As I sit down to write this column (on Wednesday), my mind is on the latest easing of pandemic restrictions from the CDC. (Would it be impolite to holler “YAY!!!”…?)
The latest guidance tells us that, for those who were completely vaccinated at least two weeks ago, it’s not necessary to wear masks outdoors in uncrowded situations. Indoors, however, mask-wearing and six-foot social distancing remain the norm. So, at liturgies at Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish, we’ll continue to adhere to the standards of mask-wearing and social distancing (and we’ll keep looking forward to the day – soon, we hope! – that these guidelines will be relaxed).
This is an approach that I’m sure is unpopular with some folks. “That organization over there isn’t doing it!”, they cry. “But… this parish over here isn’t social-distancing!”, they assert. You know the old saying – put three people in a room, and you’ll get five opinions about how to do something. The truth is, however, that our policies aren’t governed by the personal opinions of anyone here – even the personal opinions of Fr Thom or me! We’re a parish of the diocese of Pittsburgh and therefore, we follow the policies and guidelines set by the diocese of Pittsburgh. As my sainted grandmother would remind me, when I complained about a decision I didn’t like, “if all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you?”
I’m encouraged that we’re seeing many restrictions lifted and others eased. We’re getting there! We’re making progress! And one day soon, we’ll be “back to normal.” In the meantime, we’ll continue to take the precautions that the diocese has set for our parishes – whether or not others are doing likewise!
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Along those lines, I’ve been asked about whether the Mass schedule will change. As you might recall, we instituted an “interim pandemic Mass schedule” last June, following the lockdown. That schedule took into account the numbers of parishioners who indicated that they were interested in returning to church for in-person attendance of Mass. It also took into account the amount of time it would take between Masses to sanitize the seating areas and to let them dry. Here’s where we are today:
When the diocese updated the seating capacity limits to “up to 75% capacity, as long as six-foot social distancing continued to be observed”, we increased capacity to allow seating in half of our pews. Since that time, we’ve noticed that the number of RSVPs that are placed for Mass attendance is only around 70% of capacity, and even when “walk-in” traffic is considered, we’re not filling up all our spaces. (Even when we fill up at the 9am or 11am Mass, our ‘overflow’ plan is to invite people to watch the livestream from their cars, and then come inside to receive Communion at the regular time in the Mass.) So, by and large, it seems to us that our approach is providing sufficient opportunities for parishioners to attend Mass. Through the remainder of May, if you would like to ensure that you’ll have a seat in church for Mass, we encourage you to “save your seat” by browsing to www.cdsmph.org/rsvp or calling our parish office (412-373-0050) between 10am and 1pm, Mondays through Fridays.
What about the Mass times that we’re offering? If you’ve noticed, we allow 2-3 hours between Masses on Sunday, in order to give sufficient time for sanitizing between Masses. Recently, the CDC relaxed the requirement to sanitize after every use; the requirement is now to “clean daily”. We’ve noticed that the 11:30am Mass time is our most poorly-attended Mass time. We’ve been wondering whether it would make sense to move our ‘late morning’ Masses to a time a little earlier in the morning. We’ll keep looking at the question, and I anticipate that we’ll make decisions later this year, after we’ve completed our process to plan for the future of our parish. Once we have clarity around our path moving forward, it will make sense to revisit the question of our weekend Mass schedule. I expect we’ll begin addressing that question in late summer.
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What about our “RSVP” program? Some have expressed displeasure with the approach of asking you to “save your seat” prior to Mass. Is it something that we, as Catholics, are unaccustomed to doing? Absolutely. Is it something that just plain feels ‘weird’? No doubt! Some have even told us “I’m not coming because I refuse to make a reservation!” (One wonders whether they make appointments to visit their doctor or to go to restaurants!) Nevertheless, we instituted the “save your seat” program in order to meet two goals: to allow us to contact you if someone contracted COVID and were present at a Mass that you attended, and also, to allow you to know that there would absolutely be a seat saved for you at Mass.
The RSVP program has been successful in meeting its goals. Nevertheless, the time to consider whether it continues to be necessary has arrived. We’re no longer attempting contact tracing, and – as mentioned above – are Masses are generally not filled to capacity. At this point, we’re thinking that we’ll phase out the RSVP program beginning in June. So, we’ll continue to ask that you consider “saving a seat” for weekend Masses in May.
Those who arrive for weekend Masses in May without an RSVP will be asked to wait until we’ve had the opportunity to honor all those who previously “saved a seat” for that Mass; at that point, we’ll seat everyone waiting to be seated, up to the capacity of the church.
Please continue to support our parish through your prayers and generosity! Christ the Divine Shepherd, have mercy on us! St Bartholomew, St Bernadette, St Gerard Majella, St John de Brebeuf and companions (the North American martyrs), St Michael, and St Susanna, pray for us!
Blessings,
Fr Larry
