Masses and Classes
From the Spiritual Life meeting:
1. 4:30 and 8:30 Masses will be unchanged.
2. Sunday evening Mass will be 5:00 if: a. enough attendance (approx 80), b. we have lectors, servers, ushers, and communion distributors.
3. Sunday 5:00 Mass will be in PAC to provide full handicap access to parking and restrooms.
4. The second Sunday morning Mass is undecided, waiting for Religious Education Survey. Time will be 10:30 or 11:00.
Pastor's concern. Average weekend attendance in October was 440 people. If Sun 5:00 is not successful in drawing people, remaining 3 Masses do not have enough seating in the Church. The 10:30 or 11:00 in the PAC would increase our seating capacity.
The decision on time for the second morning Mass was deferred until a decision of class dates and time has been made (August 28).
posted by Father Patrick @ 7:57 AM
3 Comments:
I can't fathom that we have a large enough parish to get enough attendance at a 5:00 p.m. Mass. It ties up Fr. Pat's whole day with Masses on Saturday and throughout the day on Sunday. He'll be tied up with a schedule that will inhibit family gatherings and recreation on Sundays when his family is available.
For the choir and remainder of the parishioners who would assist at 5:30 Mass, I think Sunday evening will be an inconvenient time. It may disrupt plans made for the afternoon and/or evening on Sunday. I think it will be hard to find parishioners to volunteer.
While I "strongly" prefer that all Masses be in the chuch, I think we should have one Mass at the PAC to accommodate a larger crowd. It was my understanding that was a primary reason why we built the PAC.
Since many older citizens go to Mass on Saturday, that seems like a good time to have Mass at the PAC to accommodate their special access needs. However, it may be that the Masses with the greatest attendance on Sunday morning will be the ones where we need the additional space at the PAC.
My proposal would be a 4:30 p.m. Saturday Mass at the PAC, and 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Masses in the church. If there isn't enough space to accommodate the attendees on Sunday morning, then move one of the two Sunday morning Masses to the PAC. If the seniors and 4:30 attendees try out the PAC for 4:30 Mass and don't like it, move the 4:30 Mass back into the church.
Changing locations for Masses is probably not a simple thing, but it may be the best way to find out what works best for the parish.
By the way, Sunday morning is not a good time to schedule religious education. I think that should not be a factor in locations where we have Sunday Masses.
In conclusion, I'm okay with whatever you choose, Fr. Pat. Thank you for listening to us parishioners. You are our shepherd, and I'm sure you'll lead us well. May our Lord guide all of us to be Christ-like as we resolve our issues as a community.
Sunday Evening Mass is fine with me. I can find a substitute when I need to be away. Since I enjoy what I do and those who share it, all I ask is a little space between Masses.
The Sunday Evening Mass at PAC is preferred over Saturday Mass. Saturday evenings will be prime rental time. The access to restrooms and parking are an important consideration.
Anonymous makes a good point about possibly not finding enough people to attend 5:00 Mass on Sundays. I know I will not be able to attend at 5:00 on Sundays. However, some people might really like that idea. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. I'm sure by the surveys that were filled out that there must have been some interest in a 5:00 Sunday evening Mass.
I am assuming that the Folk Choir will still continue to sing every other Sunday at the 10:30 or 11:00 Mass, whatever the time ends up being. It was my understanding that the music for this Mass would be shared between the Folk Choir and Children's Choir. Is that still the case?
As for CCD on Sunday morning, I would really like to have it moved off of Sunday mornings (and yes, I already submitted my survey). If we moved all the classes to Wednesday evenings and can combine a couple of the classes (like K & 1st Grade and 3rd & 4th Grade) as mentioned previously to eliminate the need to rent out the Firehouse for overflow of classes, I think that would be fine. However, I really do not feel it would be wise to have spent all this money on a PAC and still have to rent out the Firehouse due to lack of space. That's just my opinion. If we are short on space, moving the younger P-1st grades to Saturday mid-morning would be a viable option. They'll only be there for a short time, and most wedding receptions or Saturday events would not take place until later. Just a thought.
Thank you Father Pat and everyone else for all of the thought going into this. If we keep praying, I'm sure a good solution will come forth. Keep the faith.
God be with you. :-)
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