| Letter from Fr Mark McManus 26th June | ||||
| Dear Parishioners of St Joseph's & St Charles, | ||||
| Some good news!
St Joseph's will be available for the public celebration of holy Mass from Saturday, 4 July. Should the necessary conditions for the church to be open not be completed in time then I shall celebrate Mass outside at the following times:
I have attached A Message from the Metropolitan Archbishops of the Catholic Church in England on the reopening of our churches for public worship from, 4 July, and the Guidance for the Celebration of Mass that the Bishops' Conference have issued and which I have formally received today. What happens now? The following must still take place for the church to open: The necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the cleaning and opening of the church has to be delivered – it is due next mid-week. The church will need to be physically prepared (benches marked out of use, etc.) and then 'deep cleaned;' once dried, the benches and other surfaces people might come into contact with, will have an anti-viral agent applied. The church has to be inspected and approved for opening by the diocese. There is a meeting at St Joseph's church (appropriately socially distanced) next Monday, 29 June, at 7.00pm, for any who wish to help with cleaning & stewarding. Please see the newsletter for details and restrictions. N.B. Even when we return to church, the toilets, undercroft and piety stall will be out of use at all times and only authorised persons may enter the sacristy. There has been no further progress this week with regard to the repair work to the church ceiling at St Joseph's. We await the necessary materials. Remember, when we do return to the church we must still practice social distancing. I intend to follow Option 2 with regard to the national guidelines on the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass and I shall have more detail for you in the coming week. For now, could you please pass on the basics to anyone you know who does not have access to the internet. Thank you. I am sorry that we cannot yet open the church of St Charles but a good number of our churches are not yet able to open even after 4 July. We must have patience. Finally, I attach our weekly newsletter. Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us. St Joseph, pray for us. St Charles Borromeo, pray for us. With my prayers, Fr Mark McManus |
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