As we approach the end of August, we are preparing for the opening of Saint Mary School here in our parish. Founded in 1961, our parish school will be led by Deacon Dominic Corraro in his first year as principal of Saint Mary. Much has been done since March to get our school ready to open, and while it will look different with students and staff in masks, all rooms socially distanced, the core of our school, living the message of Jesus, is not diminished. Our students will continue to be formed to be the Catholic, Christian leaders of the future, and we hope we can count on all your continued prayers for a smooth opening and another successfulschool year.
Under the patronage of our Blessed Mother, for whom our school is named, we will continue to foster the strong Catholic education that has been the hallmark of our school for so many years. We thank everyone in our parish for your continued support, and especially your prayers.
As all schools are in the process of preparing to reopen, we are faced with the decision of what to do with our parish religious education. In this time of stressand focus on online learning, we did not want to add to parents and families stress levels. Students staying in cohorts that are small and regular is key to safely navigating the school environment, and so we are pausing our inperson religious education for now. Later in the fall, we will reevaluate, looking to see if after the first of the year, inperson classes for religious education make more sense. We have scheduled First Communions for October, replacing ones postponed from the spring. We have also scheduled Confirmations, but now having several instead of one. All these are onetime events and will be appropriate in size and socially distanced so they can be held safely. The sacramental life of our church goes on, and we will do all we can to ensure that all sacramental preparation will be safe and stressfree.
We are cognizant that so many parish organizations have had to adjust, many not being able to meet in person. We appreciate the efforts at virtual meetings that have taken place and look forward to when regularuse of our facilities can return. May we all continue to make those small humble gestures; wearing our facemasks, being socially distant, washing our hands, so that together we can soon return to the vibrant communitylife we all miss so much.
God bless you all!