Moving Forward Into The Deep

Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Our Blessed Mother is a woman of many titles. On this day, we acknowledge her intercession with the Rosary. With every Hail Mary, we say, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” And we pray in this fashion all the while reflecting on the mysteries of Jesus. In this prayer, we also bring our own mysteries and ask the intercession of our Lady. 

If ever there was a time for us to seek the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary it is now. In this time of a new beginning as a parish coupled with the ongoing pandemic on the threshold of a major election, we need our Blessed Mother’s grace. I invite you all to make every effort individually and as a family to pray the Rosary. Let us not discount the power of Mary’s grace. Our Lady of the Rosary pray for us!

In the fifth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus instructs Simon Peter and the disciples to go out into the deep and lower their nets. Peter and the disciples at this point are exhausted because they have fished all night long and they all they have to show for it are empty nets. Nevertheless, even in their weariness, they all respond. Amazingly they caught so many fish that their nets began to rip and tear. This call to enter into “the deep” becomes a defining moment in their relationship with Jesus as Jesus gives to them a charge. He says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10)

The time in which we find ourselves is unprecedented. We not only find ourselves in the midst of change with our sense of church, but this is all happening in a time of pandemic that has yielded great and inconvenient changes with restrictions, closures, social distancing and masks. Protocols and guidelines have been put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus which has resulted in over 35 million cases worldwide and over 1 million deaths. In the United States alone, there are a reported 8 million cases with over 214,000 deaths. Every day the numbers increase globally and within our native land. (Stats from Worldometer)

Needless to say, this whole experience has been a call into the deep. The “deep” is dark, unknown, mysterious, uncertain, inconvenient and so complex. As human beings, we have felt the reality of physical distancing and isolation in this time. At the same time, we all have experienced the gulf in viewpoints regarding the virus and how best to address it. I know as a leader, I have witnessed the gamut. There has been a range of opinions and viewpoints. Even within families and staff, there are great differences of opinion in terms of how to proceed.

When I arrived at Saint Aidan to begin my service as pastor, all that was in place was a daily virtual Mass. Since my arrival, we have to the best of our ability continued live streaming the Masses. In addition, we have added daily Mass at 8:00 am indoors. We have resumed funerals and weddings in accord with guidelines. We have also celebrated Baptisms individually with families. Moreover, we satisfied nearly all of the outstanding First Holy Communions. Currently, we are in the process of satisfying Confirmations. We also have weekly Holy Hour indoors. In all of these cases when the Saint Alexis Church is used it has been cleaned and sanitized according to CDC guidelines. We also continue to make available every Saturday or as needed the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

All in all, we are doing our best to continue being the Church and make Jesus present in people’s lives while at the same time being prudent and vigilant with regard to COVID-19. I am very grateful to our staff, volunteers and faithful for all of their cooperation and trust in these efforts. While this has not been an easy time given all of the restrictions and viewpoints, I believe regardless of our situation or views we have worked together to be the Church.

In the wake of Bishop Zubik’s recent announcement giving parishes permission to proceed with 50% capacity in their church buildings I reached out to the Saint Aidan COVID Task Force comprised of Fr. Will, Deacon Jeff, Chuck Goetz, Walt Opiela, Leslie Mitros, Rebecca Witt, Donna Bartlett, Marty Heim, Concetta Slanders, Dr. Marion Marquis and Jack Schuler for their feedback. After all of our consultations and discussions the Task Force was evenly split on whether to reopen the church buildings.

Keep in mind that some time ago both church buildings were measured for capacity allowing for six feet social distance. Because this number did not change, the increasing of capacity to 50% does not allow for any more people within our church buildings. Saint Alexis can occupy 90 people while Saint Alphonsus can house 82. Nevertheless, half of the group called for the reopening of the church buildings while the other half wanted to maintain the status quo.

As pastor, I have been reluctant to reopen our buildings because due to the limited capacity, we would have to turn people away. I do not believe any Catholic in good standing with the Church should be turned away from the Eucharist. The other reason I have held off is that the cleaning and sanitizing is a challenging and costly issue. The company who was cleaning our church on weekends can no longer do it. Finally, I have felt that given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the virus it is best to take the conservative approach. As a shepherd, I feel called to lead, to feed and to protect.

At the same time, I realize that many churches have begun having some Masses indoors. The lack of capacity in both of our churches presents challenges. What is more, at the present time until we have the infrastructure in place, we are unable to transition using the church buildings on Sunday. Nevertheless, I hear the cries of those who wish to return to church to have some “normalcy.” After much prayer and with trust in the Spirit I told the Task Force and I am announcing to you that I am amenable to opening both churches for a Sunday Mass once we meet the following stipulations.

1. The Task Force develops a plan under the direction of Chuck Goetz, Director of Parish Operations, that ensures all protocols and guidelines will be met consistently. There can be no shortcuts. If this is going to be done it has to be done correctly in accord with all protocols and policies in place. The distancing between pews of six feet is non-negotiable. The older part of Saint Alphonsus Church may need to have more space between pews because of their closeness.
2. The Task Force begins recruiting volunteers who will assume the roles of cleaning, sanitizing, scheduling, temperature checks and contact tracing. All volunteers must be in full compliance with the Safe Environment Program of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Until these volunteers are in place this proposed change cannot begin.
3.  A scheduling system of sign-ups needs to be devised that allows for rotation of attendees. Everyone should have the opportunity to attend a Mass indoors. With the small capacity it likely means that people cannot expect to be indoors every week. Keep in mind, to schedule all Masses indoors would necessitate an entire new schedule and would mean that we would have to turn people away from the Eucharist.
4. The current Mass schedule of outdoor Masses remains the same. The last thing we need in this turbulent time is to change the Mass schedule. Attendance has grown each week at the outdoor Masses. Many people feel safer worshiping outside in this pandemic. We are committed to current outdoor Masses (4:00pm Saint Alexis, 8:00am Saint Alexis, 9:00am Saint Alphonsus and 10:00am Saint Alexis) and have made provisions at both sites for the winter.
5. Once a plan is devised and approved, we will make the 7:00am Mass at Saint Alphonsus public with a capacity of 82 people. This Mass will continue to be live streamed. We will add a 5:00 pm Mass on Sunday at Saint Alexis Church with a capacity of 90 people. This Mass will have contemporary music. Essentially, this will leave us with the option of six Masses, one of which will be livestreamed, two of which will be indoors and four of which will continue to be outdoors. Canonically, we cannot offer any more than six Masses as there are just two of us priests. We are only permitted to offer a maximum of three Masses a day. The Holy Hour will revert back to Saint Alphonsus on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm.
6. All funerals, weddings and baptisms will continue in this time of pandemic to be celebrated at the Saint Alexis Church building. This arrangement will end when circumstances permit. 
7. There will be no indoor Masses for Christmas out of fairness to everyone. All Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses will be outdoors. 

With our limited staff it is very challenging in these times keeping one church clean and sanitized let alone two. While the Saint Alphonsus building presents some challenges in this COVID-19 time, I do not feel right only opening one church building especially as we continue to grow to be one family. We are all in this together as Saint Aidan parishioners.

I want to remind everyone that should we meet all of the stipulations and arrive at a point of having two Sunday indoor Masses there are risks. Any exposure to the virus will mean  n immediate two-week quarantine. Should Father Will and I be exposed, it will mean that the parish will not have its parish priests. For the safety of all, everyone must wear a mask and keep socially distant. If and when we move indoors for a Mass, it will likely mean that Deacon Al Heiles will be unable to join us as he continues to fight cancer.

It is important to note that parishes who have Sunday Masses indoors have faced some challenges with the enforcement of masks, social distancing and seating capacity. This is why before we embrace this possibility there needs to be a plan and all volunteers need to be properly trained.

The lack of consensus of the Task Force certainly adds to the complexity of this matter. In spite of my own reservations as well as those of half the Task Force, it is evident that there is a segment of people who desire the option to worship indoors on Sunday. As your clergy team and staff, we are here to meet your spiritual needs. We obviously cannot pretend that everything is normal, nor can we move all Masses indoors. We also cannot ignore the protocols and guidelines set forth. Nevertheless, as long as a plan is developed with volunteers from the parish to make this all happen each week, (this is what many other parishes do), we can at least have the option of a Mass in each church building on Sunday.

One of the primary responsibilities of any pastor, and or priest, is to bring about unity in the name of Jesus Christ. Our entire clergy team of Father Will, Deacon Al, Deacon Jeff and our parish staff are here to unite. While this is an increasingly challenging task in these days in which we find ourselves in “the deep” with so many perspectives and viewpoints, we remain steadfast in our commitment even in the face of great risk.

If you are interested in assisting the Task Force for any of the aforementioned tasks please contact Chuck Goetz at [email protected] I apologize for the length of the message, but I always want you to be informed. Clergy come and go, but this is your parish. Our Lady of the Rosary pray for us! Saint Aidan pray for us!

God bless you all!
Fr. Dave