Parishes get creative to engage parishioners during pandemic

May 1, 2020

By Alfredo E. Cardenas | Correspondent

When historians write about the COVID-19 pandemic, the term “social distancing” will be remembered as the strategy that saved countless lives. In the history of the Catholic Church, the operative term may well be “creative ministering.”
In fact, Pope Francis recently prayed for and praised “the creativity of priests” as they ministered during the pandemic.
The challenge Father Charlie Garza, pastor at St. Albert the Great Parish in Austin, and his brother priests around the globe faced was how to administer the sacraments within the guidelines of social distancing. That challenge required creativity, so Father Garza called upon the Holy Spirit for help.
He also relied on a leadership team that included his associate pastor
Father Paul-Michael Piega, Deacon David Ochoa, Ericko Yokohama and others. Throughout the Diocese of Austin, other parish leaders did the same.
Many parishes began livestreaming Sunday Mass on their websites, Facebook, YouTube and other available means. Some, like St. Albert the Great, also began to livestream Perpetual Adoration. But the bigger questions included how do we hear confessions and how do we anoint the sick from six feet away, Father Garza said.
When Bishop Joe Vásquez, in keeping with community health concerns, suspended public Masses; required limiting attendance at funerals and weddings to close family and friends; and curtailed homebound ministries for holy Communion, he also encouraged parishes to build spiritual communities “through social media and small Christian groups.”
While “observing public health advisories regarding social distancing,” Bishop Vásquez directed pastors to keep churches open during normal hours for private prayer and devotionals. He also asked priests to remain available for the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, to keep parish offices open with essential staff during normal business hours, and to continue parish ministries. He encouraged pastors to use “prudential judgment in these matters.”
This new reality of ministry was a challenge to both priests and the laity. Priests encouraged their parishioners to attend Mass online, on television or on the radio. Parishioners were encouraged to pray for spiritual communion at the moment they normally went up to receive the Eucharist. However, many parishioners do not have access to the internet, others are at an age where they do not fully grasp the intricacies of social media, and still others did not have the required bandwidth to receive the Mass.
While a person might confess their sins over the telephone or the internet, church law says one cannot receive absolution via the internet or the telephone. Moreover, Father Garza said there is always the risk that the electronic conversation can be compromised, violating the sanctity of the sacrament.
Some parishes continued to offer confessions with safeguards for social distancing. Father Uche Obikwelu, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Kingsland, encouraged penitents to observe social distancing in the church narthex, while the glass doors between the entrance doors and the church were closed. He sat in a pew while the penitent sat at a permissible distance. No one in the narthex was able to hear them.
At St. Mary Cathedral in Austin, the parish set up a system where penitents made an appointment and confessions were held in the school with portable confessionals set up in a way that ensured social distancing.
Cathedral parishioner Ed Check said he appreciated the work the Cathedral has done to offer the sacraments.
“I very much appreciate the efforts Father Daniel Liu has made to keep connected with his parishioners, including scheduling confession times when the appropriate guidelines can be maintained,” he said.
Father Garza’s leadership team decided to also take appointments and the priests heard confessions in the parish’s driveway. The penitent remained in their vehicle and Father Garza or Father Piega sat behind a confessional draped with a dark cloth. A large poster with the Act of Contrition printed in both English and Spanish hung on the confessional directly in front of the driver’s side window.
For the faithful who cannot avail themselves of these opportunities for reconciliation, Pope Francis suggested, they “speak directly with God, your father, and tell him the truth. Say, ‘Lord, I did this, this, this. Forgive me,’ and ask for pardon with all your heart.” He said the penitent must make an act of contrition and promise God, “’I will go to confession afterward, but forgive me now.’ And immediately you will return to a state of grace with God.”
Parishes have also faced the challenge of maintaining the fiscal operations of the church with a reduction in contributions because of the lack of weekend collections. Before the pandemic, St. Albert the Great was receiving 80 percent of its contributions at Masses and 20 percent online. Parish leaders have been contacting parishioners to check on them and to encourage them to continue to give online. Online contributions increased to 50%, but they are still only collecting 65% of what the parish usually receives weekly.
Eloy and Irene Sifuentes, parishioners at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Pflugerville, have realized the importance of continuing to support their parish.
“We normally use the weekly envelope,” Irene Sifuentes said. “The first week or so, I forgot all about it, and it wasn’t until the second or third week while viewing the last published bulletin online that I noticed the decline in the amount of the weekly donations. I was shocked and realized there must be several parishioners who, like myself, were caught up in the chaos of the pandemic and forgot their monetary contribution to the church. Luckily, I saw the donate button on the website and have been using it.”
Donations to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other church charitable arms are also down, but the demand to provide help for those in need is even greater. Monetary donations are being accepted by parish St. Vincent de Paul Societies as well as the diocesan Society of St. Vincent de Paul at www.ssvdp.org.
Before the pandemic, the Knights of Columbus Council at St. William Parish in Round Rock had begun its annual Lenten Food Drive to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, bringing in nearly 3,000 pounds of food. Knight Frank Alvarez said this was well short of the 10,000 to 13,000 pounds donated in the prior three years. Alvarez said the council also donated $3,000 to the Food Pantry and $20,000 to the parish.
The pandemic does not only present a challenge of faith, but it is also a real threat to peoples’ livelihood. Not being able to participate in Sunday Mass and receive the Body of Christ “is a very difficult jolt to their lives,” said Father Howard Goertz, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Luling.
He pointed out that “small-town folks take quarantines and social distancing in stride,” but what places a “heavy burden on people is losing their income because they can’t work.”
Father Goertz said he has been serving the isolated and the sick while practicing safe social distancing.
“I had two funerals since this social distancing began, and it was gut-wrenching to … hear and see the pain of accepting the new rules while also dealing with the grief of losing a loved one,” Father Goertz said.
Father Garza has been going to hospitals to administer last rites, but the hospitals do not allow him to touch the patient or administer the holy oils. He has to pray with patients via a television monitor. Relatives are with the priest, and the patient is alone. It is not very satisfactory, but the family is comforted to know that their loved one is in God’s hands, Father Garza said.
Irene Sifuentes said this pandemic has been a scary and unsettling time.
“Given the circumstances, the church’s efforts have been good. It has been a learning experience for us all,” she said.
Father Goertz knows the Lord is with clergy and laity alike as they work their way through the pandemic.
“The Holy Spirit will provide and guide us through this dark valley,” Father Goertz said.