Oct 01, 2020

Greetings,

As people return to Mass and guidelines for such establishments as restaurants change, so we look to make some changes at St. Sebastian. There is not a great model to follow. Parishes and other ecclesial communities are all over the place. Some places have suspended in person worship indefinitely, others seem to have returned almost to normal. St. Sebastian is somewhere in that mix.

To that end, after consultation with Parish Council, there will be a couple of modest changes that we are looking to make. The first is, since we have had Masses that are standing room only and we still have a limited number of pews that are separated by two rows being roped off, those few pews will be changed to be like the rest, that is, separated by one pew.

For the holy day in November, we are looking to sing the Gloria. It seems an appropriate day to try it (All Saints Day) and it is far enough out that if things start to go south again, we can change our minds.

Masks are still required as presented in the state mandate and absolutely required at the 4:30 Mass on Saturday. Please keep your parish in your prayers as we navigate this strange days.

IN OTHER NEWS:

NEW PROJECTS:  There was a bit of work going on around St. Sebastian Square last weekend. Our parish benefited from two Eagles Scout projects and I thank the scouts for choosing their parish for their project and hard work.

DAFFODILS:  The first project was completed by Mr. Charles Wilt and his team and is part of the “World Daffodil Project,” which “aspires to be a worldwide Living Holocaust Memorial” through the planting of 1.5 million daffodils that honor the lives of the children that were lost and is a part of a humanitarian effort for children in crisis today.

Our part of this world wide memorial is located on South Hawkins in front of the school vegetable garden on the south side of Byrider Hall in a raised bed surrounded by stone. 500 bulbs were planted there to bloom in the spring. A memorial sign is also there so that those who are able to walk up to it can learn about this special garden.

GA-GA:  The second project, which is still in progress as this is being written, is a Ga-ga pit being constructed by Mr. Andrew Powell and his crew. It is located right off of the brick parking lot next to our playground. It is a small playing field with a low wall built around it.

The game itself, according to Wikipedia (because I never heard of this game before, but it appears to be all the rage) “is a variant of dodgeball. The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the objective of being the last person standing. There are certainly enough groups around here including the school to make use of the pit. Maybe I’ll take a group of you adults on after the next Spectacular Dinner or Night at the Races.

Thank you Charlie and Andrew for you hard work, for your dedication to the parish and congratulations on this important step toward becoming an Eagle Scout. Please say a prayer for them.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck