Mar 12, 2020

Greetings,

Next week is our Parish Lenten Mission, “Revive Us,” with Mr. Keith Johnson. The mission will begin on Sunday, March 22nd, and run through Tuesday, March 24th. Each night will begin at 7:00pm. I encourage you to come to all three nights but if you can only make two (or one), you are certainly still welcome. So come get a Lenten shot in the arm!

IN OTHER NEWS:

MOVIE:  The pro-life movie, “Unplanned,” will be shown in Zwisler Hall this Sunday, March 15th, at 7:00pm. Free and open to the public.

NEW OPPORTUNITY:  Declutter for Lent! Discover new stuff! Visit with fellow parishioners! Donate used goods to charitable organizations while having a fun night. Friday, March 20th at 7:30pm in Zwisler Hall (following Stations of the Cross) will be St. Sebastian’s first SIP & SWAP. For more information or to RSVP by March 18th, contact Chelsea Haynes at chelseahaynes@gmail.com.

NEW SCAM:  There is a new scam going around the diocese in which recipients are told that they are receiving a particular email because their pastor approves of the charity they are advertising and to send them iTunes and gift cards. Please know that I would never, ever approve of such a thing. I will never ask you for gift cards of any sort without talking to you personally (and I can’t imagine that I would do that anyway). Do not respond to such emails. Sometimes they say, “I have a favor to ask of you, please respond to this email.” I would not play this game with you either. If I had a need, I would ask you straight out. If ever an email from me seems fishy, check it out! Call the office.

CORONAVIRUS:  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that in any given year, it is expected that twelve thousand people in the U.S. will die of the flu. As of this past Monday, 22 people have died of the Coronavirus in the U.S.  Despite this, there is a strong emphasis on the Coronavirus rather than the flu. The reason for this is that it is relatively unknown and therefore unpredictable. So the CDC has asked that everyone do their part to minimize the impact of the spread of this illness.

To this end, by order of our diocesan administrators we are temporarily suspending the distribution of the Precious Blood at Mass. As a side note, Christ is fully present under either species, the fullness of the symbol being present when receiving both, but is not necessary.

The sign of peace that I will be giving to Deacon Terry will return to the more ancient practice of the embratio, that is, a gesture that looks like a partial hug. This is so that I won’t be touching anyone’s hands before distributing. All extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) are instructed to sanitize their hands just prior to distributing. There is Purell in the sanctuary that you will see them using however, some EMHC are sensitive to this particular hand sanitizer and may be using their own just prior to coming forward so do not be alarmed if you see someone not using the dispenser in the sanctuary.

There may be some Masses at which we forego the sign of peace altogether (the school requested this in particular) but if the sign of peace is still performed, please give a greeting that does not involve touching hands (saying, “Peace” with a nod of the head, touching elbows, etc.)

Anybody who is feeling ill is asked to stay home. Missing Mass because one is ill (or tending to someone who is ill and needs to be monitored) is not a sin. Be aware of surfaces that carry germs as you should anywhere. Hands should be thoroughly washed after touching other’s hands or door knobs, the tops of pews and other places of common contact before touching the facial area or food.

By diocesan order, all small holy water fonts are to be drained.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck