You may have heard that Her Majesty’s Government, in partnership with Public Health England, have agreed to allow us to celebrate Mass with parishioners present, but only under very specific and rigid conditions. This is not a return to normal Sunday Masses at all, but only another stage as we go forward with the presence of the Covid 19 virus still among us.
The obligation to attend Mass on a Sunday is still suspended and does not apply. But it will now be possible to attend a Mass, not necessarily on a Sunday, and to receive Holy Communion. We will be spending the next few days working out how best this will be possible for us here in our joint parish of Bishop’s Stortford. There will also be a special local meeting of priests on Tuesday with Bishop Paul, our assistant Bishop for Hertfordshire and myself as the local Dean. At that meeting the priests will all learn more and be better able to go forward in their Parishes with decisions for this next stage of things.
These public Masses will be subject to the usual very limited seating arrangements of 2 metres apart etc., will have no singing at all, no sign of Peace, only receiving the Host at Communion, have fewer readings and no Bidding Prayers. It is seen as important that people stay in the restricted space of the Church for as short a time as possible at the moment. As we move on in the next few months I am sure things will continue changing and becoming easier, but for the moment the rules are still going to remain very strict.
So, please, don’t just turn up for Sunday Mass, at the usual old times thinking the church will be open, until we know for sure what is happening. The streaming of weekend and weekday Masses will continue since, at St Joseph’s, we still have around three weeks of work to do for the installation of the new heating.. As I said, this is not a return to normal but simply, for the moment, another stage on the journey out of this viral pandemic.
Nevertheless it will be wonderful, in due course, to be able to celebrate Mass with some of you present and to be able to distribute Holy Communion.
Fr Peter