St. Bernard Parish

Click and read this newsletter for the "Responsible Return Guide" and all the latest news from both parishes.

Click here for our LIVE-streamed and archived Masses and other liturgies that happened during Holy Week and the stay at home order!

St. Bernard is open each day 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for personal devotion.

May 14, 2020

Dear Members of St. Bernard & St. Mary Parishes,

It was with great sadness that I wrote a letter two months ago announcing that quite suddenly and without preparation, we would have to cease almost all publicly celebrated masses and limit our contact severely, including at parish functions and meetings. After we have all made sacrifices to “flatten the curve,” I write with great joy today to announce what is next, including that that we will be resuming the celebration of public masses on May 25!

Our HotMeals program returns even before that! On Wednesday, May 20, beginning at 4:30 p.m., our HotMeals will be distributed “to-go” from the State St. entrance of St. Bernard. The meals will then be served on the rest of the WEDNESDAYS and SATURDAYS of this month, and we should be back to the typical Wednesday and Sunday in June or July. The distribution takes place on Saturday instead of Sunday this month because there is not bus service yet on Sunday. We do not need registration, we just hand out dinners for those who are hungry. The food pantry at St. Bernard continues to distribute boxes of food on Thursday mornings from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. and sandwiches and fruit every weekday morning continue to be distributed from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Before explaining the restarting of publicly celebrated masses, I want to just mention a few of the things that we have been working on at the parish during the COVID restrictions. St. Bernard has begun the major phase of construction and fundraising to restore and recondition the exterior of our building. For some portions of our exterior, this is the first time in fifty years that it will have been adjusted and strengthened. This effort is absolutely necessary if we are going to continue to have the St. Bernard church building as we all know and love, and I haven’t heard too many speak up in favor of knocking it down and building a new one. St. Mary has recently been approved to begin a similar process of study and engineering and we will begin that as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway for new signs, landscaping and a professionally developed new alumni association for St. Mary School.

As I have said and will say many times, the Church is not just a building! In fact, it is most importantly a community! In the last week a committee of over 20 members of our parishes have been making CARE calls. CARE stands for Christ Allies (verb), Responds and Encourages. The goals of the calls are: to connect and/or stay connected as a parish community; to help people get through the covid-related restrictions and aftermath; to identify, assess and document needs that perhaps the community can help with; to update contact information, especially for future reference and communication as we go forward into “Responsible Reopening,” and to grow two-way communication between the parish administration and the members of the parish, especially with opportunities to respond to the parish’s needs and return to Mass. Just as our physical stones need re-adjustment to function well, we need to form intentional connections to each other if we want to work well together as the “living stones” of God’s holy Temple. In addition to making sure we had correct name(s), address, phone number and e-mail, we were also able to offer people a chance to volunteer with the building campaign in any way, made sure all knew that there is an online giving option via the parish websites, express that we still need financial support and see if there was any interest of remote/video prayer groups or support groups. We also gave the opportunity for people to share any other news or thoughts with me and the staff. If you did not receive one of these phone calls, you are probably not officially being counted as a member of St. Bernard or St. Mary! To formally register, please call 330-253-5161 or e-mail czerucha@stbernardstmary.org and give your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. It is SO important as we go forward into reopening and have other news to share that we have your correct contact information to be able to do so. You can always visit www.stbernardstmary.org to get the most up to date information and to watch weekend masses streamed live online.

Finally! The most important news!!! On May 25, you MAY begin attending daily Mass at St. Bernard. It will be at 9:30 a.m. that day, Memorial Day. Otherwise, it will be at 12:10 p.m. during the day as it had been before the COVID restrictions. On the weekend of May 30 and 31, St. Bernard and St. Mary will resume the normal weekend Mass schedule, including 8:00 p.m.! There is not an obligation to attend Mass, however. When Masses become obligatory again, probably months from now, we will update you. For those coming back to Mass beginning on the 25^th, there will be a number of safety precautions: wearing a mask at church at all times, 6 feet of social distance in every direction, hand sanitizer available at all doors, no hymnals, a more organized dismissal process and a revised method of taking the collection. Families will not need to keep distance from their own family members, just 6 feet from other families or individuals not in their own family.

Beginning on the weekend of May 16 and 17, and every weekend after, we will have a drive0thru communion distribution, where you won’t have to leave your car. All communion ministers will have masks on and use hand sanitation. The times for “drive-thru” communion will be from 5:45-6:15 p.m. on Saturday evening and 11:10-11:45 a.m. and 1:40-2:30 p,m. on Sunday afternoon at St. Bernard and from 10:10-10:45 a.m. at St. Mary. The assumption is that you attend Mass via radio, television or online prior to driving to church to receive Holy Communion. Perhaps the older members of the parish or those at risk will prefer this option if they want to receive Holy Communion but still find attending Mass in person too risky. There will also be an opportunity to drop off a contribution and receive bulletins and other news in these lines.

Fr. Frank and I continue to offer COVID-respectful confessions in an open space in St. Bernard church every Saturday from 3:00-4:00 p.m. by the Blessed Mother’s statue. We priests have also been meeting parishioners in a safe way for the sacrament of Reconciliation when they call and make an appointment for it. St. Bernard church is open every day for personal prayer from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. The eucharistic chapel in the lower lot is always accessible if you call the office to get the code. Also, both parishes are broadcasting weekend Masses online on at the website main page: www.stbernardstmary.org. We will continue to do all of these things for as long into the foreseeable future as necessary.

If you know someone who is in dire need, anyone who has an emergency need for the Sacrament of the Sick, Confession or Holy Communion, contact the office and ask for Fr. Chris or Fr. Frank.

I look forward to facing whatever comes next with Christ and with you as together we are “one body, one spirit in Christ.” Stay Safe, but in your own way, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!”

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