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Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish: I am happy to report the good news that our convent, presently vacant, will be leased to the Archdiocese of Newark – Catechetical Office for two years to house five graduate student interns from the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life – Echo Program. The interns are being prepared to be the next generation of lay parish leaders to serve the Church. They will serve at Archdiocesan parishes in proximity to our parish. The interns will plan on arriving August 1, 2020. The lease proceeds will allow us to retain all costs for maintaining the building during the two years. Unfortunately, the remainder of the funds will be retained by the Archdiocese and applied against the significant debt the parish owes to the Archdiocese of Newark. If you have any questions or wish more information on the Echo Program, please see their web site: mcgrath.nd.edu/echo or contact me at any time. I have met a number of the interns at various parishes and they are wonderful young people filled with faith and hope in the future of the Catholic Church. Sincerely yours, Monsignor Christopher J. Hynes  I write to our parish about the need to wear a mask as you enter our church for Mass. The health and safety of all parishioners and priests is our most important objective. We do not know all the science about this deadly virus, however we are increasing being told that it has the possibility of lingering in the air where people gather and sit/stand for prolonged periods with limited circulation of air.
This weekend there were Mass attendees with no mask on as they entered church or not covering their nose/mouths throughout the Mass which is the purpose of the mask. At this morning’s Mass, (Monday, July 6) as I entered the church, four out of four people had no mask on. That’s 100%. May I please ask everyone to honor the request of wearing masks properly to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all our parishioners and the priests. Sincerely, Msgr. Christopher Hynes Weekend Mass Information – June 20 & 21
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, It has been a great joy this week with the resumption of weekday Masses in our Church. Everyone who has attended had their masks on and we socially distanced. It worked very well since our number of attendees was under the maximum allowed in Cardinal Tobin’s directive. The weekend will present us with a more complex dilemma scheduling four weekend Masses. Our parish staff has been working on this for a few weeks so that we are ready to open safely and following the guidelines. The parish is allowed a capacity of fifty (50) persons at each Mass. After consultation with our staff, we have decided on a first come basis for all Masses this weekend based on our summer Mass attendance in the past. We will reevaluate our procedures based on how this works. It is my hope that the number allowed to attend will increase quickly. Please note that all persons attending Mass must wear a mask and sit in front of the yellow markers in the pew. You will notice some changes with regard to limited music, no processions, collections baskets in the rear of church for your offering, and two communion lines with reception of the Holy Eucharist in the hand only, the priests will enter/depart from the sacristy and bulletins may be picked up when leaving Mass. Let us be thankful that the “Eucharistic fast” has ended and that overtime we will return to the beautiful liturgies of our parish in the past. Sincerely yours in Christ, Monsignor Christopher J. Hynes |
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