Some Quad Counties churches are reopening this weekend, but with COVID-19 measures in place.
Saint Joseph’s Port Hawkesbury Pastor Conrad Edwards is part of a reopening group advising Diocese of Antigonish Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Edwards tells The Hawk the province allowing in-person masses again is a relief for many.
“Any kind of news is positive news,” he says. “We’ve all been hunkered down pretty good for the last couple of months, and that’s a big issue for our people.”
Edwards says it won’t be like normal, besides the usual space and cleaning requirements, they’re taking away some activities that are higher risk, including singing, the offertory procession, and socializing afterward.
He says they will give communion, but only in the hand, not the mouth.
Edwards says the restrictions are required to allow them to bring people back.
“Nobody really wants to be away from that collective and that community,” he says. “We’re very happy to see that we’re moving in a good direction.”
He says there is a 50-person limit on services, but that’s only if physical distancing is possible, so smaller churches might not be able to allow that many.
Edwards says this means that churches might not be able to let everyone in who wants to attend mass, no walk-ins will be allowed, so parishioners will need to pre-register, but they’re working on solutions like multiple masses.
He says, ultimately, it’ll be up to the individual churches to decide how they manage that.
Edwards says, because of all those restrictions, he doesn’t see virtual services going away anytime soon.
