Please remember that the faithful have been dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Thus, those who wish to participate in Mass and receive Holy Communion can do so by attending a Mass any day of the week. Those who are at risk or fearful that they or their family might become sick are encouraged to join us for a Mass that is livestreamed online each Sunday.

Additionally:

• If you have the Covid-19 virus, have been exposed to it or suspect you have been,
• If you have or recently had a cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea,
• If you feel at all unwell,

DO NOT COME TO MASS. All are strongly encouraged to check your temperature and your children's temperature before coming to Mass and to wear masks. These precautions protect your fellow parishioners. Taking precautions, wearing a mask and being kind and patient during this difficult time are all acts of Christian charity. As St. Mother Teresa encouraged, we can all do little things such as these with great love.

The state of Ohio requires all persons in public spaces to wear a face covering.

Archdiocesan, state and federal guidelines all mandate that appropriate social distancing and health regulations must be observed. Our Lady of Sorrows Parish will implement these guidelines in the following ways:

• There are a limited number of seats in the church. Overflow seating is available in the PAC.
• Because the seating arrangement has been opened up for social distancing, kneelers have been removed from the backs of chairs. You may kneel on the floor if you choose or stand during those parts of the Mass.
• Ushers will seat parishioners so that maximum capacities are not exceeded and social distancing is maintained. Please take the seats you are directed to by the ushers.
• Entry doors will be open for you to have a touch-free entry into church or PAC.
• Hand sanitizer will be available as you enter. Please use it.
• We are asking that everyone who is able, please wear a mask. This is for the protection of everyone around you.
• We are discouraging holding hands at the Our Father (immediate family excluded) and there will be no pause for the exchanging of a Sign of Peace.
• Holy Communion will be in the form of the Body of Christ only. Communion will be done by sections, please wait for an usher's direction before coming forward. Please stay 6 feet apart as you approach for Communion. The floor makings will help you in this. (A family with small children can approach together.) Eucharistic ministers will do their best to drop the host into your hand without touching. Please instruct younger children to hold their hands still. Hands at rest is the cue the Eucharistic minister will be looking for that says you are ready.   Eucharistic ministers will be wearing masks and will sanitize their hands prior to distribution of communion.
• Because choirs and musical groups work in close proximity, we are unfortunately disbanding them until the pandemic is past. However, feel free to sing out your joy to the Lord!
• We will only be using adult servers at Mass if any. This is again to avoid the close proximity and the adults have volunteered.
• A disposable Mass program may be used on Saturday and Sunday, or we will use very familiar hymns that you can easily sing from memory. We are looking into a longer-term way to address this need.
• We will have only one lector per Mass. This avoids the need to sanitize between two different users.
• Our nursery/cry room will not be available during any Mass. We regret this, but these tend to be places where social distancing can't be maintained and the free flow of persons makes sanitizing between users nearly impossible.
• There will be no passed collection baskets during Mass because of the hand to hand contact that creates. As you enter or exit Mass, there will be acollection receptacle in the Gathering Space instead. We appreciate your gifts very much during this difficult time!
• Designated ushers will be handing out bulletins after Mass. They will wear masks and will have sanitized their hands. Bulletins are also available online.
• The church will be sanitized after each Mass so that it is clean and ready for the next Mass.
• Please do not stop to socialize while entering or leaving the building following Mass. This slows the movement of people and impedes social distancing. If you must converse with someone, please move well out of the flow of foot traffic to do so.

During the first weeks of public Masses, we will be observing and adjusting as needed. We may have further changes and will share additional communications on this. The parish staff views our Masses under the cloud of the coronavirus as a work in progress.