This weekend I have my “Welcome Mass” so I am thinking about what “welcoming” is all about. I found some Scripture passages of interest:
Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me… (Matthew 25:35)
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” (Mark 6:11)
…but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2)
Just from this small smattering of verses, we can see that welcoming is important! Jesus welcomes us and calls us to do so for each other. Welcoming is really showing hospitality to others, which is a big Biblical virtue. So thank you for the official welcome this weekend and I have felt very welcomed by the people of Prince of Peace already!
I really wish to turn it back around to you as well. The main reason I am having my welcome Mass as an outdoor Mass was to be able to welcome as many people as possible back to Mass. Yes, I know it is August and weather is not always ideal, but being outdoors allows for more safety during this COVID time due to the open air and ability to spread out, and also we are trying out broadcasting to cars as well.
During this time, it has been difficult to navigate how to both welcome everyone and do so safely. The two virtues seem to conflict during this time. If we prioritize safety it can come across unwelcoming, yet if we do it the other way, we can easily compromise safety. My apologies to anyone who has felt unwelcomed during any of this. We are trying to open up a few more things while doing so safely—I’m happy that we have restarted the weekday 6:15AM Mass and very soon will be restarting a limited Eucharistic Adoration schedule as well. We also are adding a parking lot Communion Service on Sundays at 10:15AM for any vulnerable folks who can’t take the risk of going inside for communion during Mass. Further, we plan to add back the Sunday evening Mass after Labor Day to give more opportunities for folks to attend Mass. And we continue to review the latest COVID numbers along with expert advice and data like we received from the parish survey to try to find the right balance in all this. Again, this is our first pandemic, so we don’t really know how to do this right. Please, don’t shake off the dust just yet, but let's all do our part in welcoming each other as Christ has welcomed us!