Father Farren and Father Mailey will return to saying daily mass again this coming week. Commencing tomorrow with 9am mass in Iskaheen and 10am in Drung.
Next weekend will see a return to normal mass times at all three churches in the Parish. However, these will all now take a very different form. With physical distance still very much in place, it is important that people continue to adhere to the public health guidelines when coming to mass.
Families will be allowed to sit together, but if coming alone, you must sit at the allocated distance from others. This will obviously all serve to accommodate a much lesser congregation. Father Farren emphasised that people will be permitted to attend mass by sitting outside in their cars and coming to the chapel door then to receive communion.
All chapels will have stewards to guide and assist people as they come for mass. Everyone in attendance must give their name and contact number to allow for ‘contact tracing’ should someone develop symptoms of Covid-19. This will slow down the process of going into the church so perhaps arriving early might allow that to flow easier.
There will be an obvious number of changes to attending mass as we move forward, and it’s important that we as a Parish and community help this to work. Father Farren has suggested that people who attend mass on weekdays might stay home from mass on weekends. This will allow those unable to come on a weekday to be able to attend on weekends.
It is not mandatory but is advised that those attending mass wear a face covering/mask. It is mandatory that everyone shows respect for each other..
There are various ways in which we can all play our part to help a return to mass over the coming days and weeks. A lot of that will be using our common sense and showing respect to those around us. Father Farren has been a pillar of strength to our community and our diaspora throughout the Pandemic, so now we can give a little back to him by being respectful as mass opens up once again.
Father Farren has said that Web cameras are going to be installed to both Drung and Muff churches.
Everyone must be patient, respectful, helpful and adhere to the guidelines set out. As a community we have stuck together throughout these troubled months, so here’s to continuing doing such with this next stage.
GMcC