Letter to Parishioners from the Wider Parish Team

Dear Parishioners,

First of all, we would like to thank all of you including parishioners, volunteers and parish team members for your patience and support in recent months. The lockdown has disrupted parish life in a way we could not have imagined. We look forward to the day when parishioners including choirs can get together again without all the restrictions. In the meantime we will work within the guidelines provided by the government and the diocesan office and we will do our best to keep you updated especially via the parish website. The following is a summary of recent developments.

The monthly parish pastoral council meetings in Saggart have been interrupted by the lockdown. We will resume as the lockdown restrictions are lifted. Since the beginning of the year we have lost a great servant Patricia Redmond RIP. Also some long serving members have expressed their intention to step down in 2020 and we thank them for giving their time and talents. We also look forward to new members coming on board and bringing new energy and ideas to the team. (There are no special qualifications other than a commitment to Christian life, supporting the parish and working as part of a team.)

Our parish pastoral worker Breda Carroll has retired from her full-time role which involved many aspects of parish life not least working with the local schools and helping to prepare children for Communion and Confirmation. We thank Breda for her great service and we wish her all the best in her retirement.

Our parish deacon Don Devaney was very unfortunate to be infected with the virus and spent several weeks in hospital including time in ICU. Thanks to excellent medical care and many prayers from many people Don is back home in Clondalkin and continuing his recovery. We wish Don all the best as he continues his recovery.

Fr Michael McGowan who has served the parish for many many years and recently passed his 91st birthday has finally decided to retire from active parish duty. Fr Michael continued to offer daily Mass in Rathcoole and weekend Mass in Brittas up to the beginning of the lockdown in April. We thank Fr Michael for his many years of service and we wish him good health and happiness in the years to come.

Our parish office in Saggart is currently open on Thursdays and the parish secretary Martina Hopkins will take calls on the mobile on the other weekdays. We also remember that Martina lost her husband recently RIP, making this a more difficult time for her. It reminds us that many people have invisible crosses to carry, made more difficult in the current circumstances, and we need to continue to be patient and kind towards each other.

From Monday June 29 daily church services will resume in our parish with some restrictions including physical distancing in the churches, limits on numbers, strict protocols for holy communion and, unfortunately, no choirs until further notice. The timetable of services is published on our parish website along with a diocesan Covid 19 safety checklist and guidance.  [See here:  Revised Mass Times  and  Safety Checklist.]

The transition back to daily Mass with people physically present together in our parish churches is a very welcome step and we hope it will be a safe and enjoyable experience for everybody. At the same time we know the virus has not gone away and we need to follow the guidance to keep each other and our communities safe. We all have a part to play and we look forward to working together with this in mind.

Kind regards,

On behalf of the wider parish team,

Frs  John Gilligan,  Kevin Doherty,  Colin Rothery  
Matt O'Sullivan

Note from Website Administrator

Tomorrow is Cemetery Sunday for Saggart.  Most unfortunately, since government guidelines are in operation until Monday 29th, there will be no public Mass, followed by blessing of the graves, in St Mary's tomorrow.  Fr John wishes it to be known that he has personally blessed each grave. 

From Monday personal attendance is allowed for up to 50 in our three churches, while streaming of the 11 am Mass will continue in Saggart. 

Please note that (very unfortunately but unavoidably) only 50 people will be admitted into our three churches next Sunday, 5th July. You will, as it were, 'sign in' by taking a token from the basket on the right-hand side of the porch and leaving it in the one on the left-hand side.  Thank you for your understanding.

Re-opening of Parish Churches

Churches will remain closed for public Mass until Monday, 29th June. On that day they will re-open for up to 50 people and on July 20th for up to 100.

Revised Mass Times

Church Health and Safety Measures

Phase 3 of the government's easing of Covid-19 restrictions will come into effect on Monday 29th June (full text here ). Under the heading Social : Indoor Gathering we read:  "Indoor gatherings of up to 50 people when conducted in line with public health advice are permissible."  Weddings and church services are examples of such gatherings.

For its part, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference published a Framework Document on June 9th which began as follows:  "As we look forward in joy and hope to the re-opening of our churches for the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments, we offer this Framework Document to the dioceses and parishes of Ireland. The purpose of this document is to assist priests and people in their own preparations and to help ensure that the re-opening of our churches for public worship happens in a safe and measured way."

Calculating how many people a church could safely accommodate in keeping with the 2m distancing requirement was a vital part of this plan to re-open. Parishes were asked to address the question: "Having considered the most up-to-date advice on physical distancing, what is the number of people that can be accommodated safely in each church?" (Framework Document, Action 5). Such numbers were duly calculated by the PPC and Parish Team for our three churches, in the expectation that Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle would each re-open on Monday 29th to receive varying numbers of parishioners according to each church's capacity. But these calculations based on the Framework document of the 9th June were not to be those arrived at by the government in its Phase 3 measures published on the 19th June (updated 21st), with their entry limit of 50 people no matter how big the church. Hence the disappointment expressed by Archbishop Martin (see here). The end result is that we will have to wait until Phase 4 on July 20th before we can open up our churches to admit the number of people we had hoped to welcome on June 29th.  

The Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Team held a Zoom meeting on Thursday 18th. They discussed a range of issues to do with re-opening our churches, e.g. setting up a Steering Group, determining our churches' capacity, forming teams of volunteer stewards and cleaners, providing signage, drawing up procedures for separate entry and exit etc. We will keep you informed of all developments both here and on Facebook.

Light on the Horizon

The government today (Friday) published its regulations for Phase 2 of the lifting of Covid restrictions beginning on Monday 8th: see HERE. To be warmly welcomed is the new recommendation on funeral attendance: "Up to 25 immediate family and close friends may attend funeral services."

Another glimmer of hope is found in Archbishop Martin's comment yesterday to an Irish Times reporter: "There is a willingness on the part of public authorities to examine the possibility of bringing forward the opening of churches for public worship into Phase 3 of the road map, which would begin on June 29th. Naturally, any decision would have to take place closer to that date and would have to take into consideration the overall situation of the virus at that time." (For more, see the Irish Times report.)

For more information, see Archbishop Martin's official statements on the diocesan website for the 28 May and 4 June on the re-opening of churches.

Tuesday 9th June :

The Bishops of Ireland have released a Framework Document for a Return to the Public Celebration of Mass and the Sacraments. You can read a summary by Bishop Brendan Leahy (Limerick) here and the original text in full here. Par. 5 describes the task awaiting us here in our parishes:

At the end of the month we hope to slowly and cautiously resume public worship in our churches, knowing that it can only happen in a limited way. We will still need patience, perseverance and self-sacrifice. The prescriptions contained in this Framework Document will only be effective if we have the generous support of volunteers who will help to plan, implement and manage the transition back to full parish life and the celebration of the sacraments. In this regard we appeal particularly to the younger members of our parishes. Their energy, creativity and enthusiasm are gifts that our communities need now more than ever, since some of our older generation may be unable to offer their normal help in the current circumstances.