St Thomas the Apostle

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

New Mass Times

(beginning May 26, 2020)

Tuesday and Friday 8:30 am in Church

Saturday 4:30 pm in Church

Sunday 9:00 am and 11:00 am in Church

Confessions will be heard every Saturday in the Church at 3:30 pm.
View our online masses by clicking on the "Online Masses" tab at the top of this page.
Parish Offices are closed but we are still collecting mail daily and checking our phone and email messages remotely.
Weekly bulletins can be viewed here under the "News" tab at the top of this page.
Mass will be available to you each day via live-stream and other media channels.

A Message from our Pastor......

May 24, 2020

Dear Parishioners,

This Tuesday, May 26, St. Thomas will resume public Masses. In alignment with the liturgical directives issued by Archbishop Vigneron, we are committed to providing a safe and clean environment for everyone to worship our Lord. The health of our parishioners is of utmost importance to us and new procedures and protocols have been put in place to ensure this. Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation as we work through our new “normal” together. For those unable to attend Mass in person, we will continue to provide weekend Masses on our parish website.

Some changes you will notice:

· People must wear a mask in church. Please bring your own if possible.

· People must sanitize their hands when entering church. Please bring your own if possible.

· We will practice social distancing. Some pews will be roped off. Tape on the floor spaced 6 feet apart. Please don’t sit together unless you live in the same house. Please do not use the hymnals if you see them.

· A new way of the collection will be implemented.

· You may wear gloves but not to receive Holy Communion.

· We ask that everyone receive Communion in the hand.

· There will be no Sign of Peace before Communion.

· We will only distribute the Host for Holy Communion.

· The minister will purify their hands if they touch your hands or tongue.

· We will use the Fr. Prus Room if needed for social distancing.

· We may have an outside Mass in summer if weather permits.

The dispensation from the Sunday obligation to attend Mass is granted to all the faithful through Sunday, September 6, 2020. Although the faithful are dispensed from their Sunday obligation to attend Mass, they must observe the Lord’s Day and are encouraged to spend time in prayer on Sunday, meditating on the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection (an excellent way to do this is through participating in a broadcast of the Sunday Mass) or participating in a spiritual or corporal act of mercy.

WHO SHOULD NOT ATTEND MASS:

· Those who are older than 65 years old (the recommended CDC age), with a compromised health condition or caring for the sick in any way, are encouraged to stay home.

· Anyone who is ill, has a temperature, cough, etc., should stay home as an act of justice to the whole community.

As every parish realizes, it will not be perfect. It will take time to adjust to a new way of attending church during this time when we need to distance ourselves and take many precautions. All of us will have to be open to changes and go with the flow.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

With prayers for good health and safety for everyone, God bless us all!

Fr. Larry

UPDATE FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF DETROIT

May 12, 2020

Dear brothers and sisters,

I write today to share some measure of hope during this difficult time of pandemic and social distancing. In recent weeks, we have watched with relief as our State of Michigan gradually opened to select businesses and activities, with prudent precautions firmly in place to prevent a severe “second wave” of the coronavirus pandemic. In keeping with this gradual reopening of our society, it is necessary that we make similar arrangements within our local Church to allow once again for the communal celebration of Holy Mass, which at its core is the most “essential” activity known to our world.

In these liturgical directives you will see details for the return to public Mass on May 19, 2020. The most important category of individuals to participate at Mass at this time should be those preparing to enter the Catholic Church in the weeks ahead. These directives will need strict adherence for all public liturgies, including weddings, funerals, and baptisms. The Mass you may attend in the weeks ahead will look and feel quite different from the Mass you remember from two months ago. It will be imperative for all of us – pastors, parish staff, volunteers, and all the faithful – to work together during these times. The pandemic is not over and safety precautions must be followed in order to promote the continued health and safety of everyone in our community.

Additionally, I am sharing with you updated liturgical guidelines, which have been assembled by the COVID-19 Liturgical Committee. These guidelines have taken into account expert advice from the medical community, liturgical experts, and public health leaders. They are meant to assist pastors and the faithful in safely participating in Holy Mass while maintaining the sound health precautions counseled by health and government officials. Through it all, we must remember that this virus does not discriminate between gatherings; a group gathered for sacred worship is not immune by the merits of its gathering. It is only through our careful observance of these precautions that we make it possible to resume public Mass. For more information about all these guidelines and other resources, please visit www.aod.org/emergencyresponse.

When this pandemic began, I directed priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit to suspend all public Masses as we assessed the situation and explored a safe way to bring Christ to the people, both through the Word of God and the Sacraments. This was an unfortunate but necessary decision in light of the severity of the pandemic and the number of unknowns associated with this new and deadly virus. Know that I have prayed during this time for you, the faithful of southeast Michigan, especially during my private and livestreamed Masses. I pray you have felt the loving comfort of Christ as you awaited the day you could return to his Real Presence in the Eucharist. And I rejoice with you and thank God today as we move toward the gradual reopening of our parish communities.

Asking the continued intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of Detroit

RESOURCES

Learn About Your Faith Through FORMED

A resource for parishioners to learn about the faith is FORMED, an online media platform by the Augustine Institute. Because of the coronavirus and the cancellation of public Masses, FORMED is free for the next month. Known as the “Catholic Netflix,” FORMED combines materials from the Augustine Institute, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, Ignatius Press and more to provide Catholic content as widely as possible to parishes.
Content includes movies, documentaries, audiobooks and recorded talks on several Catholic topics.

OUR PARISH

Masses

Join us for morning Mass!

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 8:30 AM.

Our weekend Masses are 4:30 PM on Saturday, and 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM on Sunday. We have a Communion Service on Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM.

Please join us!

We Believe

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish is a post Vatican II Roman Catholic community that faithfully worships and serves in the Holy Spirit in order to bring the Gospel message of Our Savior Jesus Christ to the world so all will have faith in God.

Our Community

Everyone is welcome to experience our community through our worship or service opportunities and our social events where friendships are formed and fellowship is shared. Our annual festival held the third weekend in September is a great time for all ages and just one of our many social activities.