Covid

Updated October 31, 2021
The following protocols are in effect in order to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 and maintain a safe environment for our parishioners and guests:

• Masking and maintaining social distancing are optional for those who have been vaccinated.
  • The Diocese of Davenport urges “that masks be worn by everyone (over the age of 2) at any indoor gathering or public space, including the liturgy.”
  • Clergy and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion will wear masks while distributing the Blessed Sacrament.
• Those who have not been vaccinated are asked to continue to wear facemasks and maintain social distancing at Mass.
• The parish will NOT ask anyone to reveal whether or not they have been vaccinated.
• Regardless of your vaccination status, for those who prefer to continue to maintain social distancing, a section of the church will continue to be reserved in which every-other-pew has been roped off. We are making this space available for those who would feel more comfortable with a little extra room. We do expect that anyone who sits in this section, whether or not they have been vaccinated, will wear a facemask.
• Reception of the Blessed Sacrament on the tongue is permitted, but those who have not been vaccinated are asked to wait until everyone else has received before presenting themselves for Holy Communion.
• A word about the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation...
  • For the time being, Bishop Zinkula has opted to leave the dispensation in place. That said, if you feel comfortable going out to eat in a restaurant or going to the grocery store, I would say it is time to come back to Church! Time spent at Mass is time spent with our heavenly Father. God forbid we get to the point where we think of time spent with our heavenly Father strictly in terms of an obligation!
  • In all things the virtue of Christian charity, which calls us to love God above all things and love our neighbor as our self, must be our guide and our standard. Christian charity means we will the good of the other. The way we respond to those who do or don’t wear a mask, do or don’t chose to maintain social distancing, and so on, is a very real and concrete opportunity to put the virtue of Christian charity into practice.