St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Ripon Wisconsin

We will be limited to 25% of the church capacity and will be taking people in and seating them from the main doors.  We will be checking for parish membership before we allow any guests in.  If there is room, guests will be let in right before the start of Mass.  Please be patient as this will all take time.  Everything has changed and ushers/volunteers will guide everyone with movement within the church, to keep everyone safe.

Guidelines for Attending Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Parish

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is dispensed through Sunday, July 5^th

A Note from the Leadership and Fr. Davies:

If you are in the age group of 60+ years, those with compromised immune systems, those with underlying health conditions, those who are especially anxious about being in a large group, you are encouraged to stay at home.  That is the reason for the obligation suspension.  The Archbishop and St. Catherine want you to stay safe and healthy, so it is your choice.

With the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, nothing has changed in the church.  The Archbishop has a plan of reopening and we will be following that and not the government rulings.  The complete plan is at the archmil.org website.  https://www.archmil.org/ArchMil/attachments/CatholicComebackMatrix_Parish.pdf

With the limited capacity, we are hoping all of our parishioners will be able to get in the church.  But again if you don’t get in church, the obligation to attend Mass has been suspended.

Additional guidelines..

We will go through all of the procedures at St. Catherine on WEDNESDAY, May 27^th at 6:30 in the church so that we can walk through these and do any changes as needed.  All are invited to come if you plan on helping, whether it is reading , serving, ushering/volunteers, cleaning, getting people in and out the church, etc.

Further directives/revisions from first draft (at the bottom) for our parish

No communion pyx will be filled to take communion out of the church or to anyone who cannot walk forward to receive directly from the priest.  At the end of the communion process we will have Fr. Davies come to you.

Volunteers at Mass - we will need volunteers at all the Masses.  If you can help please let me know what Mass you will be available.   We are asking all volunteers helping before Mass to be there at a minimum of 30 minutes before the start of Mass.  The doors of the church will not open until we have the volunteers in place, so it is important that you are there 30 minutes before. 

          Roles needed

• Counter – to count the number of people entering the church
• Seaters (2) – taking people to their seats to maximize the numbers we can get in the church within our 25% capacity.
• Worship Aid distributor (will need to wear gloves and mask)
• Bulletin distributor (will need to wear gloves and mask)
• Communion direction aids to guide the communion process to make sure social distancing is maintained.
  Confession aid to direct people to confession to maintain social distancing and let the priest know when the time is up.
• Cleaners after Mass

Location of Hand sanitizer: (These will be maintained and refilled as needed)

• Table as you enter the main church (2 bottles)
• Table by Ambo (1)
• Table by the presider’s chair (1)
• Credence Table (1)
• Stand by music area (1).
• Stand by the vigil lights. There will be one large candle lit for the use of lighting the vigil candles.  Please take a short taper to lite your candles and place it in the container with sand.   These will not be reused.  Please make sure your hands are dry from any hand sanitizer, because the alcohol in it is flammable.

Servers:  We will have one server at Mass, it will be the same person each week.  We are using adults at this time that have their own albs so that they can bring theirs and take it home with them. Procession in and out will be the cross/server followed by Fr. Davies (6 ft. behind).  Mask is used in and out of the church.  A mask at the altar is not needed to be used, with hand sanitizer available.  The Roman Missal will stay on the altar and the server will not hold the book at this time.   The server also will kneel at the steps during consecration.  If they cannot kneel, they may stand by the vigil lights.

Lectors:  Will not process in or out of Mass, they will go directly to their pew.  Masks are strongly encouraged in and out of church but are not necessary to read from the ambo.  Hand Sanitizer will be at the base of the steps going up to the ambo.  Everyone will read out of the lectionary.  The Book of Gospels will not be used at this time.

Music Area – organ and piano keys will be wiped down with a non-bleach disinfectant and organist and cantor are encouraged to use the hand sanitizer in the area.  Cantor will sing the psalm from the music area at this time.

Communion – you will be directed to go to communion by an Usher/volunteer: in the center sections, it will be one person from the left, then one person from the right to maintain social distancing, after you have received the Precious Body. Masks should be used while processing in the communion line.  Once you have received the host by hand, you are asked to step to the right or left to the “square” which is 6 ft. from Fr. Davies and consume the Precious Body of Jesus and then go back to your pew maintaining 6 ft. social distancing as much as possible.

When exiting the church, make sure mask is worn. Do Not Leave your Pew until you can maintain social distancing.  Please go directly out the doors and to your car, maintaining social distancing of 6 ft. from the time you leave your pew until you are safely at your car. Ushers/Volunteers will be watching and guiding as needed to maintain the 6 ft.

--- 1st Draft of St. Catherine Procedures ---

• Anyone with fever, or flu-like symptoms. PLEASE STAY HOME.
• We highly recommend that those as defined by the CDC as more vulnerable should stay home. (Seniors, those with underlying health issues, compromised immune systems, and those anxious about being in a crowd).
• Face Masks are strongly encouraged to attend Mass. Please bring your own Mask.  We do have a small supply of Masks but do not know how long our supply will last.
• Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance of the church, by the ambo and near the priest for communion. If you prefer your own, you may use it.
• Attendance at each Mass is limited to no more than 25% capacity or 125 people per Mass.
• If at any scheduled Mass we reach our 25% capacity of registered parishioners, we will not be able to let any more people into the church. PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP US MEET THE DIRECTIVES OF THE ARCHBISHOP. We are doing this so we do not risk the health of any of our parishioners.
• The Main Entrance to the church will be the only doors open. The side door will be locked
• The doors will be propped open so no one has to touch the door handle.
• A volunteer will be outside the gathering area counting the registered members as they approach.  A membership listing will be checked for those we do not know.  We do not want to fill the church including visitors and have to turn away our registered members because of the capacity limits.
• Once counted a volunteer will take registered parishioners to a pew. This will allow us to maintain social distancing and maximize the number we can get in the church.  Immediate family members may sit together if they live in the same household.    We also suggest families come to church together to help facilitate social distancing.
• A single sheet Worship Aid will be offered by the door by a volunteer with gloves and a face mask. Once Mass is done these can be taken home and recycled or placed in a bin by the door for us to recycle.  They cannot be reused for anyone else.
• There is no presentation of gifts, they will be on the table behind the altar.
• The collection will be taken by ushers with masks and gloves. Immediately after the collection, the money will be bagged and placed in the safe.  Then all ushers will wash hands according to CDC guidelines.
• There will be no physical contact at the sign of peace. We encourage a nod or a wave to your fellow parishioners.
• Please follow the directions of the volunteers at Mass for the communion process. It will be slightly different to accommodate social distancing and will take slightly longer.
• Communion is to be received ONLY in the HAND. There will be no exceptions.
• Communion will not be distributed by the Cup.
• Communion will be distributed by the priest only
• Directions for dismissal after Mass will be provided to exit with proper social distancing. Please DO NOT STAY around to greet priests and other parishioners in the church area.  Ushers will guide dismissal.
• The bulletins are online on our website.  We also email out all inserts included in the bulletin and post them on the website. Those who we are currently mailing to or taking to Russell Manor will continue.  We are also delivering bulletins to the assisted living places. If you would like us to mail a bulletin call the office.  Bulletins will be handed out by one volunteer with a mask and gloves.
• Children 10 and under will need to be accompanied to the bathroom with an adult, so that safe hand washing is practiced.
• The CDC highly recommends washing your clothes following the Mass.
• Confessions will start at 3 pm in the CHAPEL until 3:30. Please use the office front door and one person in the chapel at a time.  You may wait on the porch until that person is done with confession.  The option for the screen and face-to-face will be available.  When done exit the chapel and pray outside or in your car.
• The sacristy is closed to all but the priest and server
• We will have one server at Mass. Depending on volume at mass the server pew may be used for parishioners, so the server will have to kneel at the steps or stand by the vigil lights if they cannot kneel.
• The Book of Gospels will not be processed in or out at this time.
• If you are not going to receive communion make sure you give enough room for those you will let in line or let the usher know if you are by yourself so that they can seat you in a spot that will not compromise social distancing.
• Please attend only one weekend Mass until we have no limitations.

Please be patient, as we try to navigate the directives and keep everyone safe!