we know our faith demands more. We are the light of the world. God calls us to pray and act.

You have heard me say it a thousand times, we must be men and women of prayer. It seems that this is a great opportunity for all of us to deepen our prayer life. With that in mind we are giving the Re-Ignite Parish Retreat online this week and next week to teach you how to pray. We ask you to join us and pray together and learn where the Lord is calling us now.

We need to discern how best to turn our energies outward and serve others. Where do we serve? We expect this virus will soon exact a heavy toll on health care workers and their families. It is likely that within a week or two, doctors will be on 80 hour-a-week shifts. We are running a trial program to help out the families of health care workers that are a part of our parish and we hope this will be a model we can replicate across the diocese. We also hope we can replicate this model for elders in our community who are also in need. More information coming soon.

Many families in our county entered the pandemic already living from paycheck to paycheck. Now the paycheck is gone, the rent is due, and the pantry is empty. We will work with Catholic Charities and Second Harvest Food Bank to serve these families.
While we are in shelter in place, it does not mean we stop our ministries, but it means we need re-imagine our ministries. Please know we are re-imagining our ministry and we will ask you to support us and be the community that serves others as we have always done. Thank you again for being such an amazing parish.

Fr. Brendan McGuire