Dear Parishioners,
Let's consider Mass attendance, seating changes, and bereavement support.
Bereavement Support Assistant Needed
We've received a few requests to restart bereavement support. Anna Reuther is willing to lead the group. However, we need someone to assist her. We would especially welcome the help of someone who already has experience leading a bereavement support group. Short of that, we're looking for someone with very good listening skills. Please contact me or Joe Pittarelli if interested.
Mass Attendance for 2/27-28
4 PM 103
6 PM 60
8 AM 68
10 AM 100
12 PM 92
2 PM 45
Total 468
We increased by seven over the previous week. The only times we've had more people were September 27th, October 25th, and Christmas. Thank you to the parishioners who switched from the 4 PM Mass to another Mass. Please continue to be strategic in the Mass you choose to attend.
I think we can comfortably seat up to 120 people at a Mass. We could safely squeeze in a few more, but we would need to get creative. We can't be so creative once Mass starts. Please come to Mass between 20 and 5 minutes before the start time.
Seating Changes
Tom, Matt, and I just finished rearranging ropes in the church. We're going to do a little experiment with daily Mass goers. If it works well, we'll continue it for Sunday Mass.
It's been my observation that we have more individuals than couples and families attending daily and Sunday Masses. So, we're going to experiment with only individuals in the two center sections of the church. Individuals will sit at both ends of the 1st, 4th, and 7th pews. Agile individuals will sit in the center of the 2nd, 5th, and 8th pews, entering from the center aisle.
With this set-up, we'll have 18 individuals in the two center sections instead of 12 households. Someone sitting in the center will be able to exit the pew because no one else will sit in that pew. We should have enough room in other pews for couples and families. We could add chairs in the parish hall so that couples could sit together.
The two angular sections are for large families of at least four. If there are no large families, then ushers will seat individuals and couples there.
For baptisms and funerals, we'll stick to the 12 household set-up in the two center sections and not have individuals in the middle of pews.
Our goal is to safely fit more people in our church as Mass attendance increases. Many other churches are rectangular and much easier to navigate. We also need to be mindful that many of our parishioners are older and come to Mass alone. So, we'll keep making minor adjustments to make it better for people to enter into the sacred mysteries.
God love you,
Fr. Jim
frjim@stjohnlakehurst.com