Our parish is now prepared to welcome everyone back home to worship!

June 13, 2020

Dear fellow parishioners of Our Lady of Hope,

This letter is to announce -- with great joy! -- that we will be opening again for Masses the weekend of June 20th and 21st, at our usual Mass times of 5 pm on Saturday and 10 am on Sunday! It will, of course, be wonderful to come together again as a church family. Some things will be just the same as always, but I do want you to be prepared for some important changes, as we diligently do everything we can to keep everyone safe in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic:

We will adhere to safe physical distancing and other safety protocol, as mandated both by New York State and our Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
We will need to screen everyone at the church entrance and then will usher you into the church proper for seating.
Everyone except young children will need to wear a mask and go through a short screening process (including having their temperature taken with a forehead thermometer) before entering the church building. Hand sanitizer will be available, and you will be asked to log in with your name and phone number for contact tracing.
Since diocesan guidelines, during this time of COVID-19, discourage communal singing (on health grounds), hymnals and sheet music will not be available, and we will have instrumental music only.
The priest will distribute the Eucharist, observing social distancing. There will be markers on the floor to keep the necessary physical distancing, and an usher will let you know when your row may go up. When you approach, receive the host in your hand, lift up your mask, and replace your mask when you step away. (If you are receiving on the tongue, please go to the end of the receiving line.) After the receiving line has gone through, the priest will distribute the host to all those physically unable to go up to the altar.
At the end of mass, please wait for the ushers to ask each pew to get up to exit, in order to maintain safe physical distancing on the way out.
Pathways in and out of the church/Commons will be marked, and it is important that you maintain 6 feet of space from the person ahead of you on entering and exiting along that route.
The offertory basket will be by the font in the church. Please put your offering, whether in your envelope or loose, in the basket on your way in or out of the church.
Because this process will take some time, it would be helpful to arrive at Mass early; we will begin screening people at the church entrance 15-20 minutes before Mass is scheduled to start.
These guidelines will be our new normal for a while and will, we hope, keep us safe as we slowly come back together. Please let us know of concerns or issues you may have or if you need assistance in any way.

WELCOME HOME TO OUR WORSHIPING TOGETHER!

Blessings,
Bruce
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