For those of you who are able to come back to church today, welcome back! To those who are being cautious due to age or medical conditions or just out of prudence, we welcome you back whenever you feel it is the right time for you. Again, the dispensation from the Bishops of Ohio from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains in effect until further notice. In the mean time, we hope that you can join us in spirit through our new live streaming service, available on our website (as well as through our YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter account). Every weekend Mass will be live streamed so tune in at 4pm on Saturday, 8am or 11am on Sundays. Even weekday Mass will be live streamed (Monday through Friday at 8:30, with Deacon Pat doing a Communion Service on Thursdays). All of our live streamed Masses will also be available “on demand” meaning you can watch them any time at your convenience, though we hope you can join us at the same time we are actually celebrating the liturgy together. On the homepage of our website (leothegreat.org), you will see a countdown timer to our next Mass. At the time the Mass begins, a large “play” arrow will appear which you can click in order to begin viewing. Below this will be a link that takes you to all the Masses that you can watch on demand, again, at a time of your choosing. I may also include a link on the homepage which allows you to view just the homily portion of the video for when you cannot watch the whole liturgy but want a short message to (hopefully) inspire you during the day. Please note that the audio quality will improve with a new camera system when this become available for purchase again. For now, it may help to wear headphones to reduce the echo. We may also be able to provide closed caption which would allow you to read what is being said. While it’s always best to be physically present for Mass, this technology allows us to have the next best option. If you need help accessing any of these videos, please feel free to email (info@leothegreat.org) or call the rectory office and we will be happy to help you.
We are now permitted to have funerals again in the church as long as different households practice social distancing and masks are worn. We have also re-opened our Parish Community Center for meetings and for people to rent out, as long as the number present does not exceed 50% capacity (the large room in the Parish Center can comfortably hold about 75 people so that would be about 30-35 people). Please call the rectory office for more information.
Another reminder too that our rectory office is now open again with new temporary hours. Please see the notice in this bulletin.
Since the stay-at-home order happened in the middle of Lent when we were in the midst of our annual Have a Heart, Lend a Hand charity, we needed to make some adjustments to that program so please see this bulletin for what to do with items that you may have already purchased.
While we’re still doing some work on the church floor, hopefully you’ll notice how clean and shiny it is now that it’s been stripped & re-waxed. Perhaps you’ll also notice the brighter lights. But having many of you back is the brightest light for me. Welcome home.