Dear St. Bernadette Parish Family members,                                                                               May 13, 2020

It's trite, but: "Long time, no see!" Finally  we have good news from Archbishop Carlson  and civic leaders that it is time to open up the doors of our churches after a two-month long shutdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For weekday Masses (Monday - Thursday) at 8:-00am, starting Monday, May 18^th

For weekend Masses: the usual schedule, starting May 23^rd - 24 ^th

4:00pm Saturday, and 8:00am and 10:30am Sunday

There are strict guidelines and protocols for all parishes to follow:

+ Social Distancing - staying 6 feet apart from people not in your own household. This applies also as you process up to receive Holy Communion. Ushers can help with this; there will be markers on the floor of the center aisle to help also.

+ Pews will be marked by green dots indicating where you can sit in order to keep social distancing. A couple can sit together at one spot. So please scatter evenly throughout the church.

+ Pews will have been wiped down with disinfectant before (and after) each Mass. Church door handles and restroom facilities will also be sanitized regularly. There will be hand sanitizer dispensers at the church entrances for use by members as they come in or leave.

+ Masks - Everyone attending Mass is obligated to wear a mask, except maybe when you are seated in your pew. This includes wearing a mask when you come up for communion; you only can pull it down for a moment to place the host you received in your mouth. Very young children could be an exception to the rule of wearing a mask.

+ Notice: No holy water at entrance fonts. No sign of peace.       No receiving the host on the tongue.      No communion from the cup. No need for extra communion ministers. No servers needed yet. No choir, only a cantor and music minister.

+ No missalettes or hymnals in the pews. We will try to sing hymns that we basically know very well and can sing along without a book. You will have to listen carefully to the scripture readings, or bring your own booklet or missal with the readings.

+ No collection baskets for offertory. Please place your Sunday offering envelopes or loose cash in the basket at the church entrance. Ushers will take care to keep this secure.

+ The priest and the deacon will not be available to greet people before or after Mass in the usual manner. It is also important that members not congregate in groups inside or outside church; just be sociable from a safe distance.

+ MOST IMPORTANT: Anyone who is ill, symptomatic, or has been exposed to someone else with the coronavirus within 14 days cannot enter the church. This is for the common good of maintaining the health of the parish family and preventing the possible spread of the virus. Those who are weak and elderly and those who have serious concerns should remember that Archbishop Carlson has dispensed all of the faithful from the obligation of Sunday Mass until further notice. We will continue to put our Saturday evening Mass on YouTube each week.

All of this sounds so strange and not good liturgical practice, but this is indeed a strange time for all of us and hopefully an experience we will never have to deal with again in our lifetime.

As the shepherd of the flock, I feel like I lost all my sheep. So I will be excited and joyful to celebrate the Eucharist again with at least a portion of my St. Bernadette Parish flock! God bless you and keep you safe and healthy!

  For a video tutorial visit the St. Bernadette Youtube channel or click the link below:

https://youtu.be/am3MpURk_L4

You can click on the link for this on our Parish Website, or type this link in:

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGfj7nDgJ4vAnL31_c-5Tlg