MINISTERING IN A COVID-19 CHURCH
Second of a three part series

Dear parishioners and friends,

When I joined the Sacred Heart staff full-time last September as
Director of Worship, one of the first things Father Andy told me
was that my job would “evolve,” and be “ever-changing”- little
did any of us know how much the entire way we worship would
change!

Like this crazy world we are living in, much has been drastically
different since March; especially the way I have ministered in
this Church. The music ministry was beginning to quickly
develop into something great. The adult choir was working hard
every week in preparation of our Lenten Service Series, Easter,
and the kick-off to our Jubilee Year. The youth choir had also
just sung their first Sunday Mass a week before the Coronavirus
reared its ugly head into our lives.

Life was then suddenly put on hold. Everything came to an
abrupt end. In addition to the various restrictions the CDC
recommended be put in place during the pandemic, other
scientists too warned of the dangers of choral singing, declaring
such a “super-spreading event” of the virus.

To quote Don McLean, with the intention of being slightly overdramatic, this was “the day the music died”.

It is unfortunate that during this difficult time our choirs are still
unable to safely meet and share their gifts with the rest of our
parish. Music is a social glue; it bonds us together, and in this
case, brings us closer together as a community of faith. It was
also very difficult looking at the prospect of discontinuing
masses altogether. The obvious question was running through all
of our minds… how do we keep our faith alive during this
unforeseen, unprecedented, and uncertain time? We immediately
formed a game-plan and gathered the resources required to livestream and bring church into your homes! I am very glad I was
able to keep our church family connected via social media, and
luckily had been working on our Facebook page just a few
months prior to the virus.

The pandemic is far from over, but that does not mean our faith
lives have to suffer. I continually search for new ways to bring a
more connectedness to our church family in a safe manner to
thereby bring solace and comfort through my music ministry to
you in your journey of faith. To those watching Mass at home, I
know you are all singing along to your favorite hymns with your
families, and know that I miss each and everyone of you
immensely. To my music family: we will one day meet again and
“give glory and praise to our God”!

God bless you all,

Jonathan Mengoni