Great news, parish family!

Bishop Weisenberger has announced that parishes in the Diocese of Tucson may now  move forward to Phase 2 beginning October 10th as we emerge from the COVID-19 restrictions. In anticipation of this, St. Christopher Parish submitted and received certification for Phase 2 procedures on September 30th. What does this mean?

For parishioners, the three biggest changes from Phase 1 are that we may resume daily Mass, we will now receive Holy Communion during the ordinary course of the Mass rather than upon leaving, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation may now be held indoors. The details are below, and many of the important safety procedures are still in effect. The Sunday Mass Obligation remains suspended for all persons living in or visiting the Diocese of Tucson, and all CDC-defined vulnerable parishioners are still urged to remain home and not come to the public gatherings. We must remind you there is still an inherent risk, regardless of age or health, in attending any public event, including religious services. While we will do everything reasonable to reduce the risk, there are no risk-free situations. A parishioner’s presence at a public event constitutes his or her understanding and acceptance of this level of risk.

Our daily Mass, Tuesday-Friday at 8:30 a.m. will resume next week, though on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, October 13-15, these will be Communion Services. Each Mass (or Communion Service) will be followed by a disinfection cleaning of the church interior, and then Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration. To accomplish this, we will need  more volunteers!

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We give thanks and praise to God as he carries us through this trying time to trust in him more than ever so that we return with more faith than ever! Here are the Phase 2 details, and I invite each of you to review them completely.

Your thankful Pastor,
Fr. Edson

• The Sunday Mass Obligation remains suspended for all persons living in or visiting the Diocese of Tucson.
• All vulnerable parishioners (those age 65+ with chronic health conditions) are urged to remain home and not come onto parish property.
• There is an inherent risk, regardless of age or health, in attending any public event, including religious services. While we will do everything reasonable to reduce the risk, there are no risk-free situations. Your presence at a public event constitutes your understanding and acceptance of this level of risk.
• In the church building, which has a normal capacity of 200, every-other pew is blocked, and seat numbers have been added at 6 foot intervals, limiting seating to 4 individuals per half-row (each side). This reduces the capacity to only 50 parishioners, or 25% of capacity per Mass. Couples or families residing together may sit together, which may increase the capacity slightly, but it will remain well below 1/3 capacity, or 67 people.
• A sign will be posted at the entry door, stating “When on Church property, all persons must wear a protective mask and maintain strict social distancing protocols; this entails maintaining approximately six feet of space between unrelated persons indoors as well as outdoors. All people who are sick or have symptoms of illness should go home.”
• The Sunday Mass schedule will remain as it is currently.
   Sat. 5:00 p.m. Vigil Mass (English)
   Sun 7:00 a.m. Mass (English)
   Sun 9:00 a.m. Mass (English)
   Sun 11:00 a.m. Mass (Spanish)
  No social gatherings will be allowed before or after Masses.
• Daily Mass on Tuesdays – Fridays at 8:30 a.m. are resumed. All protocols followed for Sunday Masses will be maintained for weekday Masses as well.
• A volunteer will be at the entry door for help and guidance and offering each person hand sanitizer. 
• A sign will be available for the entry door greeters to display at times when the Mass exceeds capacity. When all seating for a Mass is full, any more parishioners will be invited to attend a future Mass and turned away. Optionally, they may park in the parking lot, remaining in their cars, if they wish to watch the Mass streamed live on Facebook and receive Holy Communion afterward at the entrance.
• Face masks are required for every person on parish property age 6 or older. Anyone with a medical reason not to wear a mask may discuss it with Fr. Edson and may be granted permission to attend without a mask. They will be asked to sit in a more remote area of the church building. The Lector will be permitted to lower or remove his or her mask only for the proclamation of the Word. The microphone and ambo are sterilized between use by each minister.
• Our Holy Water fonts remain empty, and all missalettes, hymnals and Mass response cards have been removed. Singing of music is limited to one cantor and accompanist.
• Offertory is only collected as parishioners exit the building after Mass, and not by the traditional passing of baskets.
• Holy Communion will be now be offered during the ordinary course of the Mass. The faithful will remain in place as the Extra-ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion distribute the Eucharist by using the empty pews in-between the populated ones. The Body of Christ may only be received on the hand, and the Blood of Christ will continue to not be distributed. Holy Communion will continue to be available after each Mass, at the entrance of the church building to those participating in Mass at home. Distribution of Holy Communion will continue to be limited to Extra-ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and not performed by clergy.
• After the Sending, ushers will guide the faithful out of their pews at reasonable intervals to aid in maintaining social distancing.
• After Mass has ended, all surfaces will be thoroughly cleaned by volunteers in preparation of the next Mass before anyone is allowed in. The bathrooms and other surfaces that may have been touched or had close contact (i.e. microphones, any books used and other Mass items) will be cleansed prior to the next Mass. All cushions have been removed from the pews and our cushioned chairs have been replaced with plastic ones so that alcohol cleaner and wipes may be used to wipe down every surface. Cleaning will proceed according to the Maintenance Guidelines issued 5/20/2020.
• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will take place only on certain weekdays, following the 8:30 a.m. daily Mass. All protocols established for the Mass will apply to Eucharistic Adoration as well.
• The parish bulletin will be available only for self-pickup after each Mass.
• The Sacrament of Penance will now be offered in the Parish Activity Center, where up to ten people can be in line while still maintaining social distancing. As always, masks are required by all while on parish property. The area will be cleaned afterward.
• The protocols for Sunday Mass will be applied for all funerals, weddings, quinceaneras, and Confirmations (if any). Except for the liturgical event itself, no gatherings of any kind are allowed at the parish property for any of these events.
• Baptisms will be limited to 20 people. The families will be reminded that they should practice social distancing if not living in the same residence.
• The only parish “meetings” will be meetings with volunteers who are helping to accomplish the implementation of these protocols. Other meetings ordinarily held (i.e. Pastoral and Finance Councils, Bible Studies, Prayer Groups, and Adult & Youth Formation) are all transitioned to an online venue. Health protocols will be maintained when ever there might be a need for a small meeting.
• Any fundraising will remain focused on things that can be purchased remotely or in a drive-through sort of manner. This will remain until public gatherings for this purpose are allowed in a future phase.