church of St. John the Evangelist

As Fr. George announced at Mass this weekend, we are making some adjustments to our protocols, in light of both CDC and New York State guidelines, and directives from the Archdiocese of New York.

- The front half of the church will be open for seating in every pew, with no social distancing restrictions.  The back half of the church will continue as is, i.e, every other pew open, with social distancing expected.
- Those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, though they are certainly welcome to do so if they so choose.  That being said, a fully vaccinated person who chooses to sit in the back half of the church must wear a mask and maintain social distance.
- The hymnals and missals will be returned to the pews for everyone’s use.  (More on that below.)
- The clergy and lay ministers of Communion will continue at this time to sanitize their hands and wear masks for the distribution of Communion.
- All other protocols remain in effect for now (e.g., no passing of the collection baskets; no procession with the gifts; no exchange of the sign of peace).

Some will think the loosening of restrictions goes too far; others will be of the mind that they don’t go far enough.  We hope that these accommodations – the fruit of thoughtful deliberation and study, as well as extensive conversations with other pastors – will allow everyone to worship with peace of mind.

We can use some help putting out the hymnals and missals next Saturday, May 29 at 9:00am.  If you’re able and willing to help, please sign up at https://sjegoshen.flocknote.com/signup/57671.