South Carolina Masses reopening guidelines -- wow!

[gracepoole]

This was shared with me by someone who lives in South Carolina. The diocesan-wide dispensation will remain in effect. I don’t disagree with these measures but WOW. Masses in my diocese are nowhere near resuming.

NORMS AND GUIDELINES
The norms and guidelines listed below are most effective when we work together and are all on the same page. Your attentiveness to these measures will help everyone in the community feel more comfortable and peaceful when returning to church.

CAPACITY
Families must be spaced at least six feet apart, and no more than 25% of the capacity of the church building may assemble at any one Mass. At Corpus Christi, this means that a maximum of 150 parishioners can be accommodated at any one Mass.

MASKS
Do not come to Mass without a mask. No person will be admitted without a mask. There can be no exceptions made.

ARRIVE EARLY
Come to Mass thirty to forty-five minutes early. As you line up to enter the church, maintain a distance of six feet from other families at all times and without exceptions. Do not shake hands. Doors will be unlocked approximately 45 minutes before the commencement of Mass.

TEMPERATURE CHECK
Everyone will be greeted by an usher at the door of the church building, and will get their temperature taken. The Parish will send a family home if any member of the family has a temperature of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

ESCORTED BY USHERS
An usher will escort and seat every family party, filling every other pew from the front to the back of the building. Everyone needs to stay in the seat you are assigned. No moving around will be allowed. Remember that physical distancing is for your protection and for the protection of others.

CRY ROOM
The cry room will be closed at all times. The room will be inaccessible.

CHURCH DOORS
The doors of the Church will be locked approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of Mass. During this time of pandemic, it would endanger others if any individual tries to come in after Mass begins.

RESTROOMS
Because movement is problematic, please use the restroom only if absolutely necessary. If you get up, everyone in the pew will need to stand up and file out to accommodate you.

HANDS
Do not hold hands during the Our Father or at any other time during Mass. The Parish will not be returning to this practice even when “normalcy” returns.

cont.

 

[gracepoole]

HOLY COMMUNION
Everyone must stay in the pews until each family receives direction from the usher, who will direct each family to a communion line - either to the center aisle, right side aisle, or left side aisle. EVERYONE must walk up in the communion line. No person may remain seated in the pews. If an adult or child is not receiving communion, they still need to come forward with the family - adults with their arms crossed over their chest, and the children holding the hands of their parents at all times. There will be no blessing. The floors of all three aisles are marked with blue tape to ensure six feet of separation. On the way back to the pew, everyone must maintain spacing. IMPORTANT: If you decide to receive communion in the mouth, you must wait after the conclusion of the Mass to receive the Sacrament in the vestibule area. Details of how this will take place will be communicated soon.

OFFERTORY
Baskets will be placed in the vestibule area for parishioners to drop in their weekly offertory envelopes. We thank you in advance for your generosity!

DISMISSAL
Parishioners will be dismissed at the end of Mass, escorted by ushers pew by pew, starting in the back. Everyone must leave quickly and return to their respective vehicles. As much as we would like to, the upcoming public Masses are not to gather and catch-up with friends.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Do not come to Mass without a mask. No person will be admitted without a mask. There can be no exceptions made.

I haven’t heard that one, though my pastor has suggested them

Families must be spaced at least six feet apart, and no more than 25% of the capacity of the church building may assemble at any one Mass. At Corpus Christi, this means that a maximum of 150 parishioners can be accommodated at any one Mass.

We don’t have a set number, if this is Corpus Christi, I am assuming it is the one in Lexington. Maybe

Come to Mass thirty to forty-five minutes early. As you line up to enter the church, maintain a distance of six feet from other families at all times and without exceptions. Do not shake hands. Doors will be unlocked approximately 45 minutes before the commencement of Mass.

Good advice

Everyone will be greeted by an usher at the door of the church building, and will get their temperature taken. The Parish will send a family home if any member of the family has a temperature of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Haven’t heard that one

CRY ROOM
The cry room will be closed at all times. The room will be inaccessible.

Not applicable

RESTROOMS
Because movement is problematic, please use the restroom only if absolutely necessary. If you get up, everyone in the pew will need to stand up and file out to accommodate you.

That one is enforced here

HANDS
Do not hold hands during the Our Father or at any other time during Mass. The Parish will not be returning to this practice even when “normalcy” returns.

Not objections here

HOLY COMMUNION
Everyone must stay in the pews until each family receives direction from the usher, who will direct each family to a communion line - either to the center aisle, right side aisle, or left side aisle. EVERYONE must walk up in the communion line. No person may remain seated in the pews. If an adult or child is not receiving communion, they still need to come forward with the family - adults with their arms crossed over their chest, and the children holding the hands of their parents at all times. There will be no blessing. The floors of all three aisles are marked with blue tape to ensure six feet of separation. On the way back to the pew, everyone must maintain spacing. IMPORTANT: If you decide to receive communion in the mouth, you must wait after the conclusion of the Mass to receive the Sacrament in the vestibule area. Details of how this will take place will be communicated soon.

Nothing like that for us yet

OFFERTORY
Baskets will be placed in the vestibule area for parishioners to drop in their weekly offertory envelopes. We thank you in advance for your generosity!

 

[adamhovey1988]

Ditto

DISMISSAL
Parishioners will be dismissed at the end of Mass, escorted by ushers pew by pew, starting in the back. Everyone must leave quickly and return to their respective vehicles. As much as we would like to, the upcoming public Masses are not to gather and catch-up with friends.

I don’t know about that one yet
I commented because I am from South Carolina, some of these are not statewide. If it’s the Corpus Christi I think it is, it’s a bigger church anyway.

 

[mfac11]

Most likely, this just means locked from the outside. People would still be able to open the doors from the inside.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Masses resume at my parish starting tomorrow Mon.,May 11.
There will be six masses a day six times per week,plus the usual five Sunday Masses.The goal is to allow each parish member the opportunity to attend Mass once during May. Only ten people per Mass allowed plus any families in the cry room. We are a parish of 1300 registered families. There is a sign up site online.
Protocol include masks social distancing .The church has capacity for 1200 per Mass,so clearly we are way below the mark but per state mandates.

 

[gracepoole]

I think they mean that entire families will be seated 6 feet apart, not that individual family members will be seated that way.

I agree about the temperature check.

I disagree about communion in the hand simply because if I have the opportunity to once again receive Him and the Church approves of communion in the hand, I’ll definitely receive.

My family would never be able to manage these guidelines, though. My youngest wouldn’t keep a mask on no matter what, and 45 minutes of waiting would be nightmarish, I think.

 

[gracepoole]

Masses resume at my parish starting tomorrow Mon.,May 11.
There will be six masses a day six times per week,plus the usual five Sunday Masses.The goal is to allow each parish member the opportunity to attend Mass once during May. Only ten people per Mass allowed plus any families in the cry room. We are a parish of 1300 registered families. There is a sign up site online.
Protocol include masks social distancing .The church has capacity for 1200 per Mass,so clearly we are way below the mark but per state mandates.

Wow, that sounds difficult.

 

[pnewton]

I, as I assume they are, using thermal scanners, I guarantee they read high when the skin is flushed. That is how we initially test temperature, using an oral thermometer on those that read high. There can be a couple of degrees difference, with the thermal scan being inaccurate.

This is similar to my parish, which has resumed Mass, except the thing about lining up early. The locked doors are not an issue as they still open from the inside.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

My youngest wouldn’t keep a mask on no matter what, and 45 minutes of waiting would be nightmarish, I think.

I’m just imagining my boys trying to keep it together in line for 45 minutes and then having to make it through an hour mass. They are just a wee bit young for that to be an easy task never mind the autism aspect of it. Son with autism will not tolerate things on his face. So, if my diocese adopts this rule it will be eons before we can attend mass as a family.

 

[Jeanne_S]

A lot for our clergy for sure. Overall for laity seems less hassle than what your friends parish is doing in NC.
We are blessed to have three full time priests plus a fourth who has mobility issues but can help out i n a pinch. Logistics probably boil down to that,how many priests on site at any given parish

 

[gracepoole]

gracepoole:

My youngest wouldn’t keep a mask on no matter what, and 45 minutes of waiting would be nightmarish, I think.

I’m just imagining my boys trying to keep it together in line for 45 minutes and then having to make it through an hour mass. They are just a wee bit young for that to be an easy task never mind the autism aspect of it. Son with autism will not tolerate things on his face. So, if my diocese adopts this rule it will be eons before we can attend mass as a family.

I mean, I guess it’s wonderful that finally people will be allowed to participate in Mass again. But yeah, it’s going to be a long time before things are normal again it seems.

 

[gracepoole]

A lot for our clergy for sure. Overall for laity seems less hassle than what your friends parish is doing in NC.
We are blessed to have three full time priests plus a fourth who has mobility issues but can help out i n a pinch. Logistics probably boil down to that,how many priests on site at any given parish

You know, I think that’s important. We need to think about how much this is for our priests to manage. And increase our prayers for them!

 

[pnewton]

I’m just imagining my boys trying to keep it together in line for 45 minutes and then having to make it through an hour mass.

I would think that might change with time. My pastor only requested everyone show up fifteen minutes early and we had plenty of time. We did not close the doors until right before Mass. The only downside to showing up a few minutes before Mass starts might be that it will already be at capacity, but that is not a problem at this time.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Almost the same for our Diocese, except no COTT at all, NO blessings in communion line so those not receiving must stay in the pew, and the caveat of no singing.

 

[Pat_Payne]

I cannot see any responsible fire marshal allowing that either. It’s another Cocoanut Grove incident just begging to happen.

 

[InThePew]

We’re still waiting on our specific guidelines but we’ll be limited to a maximum of 100 people in churches at any time, spaced 1 metre apart. For some of our parishes trying to accommodate their congregation is going to be a nightmare; when you’ve got 1400 people who come to mass on a Sunday that makes for a lot of additional masses! Fortunately, I don’t have that problem where I am but still trying to think of a way to get people to spread across mass times.

 

[Poet]

Some of this I find downright creepy–like the idea we’re all supposed to have our temperatures taken anywhere we go now. How much further does this go? How invasive do the ‘inquiries’ into our health and the attempt to root out anyone who MIGHT have any illness at all, become? We already have TSA agents shoving their fingers into people’s underwear in the name of ‘safety.’ Might we now be subjected to increasingly invasive ‘safety’ checks every time we need food?

What is the point of closing the cry room? Why isn’t this a place two or three more families can sit, each of them a pew or two apart?

Why the need to line up 45 minutes before Mass?

And the idea of a church full of people with masks on–when they’re all separated anyway–seems less than reverent.

And there’s still that little issue that ‘our rights shall not be infringed,’ including the right to the free practice of our faith. There was no clause about ‘unless the government says you need to because health.’ Especially for a virus that is now being shown to be widespread and thus has a ridiculously low death rate.

What next? We cancel the freedom to practice our faith because someone might catch a cold from someone in church?

 

[RCbkw]

I read on Twitter about a church (or maybe diocese) that was prohibiting singing due to the potential of droplet spread. I don’t plan to go to Sunday Mass because being in an enclosed space with a bunch of people, even if they are spread out, still seems dangerous for someone like me with an underlying health condition. Daily Mass is never crowded, so I’ll do that for the duration. I’d go to an outdoor Mass if that were ever available.

 

[gracepoole]

Some of this I find downright creepy–like the idea we’re all supposed to have our temperatures taken anywhere we go now. How much further does this go? How invasive do the ‘inquiries’ into our health and the attempt to root out anyone who MIGHT have any illness at all, become? We already have TSA agents shoving their fingers into people’s underwear in the name of ‘safety.’ Might we now be subjected to increasingly invasive ‘safety’ checks every time we need food?

I’ve never had a TSA agent “shove their fingers in my underwear”…

What is the point of closing the cry room? Why isn’t this a place two or three more families can sit, each of them a pew or two apart?

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of cry rooms in normal circumstances. But I’ve never seen cry rooms large enough to accommodate what you’re describing.

And the idea of a church full of people with masks on–when they’re all separated anyway–seems less than reverent.

This has absolutely nothing to do with reverence. This strikes me as having more to do with scrupulosity.

And there’s still that little issue that ‘our rights shall not be infringed,’ including the right to the free practice of our faith. There was no clause about ‘unless the government says you need to because health.’ Especially for a virus that is now being shown to be widespread and thus has a ridiculously low death rate.

What next? We cancel the freedom to practice our faith because someone might catch a cold from someone in church?

None of our guaranteed rights are boundless. All of them can be and should be limited when necessary measures call for doing so.