August 5, 2020
Dear St. Francis of Assisi Parish Family,
We look forward to welcoming back some of you to St. Francis of Assisi Church for our publicly celebrated Masses at 5 pm Saturday, August 8, and at 12 pm Sunday, August 9. Our Task Force to Reopen the Parish has worked hard to ensure the church is as safe as possible to open for public worship. Despite this, parishioners should understand that they assume the risk of contracting COVID-19 anytime they enter a public space since such precautions do not eliminate the risk of infection.
There are several important details we want to share with you before you plan on returning to in-person Mass.
- The dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation remains in effect until further notice. If, for any reason, you do not feel comfortable attending Mass, please stay home. The online Mass at 10 am Sunday, which can be viewed as a recording after the live premiere, will continue for the foreseeable future.
- Parishioners who are particularly vulnerable -- including those who are over the age of 65, have existing heart or lung conditions or are immunocompromised – are encouraged to stay home.
- Parishioners who have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, might have COVID-19, feel sick or have a cough or fever are encouraged to refrain from public gatherings, including Mass.
- Face masks or facial coverings must be worn by all persons over the age of two while on parish grounds and in the church. We ask that everyone always maintains appropriate social distancing. Please bring your own hand sanitizer to use during the liturgy. Dispensers of hand sanitizer will also be available in highly trafficked areas.
- Children are invited to attend Mass with their families, but they must not run nor wander unsupervised while on parish grounds or inside the church.
- There will be no hymnals, missalettes or worship aids in the church. There will be a cantor and accompanying musician, but there will be no public singing to reduce the possibility of infection.
- You will be seated by an usher, from the front of the church to the back. The ushers will also dismiss attendees row-by-row, from the back to the front.
- Please use all four doors to enter and exit the church -- the two side doors as well as two doors entering through the Gathering Space.
More specific protocols on Mass attendance, such as arrival time, will be shared with Mass registrants by 11 am Saturday, August 8.
How to Make a Reservation to Attend Mass:
We are providing two ways for parishioners to make a reservation to attend Mass at 5 pm Saturday, August 8, or at noon Sunday, August 9:
- Sign up below. Registration will close at 8 pm Friday August 7, or whenever the church capacity is reached, whichever happens first.
- Call the Parish Office at (301) 840-1407. (Note: We prefer that this method only be used by people who are not subscribed to Flocknote. Please do not forward this e-mail, which is unique to your username. If the e-mail is forwarded to someone else, recipients could unknowingly and inadvertently sign you up for a Mass with your username or unsubscribe you from receiving future Flocknotes).
Reserving a Space at Mass using this E-mail:
Select the Mass you would like to attend below. Once you have submitted your registration, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with the date on which you registered for Mass. Parishioners are welcome to register for Mass this weekend on a first-come, first-served basis, even if you attended the in-person liturgy last weekend.
Please note that we will celebrate Mass next weekend, Aug. 15-16, without required signup through Flocknote or the Parish Office. We will evaluate the experience to determine whether we will continue to need a required signup.
Required Information:
We require the following information from everyone who would like to attend in-person Masses on August 8 and 9:
- The number of people in your household who will attend Mass so we can determine capacity
- Your name and the names of those people who will attend Mass with you
Other notes:
- If you register for Mass but can no longer attend, please call the Parish Office at (301) 840-1407 so we can accommodate another parishioner.
- If the Mass you select indicates that there are 0 slots available, that means the capacity for that Mass has been reached. We recommend you select the other Mass if there is still capacity or watch the Sunday online Mass.
- For those who do not yet want to attend an in-person Mass, the parish now offers an in-person Communion service from 3-3:30 pm on Sundays in front of the church or in the Gathering Space, if the weather is inclement. Please wear a face mask and read more about the Communion Service on our Reopening Our Parish page.
Please do not forward this e-mail, as the recipients of your forwarded e-mail will have the option to unsubscribe you from receiving Flocknotes or inadvertently sign you up for another Mass time. If you know of a parishioner who would like to receive Flocknotes, please share our web site address,
http://www.sfadw.org, where they can sign up from the homepage.
Thanks for your patience and understanding. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Yours in Christ,
Fr. John