Community Corner
St. Mary's Shares Important Details about Christmas Masses
Father Matera shares important details about St. Mary's 2020 Christmas Mass schedule, sign-ups, live streaming and Covid protocols below.
A Different Kind of Christmas
written by Father Matera
It will be a different kind of Christmas for churches throughout the United States this year. Whereas parishes usually prepare for large crowds at Christmas, especially on Christmas Eve, this year they are trying to find ways to safely accommodate those who will attend Christmas Services.
St Mary’s Parish in Simsbury usually sees over two thousand people on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. But this year, given the limited seating due to the pandemic, attendance will be limited to a maximum of one hundred persons per mass, which translates to about 700 people over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
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To prepare for this change, the Parish has required those who will attend to sign-up in advance. Sign-ups began the weekend after Thanksgiving, and they are now fully under way. Some of the more popular services are already filled.
To accommodate those who wish to attend Christmas Mass, there will be multiple services. On Christmas Eve there will be two masses at 4:00 PM, one in the church and another in the Parish Center. These will be followed by two more masses at 6:00 and 10:00 PM. On Christmas Day there will be masses at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 AM.
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In order to protect others and themselves, all who attend must wear a facial mask. To insure the safety of those in attendance, there will be no congregation singing, but there will be cantors at every Mass singing traditional Christmas music.
St. Mary’s is presently live streaming all of its services and most of its parish programs for the benefit of those who cannot attend in person. Christmas services will also be live streamed.