1. Self-evaluate your health before coming to Mass
   Do not come to Mass if you feel unwell or have felt unwell in the past 14 days, even if you think it is only allergies. If you develop symptoms after making your reservation, please cancel your reservation and stay home. 
   
   
2. Sign up required
   Sign up for Mass ahead of time using our online Sign Up Genius or by calling the parish office (for both weekday Masses and weekend Masses).
   
   
3. Social distancing required
   Each person must remain 6 feet away in all directions from others not in the same household.
   
   
4. Face masks required
   Face masks are required for all over the age of two.
   
   
5. You are required to use hand sanitizer
   Ushers will spray disinfectant (mostly alcohol and comes from a distillery) on each person's hands when entering the church and before receiving Communion. You are welcome to bring your own hand sanitizer if you prefer.
   
   
6. Show up early and enter through ramp door
   Check in upon arrival, follow ushers’ instructions, and pay attention to floor and pew markers.
   
   
7. No congregational singing
   Singing increases the likelihood of transmission through emission of aerosols.

1. Safety and Hygiene in Our Worship Spaces:

ENTER THROUGH THE RAMP DOORS. 

• Doors will be propped open to minimize touch, and windows will be open windows to maximize air circulation.
• Only the ramp door will be available for entrance (Lexington door will also be available for exit).

FOLLOW BEST HYGIENIC PRACTICES.

• We require you to wear a face mask at our church.
• Ushers will spray disinfectant (mostly alcohol and comes from a distillery) on each person's hands when entering the church and before receiving Communion. You are welcome to bring your own hand sanitizer if you prefer.

LIMIT BATHROOM USE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

• The restroom in the ramp is the only restroom that will be available for use (restrooms downstairs will be closed).
  

WE WILL BE DILIGENT IN ENSURING OUR CHURCH IS SANITIZED.

• High use areas in the church will be wiped down with disinfectant before and after each liturgy--especially pews, chairs, ambos, handrails, doorknobs, and push plates.
• Restroom will be sanitized after each liturgy and at other regular intervals.
• Hymnals, missalettes, and other commonly held items (e.g. children’s toys) will be removed from the church during the pandemic.
• Altar vessels will continue to be washed after each Mass in hot soapy water.All liturgical vestments, including albs, will be regularly cleaned (weekly).

WE WILL BE WELL-PREPARED.

• We have a plan in place to ensure all staff and volunteers are thoroughly trained for their new responsibilities.
• We have a plan in place to ensure we have enough hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies in stock.
• We have a plan and technology in place to ensure we can continue live streaming our Masses.

2. Social Distancing: 

WE WILL NOT ALLOW OUR CHURCH TO BE OVER 25% CAPACITY.

• Sign up for Mass ahead of time using our online Sign Up Genius or by calling the parish office (for both weekday Masses and weekend Masses). 
• There will be a total of 36 family groupings slots available for each Mass--first come, first served. If you notice that slots are filling up quickly, and you have already attended an in-person Liturgy, consider waiting and giving others a chance to sign up.
• Check in with the usher at the ramp entrance upon entry. We encourage you to show up about 10 minutes early to ensure everyone is checked in and seated before Mass begins.

EACH PERSON MUST REMAIN 6 FEET AWAY IN ALL DIRECTIONS FROM OTHERS NOT IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD.

• We will tape off every three pews and put markers down the middle of each section of pews to signal where people may/may not sit. 
• We will place tape on the floor outside of the ramp door entrance to indicate where to stand while waiting in line.
• In the church, two ushers will be seating people from back to front.
• One usher will be present solely to ensure that people are following social-distance guidelines once seated.
• We will place tape on the floor outside of the restroom to indicate where to stand while waiting in line.

3. Celebrating the Liturgy: 

HYGIENIC PREPARATION FOR LITURGIES:

• Priests, deacons, and all liturgical ministers will wear face masks and use hand sanitizer before, during, and after Mass.
• There will be no altar servers, therefore the priest will wash his own hands. 
• The bread and wine will be kept from public areas (brought to the altar from the credence table). 
• We will use larger hosts to reduce the likelihood of contact between minister and communicant. 
• We will consecrate enough hosts for all the faithful. The priest will consecrate and consume a small presider host. Other hosts on the altar will be kept distant on a corporal to minimize his breathing on them.

MEASURES TO ALLOW FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING BETWEEN PRIEST AND MINISTERS DURING LITURGIES:

• We will create distance between the Presider’s Chair and other seats in the sanctuary.
• Liturgical ministers in the sanctuary will remain more than 6 feet apart and will wear face masks when distributing Communion.
• The lector will sit in the chair furthest from the presider.
• The cantor will proclaim the psalm from cantor mic (not the ambo).

ADJUSTMENTS TO NOTE:

• Mass will be shorter than usual as a shorter time together is safer. 
• The opening announcement will include helpful reminders with clear procedures and expectations. 
• There will be no congregational singing.
• There will be no Sign of Peace. 
• Collection baskets will be placed at exits, rather than passed during the offertory. After you receive Communion, you may make your deposit into baskets.
• After Mass, ushers will be dismissing people row by row.

HOLY COMMUNION

HOW IT WILL WORK:

• Ushers will point you to the correct Communion station when it is time for your section to receive.
• There will be floor markers at all stations indicating where to stand while waiting in line.
• Ushers will spray disinfectant (mostly alcohol and comes from a distillery) on each person's hands before receiving Communion. You are welcome to bring your own hand sanitizer if you prefer.
• Approach the Eucharistic Minister and extend both hands far in front of you. The minister will hold up the host and (through the face mask) say, “The Body of Christ.” You reply, “Amen,” step 6 feet off to the side, remove face mask, and receive Communion. 
• After receiving, depart immediately to either Ramp or Lexington exit, depending on which side of the church you receive Communion.

SANITARY MEASURES:

• The faithful must apply hand sanitizer before receiving Communion. 
• The priest or Eucharistic Minister will apply hand sanitizer when he/she arrives at his/her station and will be wearing a face mask.
• If a minister touches the hand or mouth of a communicant, immediately after distributing to that communicant, he/she will put their ciborium on the table and re-sanitize their hands before distributing to the next communicant. 
  

DAILY MASSES:

• Daily Masses will be celebrated in the main body of the church.
  
• Protocols for check in, seating, and distribution of Holy Communion will be the same as the weekend Mass protocols listed above.

Our return to public liturgies will undoubtedly be a joyous return to the Eucharist, to the Word proclaimed, and to Christ present in the assembly. However, the way in which we will be gathering will look quite different and possibly feel quite somber due to the limited capacity, the physical distance of families, no congregational singing, receiving the Blessed Sacrament after Mass, and having to leave immediately after. 

Though we will not be allowed to participate as “externally” as we would normally, we are still encouraged to nurture that “internal” participation that is so necessary in the Mass: To quiet our minds and join our prayers with the priest, to open our hearts to God’s Word proclaimed, and to let the Holy Spirit work in our imaginations and reveal to us the all-consuming love of God. 

Musicam Sacram, a document on sacred music which came out of the Second Vatican Council states, “The faithful fulfill their liturgical role by making that full, conscious and active participation which is demanded by the nature of the liturgy itself and which is, by reason of baptism, the right and duty of the Christian people. This participation should be above all internal, in the sense that by it the faithful join their mind to what they pronounce or hear, and cooperate with heavenly grace. However, on the other hand, external also, that is, such as to show the internal participation by gestures and bodily attitudes, by the acclamations, responses and singing. The faithful should also be taught to unite themselves interiorly to what the ministers or choir sing, so that by listening to them they may raise their minds to God” (article 15).

Let us take this time during these simplified liturgies to practice our interior participation and to “cooperate with these heavenly graces” given by our loving God. In doing so, we will be ready to come that Eternal Banquet that God sets before us in the Eucharist!

As part of our ongoing commitment to each other's safety, we ask that, if you test positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of having attended mass or otherwise been on the STM campus, you notify our COVID-19 Preparedness Plan Administrator, Carol Arend, at carend@morecommunity.org or call the parish office. Our Plan Administrator will take steps to notify other community members who may have been exposed, while guarding confidentiality to the extent possible. If you are notified that you have been exposed, please follow the current CDC Public Health Guidance for Community-Related Exposure.