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St. Michael Parish

St. Michael  Parish

9 Lincoln Street, Exeter, NH 03833

REJOICE IN THE EASTER SEASON!
Terrific events coming up in Spring & Summer... 

May God's love and protection be with you this Lent.  St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!
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    • UPDATES


    • Hope & Gratitude AS COVID CASES ARE DOWN - UPDATE 2/18/22

      Dear Friends,

      I want to thank you for taking precautions over these last couple months as we experienced the most disruptive surge of Covid of the past two years. These steps enabled us to keep operating as a parish, helped to keep local hospitals from being even more overwhelmed than they already were, and protected the most vulnerable among us.

      With cases in New Hampshire at the lowest level since September and rapidly decreasing and hospitalizations at the lowest level since August, the danger is quickly receding. Fortunately, the trajectory of the virus looks very promising ahead. While we will always have to be prepared for any future variants and surges that might overwhelm hospitals, there are now better treatments for Covid available and so much immunity in the population from vaccination and recent infection that community-wide precautions will become much less needed. Over time, Covid will become an endemic disease like the flu that might circulate seasonally but not cause disruptions to the whole of society.

      There is still an indoor mask mandate in place in the town of Exeter which should be lifted in the coming days. While we still have signs up asking people to wear masks and I will ask priests and other ministers of the Eucharist to wear masks as long as the mandate is in effect, I am not expecting ushers or anyone else to enforce the mandate.

      Let me take this moment to thank all of our St. Michael parishioners for the incredible job you have done over these past two years. In a time when there is so much rancor, we were respectful of one another and took sensible precautions to control the spread of a deadly virus while still being able to do the work of the Church. I can’t thank you enough for all you have done to support the parish and one another during this time.

      Let us say a prayer for those, including many of our fellow parishioners, who still suffer from lingering effects of Covid, the death of a loved one, or other economic and social impacts of the pandemic. As I said in a homily a couple weeks ago, we have all done our best in an emergency unprecedented in any of our lifetimes and it is time to forgive ourselves, forgive one another, and move forward in peace.

      Fr. Matt
    • MASKS CURRENTLY REQUIRED IN EXETER - UPDATE 12/23/21

      Dear Friends,

      In light of the Town of Exeter renewing a mask ordinance for indoor spaces and the local health care system in danger of being overwhelmed with hospitalizations, I ask you, for now, to please wear a mask while attending Mass or interacting with others inside the church and other buildings in the parish.  Priests and other ministers will again resume mask-wearing in procession and during the distribution of communion.

      While we are all tired of the Covid-19 pandemic after nearly two years, I thank you for once more making a small sacrifice for the common good.  Even though we face a challenging few weeks ahead with a very contagious variant spreading rapidly, on top of an already raging pandemic and the flu season, there are glimmers of hope that we are nearing the end of the pandemic and there are positive signs that the new variant may also cause less severe disease.  Many of us, due to vaccination or prior infection, may be at very little danger of severe disease, but we can still spread a virus to others.  The sheer number of potential cases all at once and the potential of a short but very high surge requires this temporary step.

      I also recognize there may be some people who are unable to wear a mask due to breathing problems or other health issues.  While charity requires us to think of the good of others in a critical time like this, no one should be shamed or admonished for making the best decisions they can in good conscience.

      Despite the ongoing challenges of this life, we know that Jesus, the True Light, has come into this world, the shadows are only temporary, and that is something to rejoice in this Christmas season.

      Fr. Matt

    • DISPENSATION TO BE LIFTED, MASKS OPTIONAL - UPDATE 6/5/2021

      Dear Parishioners,

      For more than a year we have all faced challenges in the midst of a pandemic and as a Church we struggled to keep especially the most vulnerable among us safe from illness. Some have faced extended times separated from the Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives as Christians.

      Now we can take some final steps in returning to normality in our celebration of the Mass. On the weekend of June 19 and 20, the dioceses of New England will be lifting the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Beginning this week, all remaining ropes will be removed from the pews and mask wearing in the churches will become optional. This is in conformity with the new guidelines we received this week from Bishop Libasci and the Diocese of Manchester which read as follows:

      In light of the positive developments we have seen in New Hampshire, and the changes in guidance from public health authorities, it is with great joy that I can now announce that effective today, June 6, 2021, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the COVID-19 restrictions and procedures which we have had in place for Masses in this Diocese will no longer be in effect.

      While a positive trend is very much anticipated to continue in New Hampshire, directives may be reinstated if there is a change of circumstances. Our continued care for the most vulnerable will help to keep us on a positive track. The wearing or not wearing of a mask at Mass will now be at the option of the individual. In making a decision whether to wear a mask, those who have not been vaccinated must be mindful of the need to take other safeguards for the care of self and others, as recommended by public health authorities. In any event, let us not shame or admonish other people whatever course of action they decide to take.


      I want to thank all our parishioners and staff who worked so hard this year to adjust to the realities of the pandemic and continued to stay involved in the life of the parish as best they could. Our parish was truly a model of cooperation for the common good and we should all be very proud of how we stayed united even in challenging circumstances. We invite all our parishioners back to a deeper participation in Mass in person and a renewed encounter with Christ.

      Praying for you all,
      Fr. Matt
    • A BIT MORE NORMAL - MASS NEWS & COVID UPDATE FROM FR. MATT - 5/28/2021


       

      Dear Parishioners,

      What a joy it has been to return to some normality at Mass and in the life of the parish. One of our men’s groups that has been meeting on Zoom all year long finally met in person for the first time last week and it was a much better experience! We encourage every parish ministry to make plans to meet again in person if they haven’t already done so.

      Covid cases in New Hampshire are down dramatically in the last month and things are expected to get even better in the weeks ahead. With the mask mandates in the towns of Exeter and Newmarket having now expired and the diocese also updating its guidelines this week, we will continue to follow best practices. At the moment the diocesan guidelines continue to strongly recommend the use of masks at Mass for those who are able to wear them.

      We have also begun to remove some of the ropes from the pews and will place a small sign at the end of those pews that social distancing is not observed there. We encourage people who do not need to socially distance to fill in those pews, so that we can make sure there is enough room for everyone at Mass. We will continue to follow appropriate guidance and look forward to the day that is coming when all restrictions can be lifted.

      Praying for you all,
      Fr. Matt
    • MASS NEWS & COVID UPDATE FROM FR. MATT - 5/15/2021

      Dear Parishioners,


      What a strange and challenging year it has been!  Even though I have been here for nearly a year, I am still meeting parishioners every week as they come back to Mass in person and life in the parish has never quite been normal.  Fortunately, as the pandemic situation has improved so dramatically, with cases dropping and the population getting vaccinated, it is time to take some steps toward normality in our parish life and you will notice that some of our typical practices at Mass will return this weekend.

      As we all know, the CDC took a significant step this week in changing its recommendations for those who are fully vaccinated.  This is certainly good news and a harbinger of more positive changes ahead.  For now, we are still requiring those who are in attendance at Mass to wear a mask or face covering.  Mask mandates are still in place in the towns of Exeter and Newmarket and diocesan guidelines are still requiring the use of masks at Mass.  This is the guidance we have received from Bishop Libasci and the Diocese of Manchester:

      You may have seen that the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance, indicating that individuals who are fully vaccinated may participate in indoor and outdoor gatherings without a mask or social distancing. This only provides updated information for individuals; the CDC guidance for settings such as churches has not yet changed and when there is a gathering such as a Mass, masks are still to be worn according to Diocesan guidance. It has been a difficult time, and we all long for this pandemic to be over. Thanks to your support and the selfless actions of so many who have helped to keep our parishes healthy, safe, and clean, we are moving forward to the day that is coming when we can all gather together without restrictions.

      We will also still be roping off many pews and asking people to socially distance as much as possible at Mass.  However, beginning next weekend, a few of the ropes will be removed in the middle of the church.  We encourage those who do not need to socially distance to sit in these rows, so that there is plenty of room for everyone to attend Mass and so that those who need to socially distance can still do so.

      Thank you for your continued patience as we continue to protect the most vulnerable among us and especially over these next weeks in which many people who have been waiting to get fully vaccinated will be able to do so.

      Praying for you all,
      Fr. Matt

    • We Continue to Pray for each other and the Vulnerable Among Us

      "Loving God, Holy One, Your desire is for our wholeness and well-being.
      We hold in tenderness and prayer the collective suffering of our world at this time. We grieve precious lives lost and vulnerable lives threatened. We ache for ourselves and our neighbors, standing before an uncertain future. We pray: May love, not fear, go viral. Inspire our leaders to discern and choose wisely, aligned with the common good. Help us to practice social distancing and reveal to us new and creative ways to come together in spirit and in solidarity.

      Call us to profound trust in your faithful presence, You, the God who does not abandon, You, the Holy One, breathing within us, breathing among us, breathing around us in our beautiful yet wounded world." 

      - Sisters of IHM, Scranton, Pennsylvania

    • TRUST IN THE SLOW WORK OF THE LORD

      Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages.  We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability- and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you.  Your ideas mature gradually – let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

      - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. (1881-1955)

    • To submit items to our weekly bulletin: parishnewsnevents@gmail.com

      NOTE: Items are included at the discretion of the bulletin editor and must be submitted 10 days prior to the weekend you wish it to appear.

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St. Michael Parish
9 Lincoln St., Exeter, NH 03833
(603) 772 - 2494 |
office@stmnh.org

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