First Communion during COVID-19
First Communion is a joy-filled day, but during the pandemic there are precautions that must be taken to keep everyone healthy. Some of these precautions will reduce the active roles that children have taken in our First Communion Masses in past years; others will make it more difficult for families to preserve memories of this day through photos. Travel restrictions, the limit on the capacity of our church during social distancing, and the need to protect our vulnerable elderly will all prevent grandparents and other relatives and friends from being able to attend.
First Communion is a joy-filled day, but during the pandemic there are precautions that must be taken to keep everyone healthy. Some of these precautions will reduce the active roles that children have taken in our First Communion Masses in past years; others will make it more difficult for families to preserve memories of this day through photos. Travel restrictions, the limit on the capacity of our church during social distancing, and the need to protect our vulnerable elderly will all prevent grandparents and other relatives and friends from being able to attend.
So that on First Communion day we can focus on the joy of receiving Jesus and coming to the table of the Lord, it is best that we know in advance about the efforts that this will require of all of us. Here are some facts you should know about some of the guidelines for how First Communion would look differently from what we had planned and discussed at the Parent Meeting last February.
Mass Times for First Communion in Fall, 2020
Please only register immediate family, unless you indicated on the survey you also had named Godparents for First Communion (see below)
Please only register immediate family, unless you indicated on the survey you also had named Godparents for First Communion (see below)
- 11 a.m. Mass on Saturday, October 24 — please register your attendees using this link
- Students & Families involved: Emanuel & Yareli C., Charlotte E., Ereidy F. E., Vicky H., Diego M., Zoe N., Charlotte O., Jade & William P.-B., Brandon R., Charlotte S., Diego Z., Melanie Z.
- Families who volunteered to help clean after Mass: Herrera, Narut, Pasquier-Betanco, Rodriguez
- 2 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 7 — please register your attendees using this link
- Students & Families involved: Yaritza A., Aiden Ag., Makayla C., Jetzabeht C., Jacob & Raymi C. P., Jade & William G. T., Melalin M. P., Evelyn & Sandy O., Giovanny R. B., Dylan & Ruby S., Evie S., Crystal S., Mia V., Dylan Z., and Mareli & Stefany Z.
- Families who volunteered to help clean after Mass: Eickhoff, Schmidt
If you will need a different day, please let Ms. Hohner know as soon as you can. There will be at least 2 other First Communion Masses yet to be scheduled for students who wanted to wait until the Winter, Spring, or the end of the pandemic to receive First Communion.
Preparations
- If your child’s First Communion clothes from last Spring no longer fit, feel free to have them wear something else church-appropriate. We just ask for no jeans, no shorts, and no hoodies. Dark sneakers are acceptable. Masks are necessary but do not need to be fancy.
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Felt banners do not need to be brought to church, since they cannot be sanitized after the Mass before you bring them home with you. A simple card with each child’s name will be placed at the end of pew and discarded after the Mass. We would not want to have to discard the banner! Banners can and should be a keepsake at home (even if they still bear the old date of May 2). Wooden dowels will be given out at the end of the Mass to allow you to display your banner or take photos with it.
- Arrival times will be staggered to make sure that our ushers can seat everyone quickly.
- Families with students’ last names A through L should arrive 30 minutes before Mass
- Families with students’ last names M through Z should arrive 15 minutes before Mass
- Review the meaning of the Mass (steps 1-2) and how to receive Communion (steps 3-4).
- Watch this Mass review video on YouTube. It may also help to go through the parts of the Mass using the black or white Mass book from Rite of Enrollment, or this PDF which looks back at the main parts of the Mass.
- Take this Mass review Quiz on Sporcle. Scroll down to the green box that says “PLAY QUIZ”. You do not need to make an account on the site. You can also take the quiz more than once if needed.
- Watch this video on YouTube about how to receive Holy Communion under normal conditions, when there is not a pandemic. This is a very thorough instruction on how to receive with reverence and using good procedures that you can use throughout your life.
- Then go through these steps in English or in Spanish with illustrating photos for how to receive Communion specifically during the pandemic, including using hand sanitizer, receiving only in your hand, and when to adjust your mask so you can consume the Eucharist when you are at least 6 feet away from the priest. These procedures will be used at the First Communion Mass and anytime you come back to church for Mass during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who can attend the Mass?
- Immediate family (parents and siblings) who live with the First Communicant(s). Including the First Communicant(s), this number must be less than 7 (exceptions may be made for families with small children).
- Godparents for First Communion (only if your family has indicated through the survey that they have a tradition of choosing godparents for First Communion).
These families indicated in the survey that they had chosen godparents for First Communion:- 11 a.m. October 24: Cornejo, Eickhoff, Flores Estrada, Herrera, Mata, Olech, Rodriguez, Zetina Romero, Zetina Vaca
- 2 p.m. November 7: Acosta, Carrera, Chabla, Gomez Tenorio, Mazariegos Perez, Ortiz, Sanchez, Villegas, Zetina Mondragon, Zetina Flores
Only these families have permission to bring persons other than their immediate family members when their children receive Communion, because these numbers are reflected in the total number of persons allowed for each Mass.
Families must sign up their guests online in advance (using the links above for each Mass) with the names, phone numbers (and/or emails), and relationships to the First Communicant(s). This is for possible contact-tracing in case someone was sick at the Mass. Registration closes automatically at 10 p.m. the Friday evening before the Mass.
Everyone attending must:
- Have their temperature checked when they arrive. This is required for child-centered events for Religious Education programs.
- Use hand sanitizer at the door and before receiving Communion
- Wear a mask during the Mass, covering their nose and mouth (only babies under 2 years old can go without a mask)
- Move through the church according to social distancing and the aisle markings
- Follow the directions of the ushers while being seated before Mass and while approaching to receive Communion
- Sit in the assigned seat and only take personal photos or videos from there during the Mass (no flash)
The priest celebrant of the Mass will use hand sanitizer and will wear a mask and a face shield when he is distributing Communion. The First Communicants in Level 2 or Level 4 last year can follow along with the Mass in their personal Mass books they received at the Rite of Enrollment in February. There will be no printed worship aides or program booklets.
What cannot happen at the Mass:
- Families visiting one another at their pews before Mass begins. Once seated by the usher, please stay in your own pew.
- Singing by the congregation.
- Group or individual photos taken by a professional photographer (this was only planned for the May 2 Masses, not for older students scheduled for the Mass on March 28)
- Using the banners that the children made last Spring (this was only planned for the May 2 Masses)
- Procession of the children into the church at the beginning of Mass
- Children proclaiming the Readings or parts in the prayers of the Mass
- Children gathering on the steps of the sanctuary to listen to the Homily (this was only planned for the May 2 Masses,)
- Children carrying flowers or the gifts of bread and wine to the altar
- Families remaining in the church after Mass to take photos