Resources: Saints Peter and Paul

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Please find below a recording of Mass from the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the Church of St Philip Neri. Also available is our Sunday Liturgy for praying at home, our newsletter, and Church opening times – during which there will be Adoration in Church, and opportunity for Confession in the garden. We will also shortly be launching our booking system for Masses, which will resume on Saturday 4 July in a socially distanced manner.

Download: Newsletter, Ss Peter and Paul

PeterandPaul

On 4 July, at 6.00pm, we will resume public Mass at St Philip Neri Church. These Masses will serve all four of our church communities. We begin this important step cautiously and will be reviewing and adapting our practice as we move forward. Initially attendance at Mass will be limited to just 40 people and we will continue to observe 2 metre distancing. As such attendance at Mass will be facilitated by a ticketing system, and prior booking will be a prerequisite of attendance, at least initially whilst we take these first tentative steps in restoring worship.

Booking

This will be the most difficult and painful part of our new normal for the time being. It will simply not be possible for everyone to attend the Mass they would like, and we ask that we all bear with one another gently and with a generous spirit when it comes to limiting the number of worshippers at Mass. Booking will be largely automated and will take place via the parish website where available tickets for each Mass can be seen in real time. When booking for Mass we ask you to consider others. If you know of a friend or relative who is unable to access the internet please complete the booking for them online, putting their name and your email address as a point of contact. If you do not work during the week please consider attending a weekday Mass rather than a weekend Mass, so as to allow those who are limited by work every opportunity to return to the Sacraments in a timely manner. At this current time there is no obligation to attend Mass, and as such no reason particularly to attend on a Sunday as opposed to any other day. During this early stage of re-opening we ask that you only book for one Mass per week, so as to afford the greatest opportunity to others to receive Holy Communion again and to aid us in gauging demand so we can adjust the number and times of Masses accordingly.

Practicalities in Church

Mass itself will also be a little different. At the direction of the hierarchy there will be no singing at Mass, due to its projective aerosol effects. Mass must also be kept brief, so as to minimise our time gathering, as such we are directed to omit the bidding prayers and to significantly shorten the homily. For social distancing reasons there will be no offertory procession, the collection will be given at entry to the church, the sign of peace is suspended and Holy Communion will be distributed under only one kind. The walkways of the church are marked out at 2 metre intervals and we ask that all parishioners keep distance throughout their visit to the church. There are two options as to how Holy Communion can be distributed. For the moment we will adopt the more stringent of the two, as such Communion will be distributed after Mass and parishioners are asked to leave the church having received Communion. Communion itself is placed in the hand of the communicant by the priest who has sanitised his hands, both priest and communicant should have their arms at full stretch.

Ongoing adjustments

We will review all of the above regularly and make changes in light of experience. We are beginning cautiously, and there is scope for expansion and adaption, but it is far better to be able to open up further after careful thought and reflection than to move too quickly and have to scale back. We hope everyone will be as understanding, accommodating, and supportive of their fellow parishioners as possible during this unprecedented time. Please spread the word. Please help keep the less computer literate informed, and aid them in booking in for Mass.