Dear parishioners and friends,

One day last week in my daily reflection, I began to wonder
what I would say if asked years from now, “what was it like
to minister in a COVID-19 church?”

As of right now I do not think I would paint as bleak a picture
as many would think. Sure, my life and ministry are different.
Quite different. Just as your lives, your vocations, and your
careers are. I would have to say that I really hate, and I am not
exaggerating here, I hate the whole mask thing. First, I find it
quite difficult to breathe and talk with my mouth and nose
covered. For someone who is perpetually warm, I find them
to be a cause for great perspiration. And finally, what I find
most offensive is the inability to see the beautiful faces of the
people whom God has gifted to me as my parishioners.
However, currently they are a well merited necessity.
I am not happy with the way we do church, and I truly mind
the lack of interaction necessitated so as to prevent the spread
of a horrible pandemic. I fear for our children and their
education. And I am genuinely concerned about the loss of
revenue and work which this virus has precipitated. I am
mourning and am grieved by the death of parishioners and
thousands upon thousands of people whom I do not even
know.

You may ask, “how then can you see this time as anything
less than bleak?” Well, for starters, I have learned more about
social media, and technological interaction than I ever thought
I would (or that I even wanted to.) I have seen families grow
closer together and less traffic on the roads. I have seen a time
which has challenged my own creativity, as well as that of the
individuals with whom I work. I have seen how inflexible
some people are and how others can move through crisis with
a sense of calm and right judgement. I have seen in this
COVID-19 church, a call to flexibility and a willingness to
adjust—to change. I have learned new things about myself
and about the people around me. But above all, I believe that
the COVID-19 church has called me, and perhaps others, to
live the words of that “Serenity Prayer” which we pray at the
end of the Intercessions at Mass on a regular basis in our
parish. Yes! We have been called not just to read or pray
those words, but we have also been given the opportunity to
try and put them into practice and to live them. And when we
accomplish that, or at the very least attempt to accomplish it,
we do find a sense of peace ...a serenity that can only come
from God!

Love,

Fr. Andrew