March 21, 2020
Dear Parish Family,
I pray that this finds you and your loved ones healthy and well. The pace of recent events has overtaken our weekly bulletin, normally sent at this time, so we wanted to update you.
The past 10 days have been unprecedented. The anxiety and disruption unleashed by COVID-19 have upended our days, our schools, our workplaces, and our families. (Were the "good old days" of handshakes, classrooms and coffee shops just 10 days ago?)
Sadly, the virus has also upended the ancient practices of our faith in ways that none of us could have imagined, with public Masses suspended and our busy parish suddenly quiet. As
Archbishop Nelson Perez said this week, "Our Lenten journey has taken an unexpected turn."
But as we grieve what we've lost and grapple for footing on ground that keeps shaking, we must remember that our church is more than bricks and mortar; and our faith is more than rituals, beloved and sacred though they are.
God is always with us, through God's presence and through one another. While our communal celebrations are sadly on hold, the true Church -- the people of the Body of Christ -- is not closed. Our faith is deep; our mission, alive; and our determination to serve, stronger than ever.
This is how St. John's is serving at this time:
- Our church is open for prayer and visits from 9 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday and from 9 am to noon Sunday. Please follow all current health and safety guidelines, and allow each visitor plenty of space.
- The parish staff and I remain readily available to you by phone and email. Please reach out to us with any questions or needs.
- St. John's new Good Neighbor Ministry has a team of parishioners ready and willing to do grocery shopping and pharmacy pickups for isolated individuals who must remain at home. If you or someone you know is currently sheltering in place and needs these essential services, please don't hesitate to contact us.
- We will soon launch a phone network of parish volunteers to reach out to our retired, ill and medically vulnerable parishioners.
- Technology offers many wonderful ways to nourish your faith. We've seeded a new webpage, Our Faith Online, with some of our favorite TV and web places to view Mass, check out Fr. Brian Zumbrum's homilies, pray the rosary, get the daily Mass readings, or subscribe to daily devotionals by email. We invite you to share your favorite spiritual resources or practices with us as we build this new community together.
- We are exploring resources and options to record or livestream Masses from St. John's as soon as possible.
- We continue to provide much-needed meals for Aid for Friends and St. John's Hospice, serving our needy and homeless, and invite you to join us. Supplies and instructions are at the church exits. Please exercise the utmost care in food handling safety. Call or text Mary at (610) 955-3272 to arrange a time to drop off frozen meals at the Parish House.
- We continue to provide non-perishable food donations to The Bernardine Center of Chester. Bins are located at the rear church exits.
Lent is always a season of sacrifice and transformation, and never more so than this year. But while we do not know what is ahead of us, we know that Jesus is beside us as we walk this unsettling path.
We unite with the world in praying for all who are ill, for those lives lost, for all health-care workers, and for those suffering financially.
Let us dedicate this time in our homes to focusing on the care and prayer that will keep us healthy and strong until we are together again.
