Dear Friends,
             This afternoon we received word from Archbishop Gregory that public worship may resume in our parish under the city’s current 10-person limit.  While the very small number of people permitted may make our process a little awkward, I recommend a few points for our communal consideration:
            This is a beginning, but an important one.  Every good process has a first step and we can celebrate this as a happy moment for our parish family.  Things will only get better from here.
 
            This is temporary.  The District government hopes to begin the next phase of city-wide reopening on Friday June 19.  We hope and pray that (a) we do indeed move to Phase II and (b) that Phase II will bring with it a further opening of our doors. 
            Most important of all, this is who we ARE: We are a worshipping people, and while we have voluntarily fasted from the normal patterns of our worship these last months, we have now been offered an opportunity, small as it may seem, to BE ourselves once more.  We owe it to our Lord and to ourselves to make the most of this moment.
            Throughout this evening, I’ve consulted with our rectory priests and with our lay reopening team.   We’ve come up with a plan to begin Sunday, June 14.  The plan provides for:

• Sunday and weekday worship
• A random digital lottery to select congregants for the masses (lottery will be available Wednesday June 10 on our parish website)
• The continuation of streamed masses on our social media platforms each Sunday morning.  

Our goal, at this point, is simply to begin reestablishing our patterns of worship.  With a 10-person limit that’s about all we can do right now, but it’s an important step to be sure.
 
What can you do right now?  
 
Continue to pray for and support our parish community.  Watch our social media outlets (@saintmarydc) and our webpage ( www.saintmarymotherofgod.org ).  By Wednesday, June 10 we anticipate having our lottery process up and running, as well as our  video on what to expect when you return to mass.
 
Thank you for your ongoing patience, for your fidelity to our Lord, your service to our neighbors and for all the myriad ways I’ve seen you BE the Church even in these unusual days.  You have my admiration and my love, always.  
 
Your priest,
Father Vincent J. De Rosa
Pastor