Confirmation (Religious Education Part 4) - March 23, 2021

2330 West Sunnyside Avenue,Chicago IL 60625

23 March, 2021

Description

Confirmation Mass for Religious Education students attending Queen of Angels & St Matthias Parish in Chicago Queen of Angels & St. Matthias Parish will have several Confirmation Masses for the students from our Religious Education program. The fourth Mass will be at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, March 23. The Mass may have up to 16 families in attendance, but families must have completed the Confirmation Survey and also received an approval notice from Ms. Hohner in order to register to attend this Mass. Only immediate family members living in the same household as the Confirmation students (Confirmands), and up to 2 Confirmation Sponsor(s) or their proxy/ies per Confirmand, may attend in person. To ensure the safety of all parishioners and ministers at Mass, there are many special procedures. To prepare for some of the changes you will encounter as you return to Mass please carefully read through the list below: You must register to attend a Mass. It will not be possible to enter the church if you have not registered prior to Mass. If you have trouble with registration, please call our parish office at 773-539-7510 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday-Friday for live help from office staff. If your plans change and you find you cannot attend a Mass you registered for, please electronically "return" your ticket so another family can register for your spot.Please arrive at the front of church at your assigned time: Last names A-L arrive 30 minutes prior to the beginning of Mass. Last names M-Z arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of Mass. The only entrance to church will be the ramp door on Sunnyside. The Claremont door will NOT be open. Be sure to maintain safe social distance while waiting to enter the church. You will be greeted by a volunteer at the entrance of church and be checked in via the registration list. To enter the church, you must be wearing a mask, apply hand sanitizer at the door, and not feel sick or have a fever. Your temperature will also be taken. If you are sick, have symptoms, or are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 due to age or poor health, please protect yourself and others by staying home and postponing the date of the Confirmation. Once you are checked in, you will go up the stairs and be greeted by an usher who will escort you to a pew. Please remain in the pew with your mask in place for the duration of the Mass. Please refrain from visiting the statues of saints before, during or after Mass. We especially ask that congregants not use the restrooms at church unless it is an absolute emergency.The ushers will direct each Confirmand and his or her Sponsor(s) during the Confirmation Rite. Sponsors who are sitting on the far side at the side aisles will be directed to walk around the back of the church and meet the Confirmand at the center aisle. Confirmand and Sponsor will maintain 6 feet social distance from the candidate during the anointing. Likewise, ushers will direct the congregation during Holy Communion. You will need to sanitize your hands before you reach the Communion station. Please keep your mask in place until you have received the Eucharist in your hand. Then step away from the priest or minister of Communion, to the side, before removing or partially removing your mask to consume the Eucharist. Replace your mask prior to walking back to your pew, using the side aisles. At the end of the Mass an usher will indicate when you should leave your pew to walk out of the church. The side aisles will be used for exiting the church. Please do not stop inside the church to congregate with other people attending the Mass so that the entire assembly will be able to leave the church maintaining safe social distancing. The ushers will not be able to dismiss pews unless the people previously dismissed are moving out. Similarly, please do not congregate on the sidewalk in front of church. Again, we need to provide enough space for all to exit church while maintaining social distancing. Please plan to take any photos outdoors and away from the high-traffic area in front of the church doors. As you move throughout the church, please maintain social distancing and pay attention to floor markings. If you need to wait for a moment to let someone pass or for the Communion line to move, wait on a red X. Our aisles are narrow and are therefore marked for one-way travel. As you move to and from your seat, use the center aisle to approach the altar; the side aisles will be used for movement away from the altar to approach the gathering space at the back.There will be no programs, missals or hymnals distributed to use during Mass. Confirmands can use their personal copy of the previous year's program. Please do not sing during the Mass. There will be music, however, we ask that for now you use the music as a time of meditation rather than participation.Likewise, please speak gently the spoken responses and again make sure you keep your mask in place.Please review Tips for Worshippers or Consejos para todos los fieles prepared by the Archdiocese.We would especially like to thank our reopening team for their conscientious work.