In his apocalyptic novel, Father Elijah, Michael D. O’Brien writes: “The loss of even one soul is catastrophic.” Sit with this sentence for a few moments. Pray with it. Think on it. Think about the catastrophic loss of 100,000 souls to the coronavirus. Think about those who die alone, grieve alone, and suffer alone. Think about families devastated by fear, grief, hunger, and financial ruin. My generation may have lived through 9-11, seemingly endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even the Great Recession, but nothing we have experienced prepares us for this crisis. And so far at least, the way forward seems fraught with difficulty, hardship, and even more suffering.

As I shared with you last week, Cardinal Sean O’Malley has asked every parish and collaborative to draft an individual plan to slowly and safely re-open our churches for moments of public prayer and worship. The archdiocesan guidelines are clear and strict. They limit the overall capacity of every church, require conscientious social distancing, and impose rigorous cleaning and safety practices. None of our churches can open for public worship until our local plan is reviewed and approved by our regional bishop.

Since last week, I have met twice with a working group comprised of fellow parishioners and pastoral team members who worship at both Holy Family Parish and Our Lady of Good Voyage Parish. I am grateful to Becky Carrancho, Robert Krause, and Rosa Ladd, along with Betsy, Cliff, Jane, Lucy, and Tom for their willingness to serve on this important committee. During our first meeting, we agreed that however much we long for the public celebration of Holy Mass, we cannot ignore three vitally important concerns:

• Our responsibility for the health and safety of all parishioners.
• Our responsibility to be good neighbors to the broader community.
• Our responsibility to communicate honestly about the risk of public worship.

Our working group is also mindful of the unique character of our parishes during the summer months. While many parishes slow down during the summer season, our parishes typically see a substantial increase in the number of people who worship with us. This blessing creates real challenges regarding how we can effectively communicate our limited re-opening plans to both short-term and long- term summer visitors.

Another serious challenge is church capacity. Archdiocesan and state government regulations strictly limit seating to 40% of overall capacity in each of our church buildings. At the same time, these regulations also require at least six feet of social distancing at all times. This latter requirement will make it impossible for us to accommodate everyone who wishes to join us for Mass. In order to comply with the social distancing requirement, we can seat safely only 28 parishioners in Saint Joachim Church, 28 parishioners in Saint Anthony Chapel, 36 parishioners in Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, and 56 parishioners in Saint Ann Church. Needless to say, this is a difficult and heartbreaking reality for a faith community that made All Are Welcome! a central component of its mission and vision.