An Important Message From Fr. Edwards.....

Dear Parishioners,

We are, at this point, troubled beyond belief at the toll this pandemic has taken on all of us – the loss of life, the impact on the economy, and the social isolation. While many have commented that they are enjoying our parish masses on YouTube, it is not the same as being in church together.

As you know, in the coming week our area will be moving to the “yellow phase” and we want to be prepared as a church community when this happens. This letter should give you some idea of what things will look like when we are able to resume public mass.

•  The daily mass will be held in church (or outside weather permitting) – one mass per day at 8am.

• Daily mass will be restricted to 25 people ( which includes the priest, deacon, etc) for the foreseeable future.

•  We are permitted to accommodate 25% of our seating capacity. In order to allow for social distancing, this amount to 100 people for our church. There will be 4 weekend masses: 4:00 pm on Saturday; 7:15 am,  8:30 am and 11:00 am on Sunday for the foreseeable future.

• Church doors will be unlocked 15 minutes before each mass.

• Face masks MUST BE WORN and designated seating will measure social distancing rules, as well as, allowing us to easily sanitize before and after mass.

• All of the front doors will be accessible to enter the church. To exit, however, you will use either of the two side doors. The doors will be opened to eliminate contact with door surfaces and keep traffic flowing! Please use these doors!

How will we determine who attends? It is necessary to begin with the parish celebrations that have been “put on hold” because of the virus. RCIA catechumens, RCIA candidates, and 8^th grade Confirmations students will be scheduled first. Please have patience as we try to get caught up!

What do you need to do?

• If you wish to be put on a “reservation list” for either a daily or Saturday/Sunday mass, we will need to know your mass preference. We will be using a website, signupgenius.com, for this purpose. To access the site, type signupgenius.com/go/904054ca4ad28a4fb6-mass1 and it will take you directly to our page. You can also go to the website, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Find a Sign Up”. You will need to enter Colleen’s email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This will also take you to our site. If internet is not an option, call Colleen, our parish secretary, at (570)335-8840 with your preference. You will be notified when open seats are available for mass. The family of the person for whom the mass is being offered will have first preference.

• Volunteers will greet you at the door, ask your name, current health condition, insure you are prepared with a mask, and explain seating protocol. Please follow the instructions and sit only on an X!

• We have a backlog of mass intentions previously scheduled but not offered because of the quarantine. These masses must be reassigned. You will be contacted if this pertains to you.

• There will not be an offertory procession during this phase in order to reduce the number of people who will have contact with the sacred vessels. The guidelines for the reception of Holy Communion will be explained to all during mass. We will have sanitizing stations available to you at the time of Communion.

As you can see, it will not be a quick return to normal. Given these restrictions, you will probably be able to attend mass only once in a while. Some parishioners may be hesitant to attend regardless of the size. This is understandable. Other parishioners, due to age or various health concerns are encouraged to please stay home. Remember there is no obligation to attend mass during the pandemic. Your health is very important to us. We will continue to provide mass on YouTube, on our website at www.marymotherofgodparish.org and also the FaceBook page.

God Bless,

Fr. Cyril D. Edwards

Pastor

 The Mass Video Series 

Our Word and Worship Coordinating teams created a video series to enhance our understanding of the most important prayer we have as Catholics - the Mass.                                                                                                               

 Our Parish Monthly Prayer Intention:   

For the month of June, please pray for prisoners from our parish and their families and for those confined to their homes or nursing homes.

THE DAILY MASS AND THE SUNDAY MASS ARE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE!!

Access the Youtube channel by clicking the icon on the side of this site

Mary, Mother of God Parish

Mary, Mother of God Parish is pleased to introduce “Enhancing Stewardship through Electronic Funds Transfer.” We have partnered with Parish Giving to offer this program to all of our parishioners.

It’s Simple

Log on to the Mary, Mother of God website www.marymotherofgodparish.org and click on the Parish Giving Logo (small icon on the side of page) and follow the easy registration instructions.

It’s Secure

Parish Giving is Payment Card Industry compliant and uses the strongest TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption technology available.

It’s Convenient

No more searching for the checkbook or Sunday morning stops at the ATM machine.

Tax benefits

You will be able to print out a report detailing your contributions for the year.