From Our Pastor: Big Win & Return To Mass
Big win! This last week the City Council voted unanimously to pass our ordinance to give us ownership of the block of College from 18th to 17th street. This has been attempted multiple times before in the history of the parish and always met some roadblock. I cannot thank enough all those who gave me guidance in this process, as some of them desire to remain anonymous. Their countless hours of calls and letting me know who to talk to next was what made this possible. Their witness of stewardship and discipleship is astounding to me. I want to thank our Alderman Jeff Bergman and Dave Bauer for their guidance and support, especially when it came down to the final moments, they were a huge help. We do not know when construction will begin, but when the plans are finalized and construction is forthcoming, I will let everyone know in the bulletin and publish the plans again. I am very excited about this.
As we return to Mass, we need to continue to be welcoming to everyone that is here, especially for the first time. This parish has been outstanding since I have arrived with being welcoming to Fr. David and myself. We must continue that practice especially with those who are returning after being away during COVID. I want to remind everyone that the side aisles are for those who choose to be socially distancing. Please leave them open if you are not concerned about continuing to socially distance, EVEN if this is your "normal" spot to sit. We must leave some spaces left for those who do need to social distance to feel comfortable in returning. As we return to some normalcy, we need to make sure we don't return to bad habits, most especially chewing gum and leaving early before the priest processes out. Chewing gum breaks the fast making you not be able to receive communion, most especially because we don't chew Jesus in the Eucharist into our gum. Leaving early from Mass for any reason is not acceptable without speaking to the pastor. Generally, if you need to leave Mass early, then you need to go to an early Mass. Mass should be the priority of your week, not something that is fit in. Leaving Mass early is having the most intimate moment a person can have in life, and immediately getting up and walking out on the person. Besides the fact that you are also missing the community aspect of speaking to and seeing others after Mass. If you believe you need to leave early, you need to speak to the pastor about it. If you need a more in-depth explanation, I would be glad to explain.
Lastly to facilitate the return back to Mass for those who should be returning now that the Bishop has lifted the dispensation for most, we are going to cease the livestreaming of Mass. We may return to live streaming regularly again once our system is installed, but we need to encourage most to return to Mass in person. For those who are homebound or hospitalized or still dispensed, please remember that there is a local Mass that the Knights of Columbus provide on KHQA every Sunday morning. Thank you to them for their continued efforts to make that possible. Thank you also to Jared Holbrook for his tireless service to the livestreaming efforts. I hope he enjoys some much-needed vacation time after his immense dedication to this. Again, if you need to speak to me about a dispensation from Mass in person for some medical reason, please do not hesitate to talk to me about your need. The pastor is always allowed to dispense from Mass if there is a pastoral need. Otherwise, I am eager to finally get to meet many whom I haven't had the pleasure to meet yet! Very exciting times here at St. Francis Solanus!!
Rev. Steven Arisman