Celebration of Holy Mass

Wonderful news!! We have been given the go-ahead for the celebration of Holy Mass in our parish.  Things are going to look a bit different, so please bear this in mind.
 
The first and most important change is that YOU MUST BOOK A PLACE TO ATTEND SUNDAY MASS. The reason for booking is so that we have a list of everyone attending Mass in case there was a further outbreak of the virus in our local area. We are then able to “track and trace” all who attended church.  Although our church has capacity for more, there is a maximum limit of only 50 people allowed at any one Mass. This is imposed by the government to reduce any risk of contagion. For each Mass there will be 40 places available to be booked on line by clicking the button below:

BOOK NOW

​The other ten places for each Mass are available by phoning Fr Joe at the parish house 0141 876 1553 on a first come, first served basis. The booking system for the following Sunday will open each Monday so that it is not possible to book weeks in advance. This makes it as fair as possible to give everyone the chance to book a place. The times of Sunday Masses remain the same for the moment—Vigil 4.30pm on Saturday and then on Sunday at 10am, 11.30am and 5pm.

Weekday Masses will be at 10am daily, excluding Thursdays when the church is closed for deep cleaning. There is no need to book a place at weekday Masses at the moment as we do not expect numbers to exceed 50. This may need to change, however, if numbers increase. For weekday Masses, the stewards on duty will take your contact details when you arrive.
 
When you arrive at the church, all the sanitising and social distance guidelines from the government will be in place. You will be met by our volunteer stewards who will sanitise your hands and ensure you have a face covering (please bring one with you but there are extras available in the porch). The stewards will check your name against the list of those who have booked and show you to a seat. There is a one way system in place — entry via the main doors and exit via side doors at the Sacred Heart and Our Lady altars. PLEASE DO NOT COME ALONG WITHOUT BOOKING AS YOU CANNOT BE PERMITTED ENTRY AND THIS ONLY EMBARRASSES EVERYONE INVOLVED.

The structure of the Mass has been tweaked also: you will notice there is be no Offertory Procession, no Readers, no Altar Servers, no Eucharistic Ministers, no singing, and Holy Communion will be distributed at the end as you leave the building. Please follow the directions of the stewards who will ensure everyone is kept as safe as possible.   All these changes have been put in place by the Bishops to ensure a smooth flow and reduce any risk of contagion.
 
Although Fr Laurent and I are are so looking forward to celebrating Mass with you again in the church, please remember and consider a few points:

• Please only return to Mass if you have no underlying health conditions, are not shielding, and feel confident to return.
  
• The Sunday Obligation to attend Mass remains suspended by Pope Francis. This means you do not have to attend or you could choose to attend Mass on a weekday in the expectation that numbers may be smaller or at home via the live stream.

 
I know this is a lot of information to get your head around but over the next few weeks it should become much easier for us all.

God bless you all and we look forward to seeing you at Mass.
Fr Joe and Fr Laurent.