Greetings Church of the Good Shepherd,
I am so delighted to be among you as your new Rector! I am particularly grateful that we can gather for worship together outside (and on Zoom) this coming weekend.
After consultation with our Re-gathering Team, we have decided that our worship this Sunday will be a Celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Bishop Gates gave authorization back on August 6 for parishes to resume services of Holy Eucharist and it seems “a good and joyful thing” to be able to share this service together with you on my first Sunday. As with everything these days, there are many protocols and guidelines in place to ensure we can celebrate this sacrament safely and with the dignity and faithfulness it requires.
You can find all of the Diocesan guidelines at www.diomass.org. To summarize, here are the precautions and procedures we will be following:
Before the service, the Communion vessels will be thoroughly washed with soap and water. An adequate number of hosts will be placed in a covered ciborium (container) and will remain covered throughout the service. I will wash my hands thoroughly before the service and will sanitize my hands again immediately before distribution. At the time of distribution, I will carry the ciborium to each congregant at their seat and, standing at arm’s length, will drop a host into your opened palms using tongs. Hand sanitizer will be available to use before receiving the host. Once I have moved to the next circle, you may briefly lower your mask to receive Communion.
A small amount of wine will be consecrated in the chalice but will not be distributed to the congregation, per the Bishop’s guidelines. I will receive last and will consume the wine as a representative of all of you.
If you prefer not to receive Communion, you may cross your hands across your chest to indicate you prefer a blessing instead.
For those of you who will be participating on Zoom, we invite you to pray the prayer of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787)
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I love you above all things, and long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
This week, I will consecrate extra hosts that will be made available for those who intend to worship at home on November 1. We are still working out the details for how we will distribute these, so watch for further details about this early next week.
I look forward to worshipping with you all on Sunday.
Faithfully,
Rev. Ellie+