Last weekend, Fr. Lou spoke after the conclusion of the live-streamed Masses about the current state of our parishes and our plans for how we will continue to adapt and adjust to the Covid-19 crisis. 

This is a summary of his remarks.

Our three churches are closed, but the parishes of St. Anne’s, St. Anthony’s, and Our Lady’s are open and operating. Pastoral and office staffs are still at work—most of us working from home. Personally, I go into the Cluster pastoral office in Westbrook about once a week to pick up mail, get a few things from my office, and water my plants. While the pastoral offices are closed to parishioners, the phones and emails are still being answered—if not in person, at least an opportunity to leave the message and we will follow up in a reasonable time. The best way to communicate at this time is through email. 

Ministry is still being done—as you will see below. Masses are being live-screened from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church seven days a week on the www.maineneedsfatima.org site, as well as several social media platforms including Facebook YouTube. Daily Mass, Monday through Friday at 8 a.m., Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. Walk-up, outdoor opportunities for Confession are available at two sites: Our Lady’s and St. Anne’s. BACKYARD CONFESSIONS IN WINDHAM: Penitents enter the backyard of the rectory from the handicapped parking lot by the rectory garage. Fr. Lou hears confession from his screened porch of the rectory every Saturday from 3:00-3:30 p.m. WALK-UP CONFESSIONAL WINDOW IN GORHAM: Lower level of church building—Fr. Cartwright will be inside the left window of the lower church (hall) entrance, and a tent is provided for penitents outside of the window every Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (through church window) is currently offered every Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at St. Anne’s, and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Our Lady’s in Windham.

The number 1 question I hear is, “When will our churches reopen.” And as you can probably guess, my number 1 answer is “I don’t know.” But, I don’t’ think it will be any time soon (not in the next few weeks, at least.) At any rate, it’s not the decision of the pastor. We will need two approvals before we can reopen: one from Governor Mills, and one from Bishop Deeley. So, even if the State allows churches to reopen, we’d still need the approval of our Bishop. I anticipate that when we are permitted to reopen, it will be done gradually, in phases. So, I don’t expect that we will have, or even be allowed to have full churches the very weekend we reopen. I anticipate that when this happens, we will still be restricted on the number of people permitted in the church at one time, with regulations on how appropriate social-distancing seating arrangements will need to be implemented. 

That said, we need a two-pronged approach at this point. On one hand, we need to arrive at some additional ways to reach out to more parishioners in creative ways at the present time, anticipating that we will be doing this for at least the next weeks ahead. On the other hand, we also need to plan for the more distant future when we will be able to begin the reopening process.

Our immediate plans for expansion of Mass ministry involve a “Drive-in” Mass at St. Anne’s in Gorham from the upper deck of the rectory. Fr. Cartwright will offer two weekend Masses; a Saturday vigil Mass and a Sunday Mass from the deck of his rectory. Parishioners are asked to remain in their cars during the Mass. Attendees will receive a spiritual Communion. There are a number of logistical (sound, traffic, parking, and construction) and staffing things that need to be worked out before we can begin this initiative—hopefully within the next three weeks. Stay tuned for more information. 

This weekend, Fr. Cartwright will preside at the 4pm live-streamed Mass, and I will preside at the 8am live-streamed Mass.

On Sunday, May 3, a one-time additional Family Mass will be live-streamed at 9:30 a.m. which will be especially focused on our children’s faith formation. Parents will hear some reassuring words from our Parish Catechetical Leader. Readings will be from the children’s lectionary and the homily will be directed at children and their parents. Immediately following the Mass, there will be a live-streamed May crowning.

Now for future plans…

Once we can reopen, it is likely that we will have some limitations imposed as to how many parishioners may be in the church at any one occasion. The number that seems to be suggested at this time is 50—although it can well be less or more. We have to develop a plan for seating as well that conforms to responsible social distancing. We currently offer 7 weekend Masses, and could temporarily schedule one additional weekend Mass (each priest is permitted to celebrate a maximum of 4 Masses per weekend). So, if limited to 50 people per Mass, we could reasonably accommodate 400 people on a weekend, providing they are evenly divided. That is far below the total number of parishioners attending weekend Masses in our cluster on an average weekend, but it’s a significant start. It’s likely that a number of our parishioners will not be able to physically join us initially because they are in a high-risk group, or are simple reluctant to resume social contact so soon. We might also be able to expand our capacity by directing overflow attendees to parish halls, physically separated from the church, for a live-stream of the Mass (two of our churches already have this capability) provided we limit attendance to whatever the directive dictate. Another way of expanding capacity is to offer evening Masses on Wednesdays through Fridays at our churches. In such a scenario, the challenge and goal will be to spread out the crowds over several Masses to comply with attendance limitations. It is also likely that we will continue our live-screened weekend Masses for a few weeks even after we reopen our churches to make Mass available for parishioners who are unable to be physically present. All surfaces, including pews, door handles, bannisters, etc. will need to be sanitized before the next Mass—and this will be a volunteer opportunity ahead since we’ll need much help here.

The distribution of Communion continues to be a problem. Certainly, I anticipate that it will be some time before the Cup will be offered. How the consecrated Host can be distributed in an approved, safe, and yet dignified manner is a difficult challenge. This might mean that we will have to resort to attending Mass, but not being able to receive Communion for a time. Certainly, the diocese will issue clear guidelines on this matter once we resume gathering for Mass.

Cluster First Communion and Confirmation was scheduled for June 14. This will most likely be postponed and rescheduled. It might mean offering multiple celebrations—each of our three parishes having their own, with limited attendance (candidates, parents and sponsors only) and a live-stream provided for the rest of the family to watch at home. Keep in mind, we won’t be able to reschedule First Communion until Communion can be received at Mass. In the meantime, we can now go ahead and celebrate the First Reconciliation of our First Communion and Confirmation candidates. There will be no group Reconciliation service. Instead, parents are asked to bring their child to one of the two Saturday outdoor, walk-up confession opportunities in Gorham or Windham over the course of the next few weeks. Please accompany your child to the window, your child to the priest and state his or her first and last names (so the priest can make a note of it for the certificate to be mailed you ), then back up enough to be out of ear-shot, but within sight of your child. Our catechists will be sending parents materials, including a sample examination of conscience, to prepare their children for Reconciliation.

Baptisms may take place, but since we are limited at this time to a total of only 10 people, a maximum of 8 family members, including parents and godparents, can attend (the priest and the baby account for two people). The anointings with oil will be omitted. A designated attending family member may live-stream the baptism to the rest of the family back home. Under these circumstances, parents may well prefer to delay the baptism for a while until attendance restrictions are lifted.

Everything above in respect to baptisms applies to funerals. So, attendees at funerals are limited to 9 if only a priest is present; 8 if funeral director is present; 7 if musician is requested…

The Sacrament of the Sick continues to be available on an emergency or critical basis. Portland hospitals are still being covered by the Catholic priest chaplains on call. Requests for anointings at nursing homes depends upon the policy and procedures of individual nursing homes—some may permit the priest to visit the patient while others will not. Priests can respond to at-home requests provided that the care-giver can adhere to distancing protocols.

We are most grateful to all of the parishioners who continue to financially support our parishes during this challenging time either though participating in the “We-Share” on-line giving program or by mailing in their offertory contributions. We are still paying parish employees, purchasing necessary supplies, and paying utilities fees, so your continued support is most appreciated.

Let’s all keep one another in prayer. Stay safe.

Fr. Lou