Weekly Update from Fr. Tom
December 4, 2020
 
Dear Friends,
 
New Information:
 
Christmas Mass Schedule and Protocols: Our Christmas Mass schedule will be the same as in previous years-
           Christmas Eve: 
4 p.m. at St. Paul Campus (this will not be a children’s liturgy)
           6 p.m. at St. Joe Hill;
           Christmas Day:
Midnight at St. Joe Hill
           10:00 a.m. at St. Paul.

Masks are required throughout all Christmas Masses.
 
Reservations are strongly encouraged as we only have seating for 130 people in our churches. If we reach capacity in our churches, we will have overflow seating available where you can watch the Mass on Livestream and Holy Communion will be brought to you. The overflow at St. Paul will be in the basement of Church; the overflow at St. Joe will be in the gym. As of 9:35 a.m. Friday these are the number of seats available in church for each Mass:
 
                         4 p.m. at St. Paul: 31 seats available
                         6 p.m. at St. Joe Hill: 53 seats available
                         Midnight at St. Joe Hill 48 seats available
                         Christmas Day 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul: 97 seats
 
Penance/Confession Schedule for Advent:  We will not be hosting an Advent Penance Service this year. In addition to our regular confession times (Friday 11:00-11:40 a.m. and Saturday 3:00-3:40 p.m.), I will be available for confessions on Tuesday evenings before the evening Mass (5:30-6:10 p.m. at St. Joe Hill every Tuesday except December 8th; on December 8th it will be from 6:00-6:40 p.m. at St. Paul which will be before the Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.) I will also be available every Wednesday at St. Paul from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Confessions at St. Joe will be in the reconciliation room; at St. Paul they will be in the sacristy (the room where I get vested before Mass).
 
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is Tuesday, December 8. While the obligation to attend Mass is lifted, we will still have three opportunities for you to celebrate this Feast: 8:30 a.m. at St. Paul-this is open to all parishioners; Noon at St. Joe Hill; 7:00 p.m. at St. Paul. You do not need to make a reservation to attend one of these Masses.
 
Christmas Collection: As of the end of November are collections are currently behind budget by about $30,000. At the same time, our Turkey Shoot profits (from the raffles) were down about $10,000. All that to say, if you can contribute a little bit extra at Christmas, it will be greatly appreciated. Once again, if you and your family are negatively affected by the virus, please don’t feel bad if you cannot do anything extra. We will get through this-God richly provides for our needs. (1 Timothy 6:17)
 
2021 Parish Calendars are now available for pick-up in either Church or at the Parish Office during normal business hours (9 a.m.-Noon Monday through Friday).
 
Past Updates:
 
Coronavirus Surge: With the current surge in Covid-19 cases in Clark County, in Indiana and throughout the country, Archbishop Thompson has asked us to eliminate in person meetings as much as possible in our parishes until at least the first of the year. The following measures will take place her at JPII:
·         Our school has moved to E-learning until at least January. (Because of this our
Wednesday morning Mass is once again open to all parishioners.)
·         Our Faith Family nights are doing the same.
·         All athletic programs are cancelled until further notice.
·         All parish meetings (including Bible Studies and Discipleship Groups) will be virtual
via Zoom or some other platform.
·         ALPHA (in person) will be rescheduled when it is safe to do so.
·         Masks are required if you are visiting the parish office.
 
Mass Protocols: In person Masses will continue under the current protocols. As I have done from the time of the CDC recommendation, I am asking all people to wear a mask during all of our Masses. Masks are required throughout the entire Mass at both 5 p.m. and 9:30 a.m. At the other Masses, I encourage everyone to wear their masks especially while singing and responding. If this current surge continues to worsen, we may move to a requirement that all people wear masks throughout all of the Mass at all Masses.
 
Hopefully, this goes without saying. If you are experiencing any symptoms of covid-19 or have been diagnosed with Covid-19, please refrain from coming to Mass. According to Mayoclinic.org, common signs and symptoms can include: Fever, Cough, Tiredness...Early symptoms of COVID-19 may include a loss of taste or smell. Other symptoms can include:
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, Muscle aches, Chills, Sore throat, Runny nose, Headache, Chest pain, and Pink eye (conjunctivitis). This list is not all inclusive. Other less common symptoms have been reported, such as rash, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Children have similar symptoms to adults and generally have mild illness. If you are unsure, please error on the side of caution, stay home and join us for Mass online.
 
Eucharistic Adoration is held every week at the St. Joe Hill Chapel beginning on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and continuing until the noon Mass on Friday. Everyone is invited to stop by St. Joe Hill Chapel during that time and spend time with the Lord.
 
Faith Direct and Collection Envelopes As a result of the Coronavirus, many of our parishioners have moved to online giving through Faith Direct. This has been tremendously helpful for us and I thank you for considering it. As a result of this some have asked if we would take them off the envelope distribution list. We only do that if you request us to do so. It does not happen automatically. If you would like to discontinue your envelopes, please contact Barbara Smith in the parish office (812) 246-2512 or at bsmith@stjohnpaulparish.org.
 
I’ll Be Glad When All this is behind Us In fact; I want to celebrate with a 7-day Hawaiian Cruise. I have set a cruise date of January 8-15 of 2022. Everyone is invited. We have added an additional 10 cabins (at a slightly higher price). Contact Fr. Tom or Jamie Zimmer at Bliss Travel for more information.
 
Be safe,
 
Fr. Tom