Our New Sunday Mass schedule begins this Sunday, July 1, 2012

New Mass Schedule 

Saturday 5 pm

Sunday 7 am, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 pm

From the Sunday, June 10 Bulletin:
Special Announcement from the Pastoral Council
RE: SCHEDULING OUR SUNDAY MASSES PART FIVE

We will change our Sunday Mass schedule July 1. For over a month, we have shared the different reasons and rationale for these changes here in the bulletin in weekly installments. Today, we thought it might be helpful to review the main reasons behind the changes.

• Decreased congestion between Masses – by allowing for two hours between each Mass we create a smooth arrival and exit both at the doors of the church and in the streets and parking lots
• Increased opportunity for hospitality – Monthly coffees and parish socials will be possible now that there is more time between our Masses. Parishioners can socialize after Mass and still leave before people arrive for the next Mass
• Safer driving and parking during winter months –Snow piles up, decreasing parking spots and the roadways narrow, leading to traffic and driving challenges with our current schedule. In the new schedule, parishioners will not be competing for limited parking spots in the winter and roads around the church will be less congested.
• Baptisms – With our current schedule, we generally only celebrate Baptisms at the Noon Mass. Now we will be able to celebrate them at the 10:30 am and 12:30 pm Masses due to the increased time between these services.
• Religious Education & Liturgy of the Word with Children – Our Mass with the Liturgy of the Word with Children will slide back by a half-hour to 8:30 am and our Religious Education Program will begin at 9:45 am and end at 11:10 am. This schedule will allow parents to drop off and pick up their kids without running into other parishioners who would be arriving or leaving one of the Masses.
• More prayerful celebration of Sacraments – As we recently experienced during First Holy Communions, there were serious congestion issues with both parking and the flow of parishioners arriving and exiting the church. With a longer gap between Masses, we won’t have folks trying to exit the Mass and take photos running into those arriving for the next Mass.