From the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington website 12 August 2020.On Wednesday 12 August Cardinal John Dew sent a letter to parishes, schools, religious congregations about restrictions on public Masses during the three days of Alert Level 3 in Auckland and Alert Level 2 in the rest of New Zealand.
Key Points:
– Public Masses (weekday, Sunday and for the feast of the Assumption) in the Archdiocese of Wellington are suspended until Tuesday 18 August when further information will be communicated depending upon the decisions the government has taken about Alert Levels.
– Churches remain open for private prayer but information must be provided for contact tracing and social distancing observed.
Please note that our parish office will only be open for short periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next couple of weeks. We are currently going through the process of interviewing and hiring a new Office Support Staff member to replace Lucienne,
Please call before visiting us to make sure someone is here. Phone messages and emails will be attended to as soon as possible, We thank you for understanding.
Following the 9am Mass at St Anne’s on Sunday 26th July there will be a farewell morning tea for Lucienne in the St Anne’s Hall. This invite is extended to the whole parish.
Parishioners are asked to bring a plate to share for morning tea.
The letter from the Cardinal in response to our Parish Building Proposal is available HERE
The Parish leadership, Pastoral Council and Finance Committee will meet to discuss the next steps.
The Buildings Review timeline leading up to this is available HERE .
The new cases of covid are a timely reminder to continue to follow good hygiene practices and to act with caution for anyone who is showing new onset or worsening symptoms of one or more of the following:
* Cough
* Fever
* Sore throat
* Runny nose
* Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
* Temporary loss of smell
Anyone with these symptoms should ring Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or their GP.
They will advise on testing for COVID19.
People who are unwell should not come to Mass, availing themselves of the exemption from the Sunday obligation provided in the catechism of the Catholic ChurchChurch. This is a consideration to fellow parishioners, some of whom may be vulnerable.
Last week, Cardinal John wrote a letter to parishes with guidelines for Level 1.
These guidelines are:
– Holy Communion is to be received on the hand and not from the chalice;
– The Sign of Peace can be by spoken word or a gesture;
– Holy Water Fonts are to remain without Holy Water
These guidelines will be re-evaluated as further health advice is given.
A REMINDER: Keep a diary of your movements. Our churches now have individual QR codes from the Ministry of Health to help with this. It is recommended that all those with smartphones download the Covid19 app for this purpose
As many parishes are still closed this weekend, Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish will continue with the Sunday morning Mass on YouTube available from 9am from Viard House chapel. Mass from Auckland Diocese continues on Shine TV at 2pm.
For those who prefer to pray with a Liturgy of the Word, a family-friendly liturgy is available here.
There will be NO MASSES in our Parish this weekend.
Although from 12pm on Friday 29 May new increased limits on gatherings apply, full information from the Ministry of Health about measures needed will not be available until later this week. In the meantime, a Parish plan is being formulated in consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council and Liturgy teams for a suitable Mass schedule across our four churches.
We expect that Masses in our Parish will resume in the first week of June.
For our churches to re-open, we need to have systems in place to ensure that everyone has equitable access to the celebration of the Eucharist. We also have a responsibility to make sure that our church buildings are safe and clean places where we can gather to worship without fears for our health and well-being. We are also required to meet the legal requirements for contact tracing.
As we work towards this new way of operating, we appreciate your patience and your prayers.
We will continue to update you with any new information as it becomes available.