“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mk 1,9

Dear parishioners,

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord that we celebrate this Sunday marks the end of the Christmas season. We celebrated the season as best we could. I wish to acknowledge those who contributed generously and in many ways to our celebration of the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Thanks to our Liturgy committee, called this year to a high degree of flexibility, as the Covid situation evolved constantly. We had to move quickly from plan “A”, to plan “B”, to plan “C”. God bless them all for their availability and for their patience. Thanks to our army of ushers who adjust so readily to our changes of schedule and activities. Thanks to our live streamers who come out every day, and twice on Sundays, to make mass available to our parishioners. Thanks to the sacristans and lectors and choirs who provide us with prayerful, quality celebrations. Thank you to our flower ministry team and to Daisy and her nephew, and to Edna and her helpers, who have provided us with such a beautifully decorated church and Nativity Scene for the Christmas season. We have created a memorial card of Christmas at St. Mary’s, 2020! Pick one up the next time you come to church! Thanks to the Knights for their work in illuminating the outside of our church with beautiful lights, and thanks to the archdiocese for providing us, free of charge, with our incredibly beautiful blue lights. They will continue to light up our church throughout the dark winter months.

Finally, thanks to you all, for having been especially generous in your financial contributions to the parish during this Covid-Christmas. Thanks to your generosity, and to Project Advance, which has provided us with a total for the year of $56,000, and to the federal wage subsidy, we have a cushion that will tide us over if the federal wage subsidy begins to dry up and we need to scale back our expenditures, should this prove to be necessary. Thanks, finally, to Teresa Lung and our Project Advance team!

Even in such hard times, there is much to be thankful for.

Looking forward, as I’m sure you’ve all heard, the ban on church gatherings is extended until February 5th. This means that we will simply maintain our current schedule. Here it is, with a few minor changes:

The current schedule of masses is carried forward.

  • Sunday masses: 11:15 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., both live streamed.
  • Weekday masses: Monday to Saturday, 9:00 a.m., all live streamed.

The following times will be maintained for confessions and/or personal prayer. Pre-registration is required.

  • Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Friday 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.    

Given the fact that we are shut down in terms of in-person attendance for another four weeks at least, we feel the time has come to offer communion on a regular basis. We have decided that effective Tuesday, January 12, communion will be offered during all the confession and/or personal prayer times indicated above. For communion as for confessions and personal prayer, pre-registration is required. In every half-hour time slot, the priest will begin by hearing the confessions of those who pre-registered for confession. After that, he will offer communion to all other people in the church for that half-hour.

Given the fact that very few people are now coming in to get their envelopes for 2021, we will discontinue the two hours offered on Saturday, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., and Monday, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. for picking up envelopes. Those who still wish to come and pick up their envelopes can do so during the confession/personal prayer/communion times indicated above. If you’re coming in strictly to pick up your envelopes, pre-registration isn’t required, but you must pre-register if you also want to come into the church for either communion, confession, or personal prayer time.

Thanks to a few very generous parishioners, we have resumed our ministry of calling parishioners to connect, and to see how they are doing. But this takes time. If you or anyone you know is feeling the stress of this pandemic in a particularly hard way, please notify Marianne at the parish office (ext 0), and she will make arrangements for someone to call this person.

Next Thursday, the poinsettias that graced our church over the Christmas season will be place outdoors, just outside the main entrance to the church. You are welcome to take a pot. If you wish to make a donation to the parish for the pot you take, we believe the small pots were $10 and the large ones, $20. You can make a donation by using one of your unused envelopes for 2020, or any other envelope, and depositing it at the front door of the rectory. 

To all of you, but especially to those among you who are struggling in this difficult time, the assurance of my prayers. I ask the same of you all. Make a special place in your prayer for those who are struggling.

 

God bless, Fr. Guy