Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Gregory’s,
In contrast to Lake Woebegone, where every week is a quiet week, it has been a busy week here at our parish.

The good news is that we are ready to reopen our church for private prayer. The church has been thoroughly cleaned and, in accord with diocesan guide-lines, the hymnals have been removed and votive candles covered over. Pews have been marked off with tape to indicate places where visitors may sit or kneel. Each place is marked with a cross. Visitors may enter by way of the front entrance and must exit through the back door through the adoration chapel. No more than ten visitors will be permitted to be present in the church at one time. Every visitor must wear a facemask. Hand-sanitizer dispensers are affixed to the walls in the Gathering Space and Adoration Chapel. It is recommended that they be used upon entering and departing. No one who is feeling unwell should seek to enter the church. And each visitor is requested to spend no more than 20 minutes in the church at one time to allow for a constant flow of visitors. Only private prayer, no common recitation of devotions such as the rosary.

Please keep in mind that our outdoor shrines are always open for visitors; and they are quite beautiful at this time of the year.

We have recruited “ushers” to monitor the visiting. They will have received training and written procedures. Please respect them, especially if one tells you that you must wait to enter until someone leaves.

During the week I met with our Parish Pastoral Staff and Zoomed with Parish Planning Council. In consultation with them, it as been decided that the church will be open for private prayer from 12:30pm until 3:30pm on every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. If the need to accommodate more visitors arises, we will consider adding days. And live-streaming of Mass and devotions will continue.

Our secretarial staff is gradually returning to work. One will be on duty from 9:00am to 4:00pm Monday through Friday. We ask that you make an appointment if you wish to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This can be done anonymously. Confessions will be heard in the Adoration Chapel, accessed through the back door when the church is not open to visitors and Mass is not being live-streamed.

St. Gregory the Great Catholic Academy will hold Graduation Exercised on-line. There will be a live prayer service and awards ceremony on Thursday, June 11th and a pre-recorded Graduation Ceremony on Friday, June 12th. Congratulations to all our Graduates.

Fr. O’Connor, our new pastor, attended the Staff meeting and participated in the Planning Council meeting. I hope to introduce him to you at a live-streamed Sunday Mass later in June.

Once again, I thank you for your generosity to our parish and request that you continue it.