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Priest: Rev. Mgr. Benny O'Shea 07802 791394        Deacon: Rev. Neil Mercer Tel: 07801 706167

Parish Office Email: [email protected] 

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Also resident: Canon Oliver Heaney & Canon Daithi Foley

CHURCH OPENING

Since we welcomed the news of ‘Re-Opening of Places of Worship’ for the celebration of Mass on July 4th much has happened. From the first tentative steps and following the strict Government guidelines we, as a Community of Faith in Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick’s, have been adhering to the regulations so that those who come to our churches are safe.

ALL Masses at Our Lady of Lourdes continue to be Live Streamed so that those who are unable to attend can still participate, as parishioners have been since March 23rd when the Lockdown was originally introduced.

Because of ‘social distancing’ it will not been possible, for now, to accommodate the number of parishioners who usually attended Sunday masses pre-Covid. However, because of ‘shielding’ etc the numbers attending Mass are not back to former levels and so there has not been a problem accommodating those who come to Mass. I am grateful to those who have volunteered to help as Stewards and ask for patience and understanding from those who come to the Church to attend the various Masses during this time. At Our Lady of Lourdes Church it is estimated that, if each person coming to Mass is alone, the capacity in the church will be 37-40 persons. If family groups/people ‘bubbles’ from the same household come this will mean a larger number can be accommodated as these groups can occupy a pew together.

At St. Patrick’s in Woodingdean due to the limited indoor seating it is necessary to book a seat through the Eventbrite link listed below.  As masses are starting to get busier - this system will also be arranged for Our Lady of Lourdes Church shortly. 

We are in such ‘unknown’ territory in all of this! Hopefully, we can welcome all those who come to Mass –Safely in our Churches. It will be of great help if those attending are in the Church at least ten minutes before Mass begins so that the Stewards can indicate where you can sit.  Please be respectful of what the stewards are trying to do, they have strict guidelines from the Diocese that we have to adhere to.

FACEMASKS : New measures have been introduced by the government to help keep our church family safe.  The British Government has announced that face coverings are mandatory in places of worship.  This measure has been introduced to help keep our church family safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, with all those attending church required to wear a face covering or mask unless they are exempt from doing so.

The Diocese advise face coverings should be worn covering mouth and nose. Clear face shields can be worn, in addition to face masks if you so wish - only people exempt from wearing masks need not - we appreciate peoples understanding in this. 

Public Health officials have been given extra powers to enforce the wearing of face coverings in public spaces though their approach is to educate rather than penalise. It it is for everyone’s good that face coverings are worn though not everyone is able to wear one.  Our welcomers and stewards should never be in a position where they are required to enforce the wearing of face coverings, instead, anyone unable to wear a face covering should be guided to a section of church where it is possible to maintain a distance of two metres from others.

God bless, Fr. Benny

MORE STEWARDS are needed for Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

We are very grateful to the team of people who have readily volunteered to act as stewards for us. If you would like to volunteer, please either collect a form from the Church Porch or click on the following link :-

Volunteer Form

Please do not come if you are feeling unwell for any reason.

GUIDELINES : PLEASE BE AWARE MASKS ARE NOW MANDATORY FOR INDOOR EVENTS

Important : Please sanitise your hands when you enter the Church. Refrain from touching anything in the porch –(unless you are taking away with you - a newsletter.

Please download the Government NHS Track and Trace App and scan yourself in when you enter enter Church - otherwise please check in with the steward to manually record your track and trace details.

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