1. Pastors should strongly encourage congregants gathered in churches for sacred worship to follow the Governor's indoor mask mandate. Excluded from the Governor's requirement are those who are less than five years of age and those whose health is jeopardized by wearing a mask. However, these or other individuals refusing to wear a mask should not be turned away or treated harshly.
In consideration of those who want an even safer environment to worship, pastors are to designate a social distancing section in each church - the size of which is left to the discretion of the pastor.
Eucharistic Ministers (Ordinary and Extraordinary) of Holy Communion are to sanitize their hands before and after distribution and to wear a mask throughout distribution of Holy Communion. They are also to sanitize their hands if there is contact with a communicant's hands or tongue.
Pastors should remind individuals that underlying health conditions, advanced age, those whose health is jeopardized by wearing a mask, as well as those who are caring for the sick are, as before, not morally obligated to attend Mass.
Masks are to be required for all indoor gatherings including meeting spaces, offices, and parish halls in which individuals are not socially distanced from one another.
If you choose to continue the rental of your parish hall, it is recommended that you utilize the addendum to the rental agreement.