Church Opening for Private Prayer

The Church will open for private prayer, weekend commencing Saturday 11th July.

​

The church will be open for private prayer on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July.

​

The times will be as per our usual Mass times. Saturday 5pm, Sunday 10am and 5pm.

​

It will be open for one hour on each occasion.

​

We look forward to you being able to join us but we have had to adopt new procedures for infection control.

​

Upon entering the church, you will be asked to sanitise your hands. please follow the instructions of the steward who will take you to your seating area.  

​

You will also be asked for your contact details. This is regulation to ensure there is an adequate track and trace system in place.

A one-way system will be in operation, please follow the signs and instructions of the stewards both on entering and exiting the Church.

​

The two-metre distance will be followed at all times. Exit will be through the sacristy.

Votive Candles and toilets are temporarily unavailable.  

The stewards will disinfect your seating space after you vacate it. 

​

Please follow the guidelines which have been produced by the working party for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.

Parishioners who are shielding according to Scottish Government guidance should not come to church until Scottish Government guidance advises them it safe to do so.

Parishioners aged 70 or over, pregnant women, and those who receive the flu jab for medical reasons are currently able to leave their homes for essential purposes. In making a decision to come to church they are asked to follow Scottish Government advice.

Face coverings should be worn by all those in the Church whether during private prayer or Mass. If no face coverings are available, the mouth and nose should be covered by a scarf or other cloth covering.

In accordance with Scottish Government guidance, the following are not required to wear a face covering in the church: children under the age of five years; those who have a health condition where a face covering would be inappropriate because it would cause difficulty, pain or severe distress or anxiety, or because you cannot apply a covering and wear it in the proper manner safely and consistently.‘

We ask that the visit is limited to 15 minutes maximum to ensure the maximum number of people can visit the church.

As only 13 pews can be used due to social distancing, the numbers allowed at any one time are limited.

The Opening of the Church for Mass will depend on the success of the Private Prayer Initiative

When the Church does open for Mass there will have to be a booking system as agreed by the Bishops Conference for Scotland. Plenty notice will be given for this system and adequate allowance will be made for those who have no internet access.

Parish Registration

At the recent meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council it was decided to initiate a registration of all parishioners.

The Covid 19 crisis has transformed all our lives including the life of the Church and the Parish.

Communication with parishioners is extremely important at this time. In normal times the hard copy weekly bulletin, available at each Sunday Mass, is the main means of communication. The bulletin is still produced weekly and is available on the website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

However, not everyone has access to the internet or is computer literate. We really don’t know how many are accessing the bulletin and missing out on important information.

A simple registration form would give details of each parishioner including name, address, phone number and email address, if available. This would allow communication either electronically, or by a hard copy delivery, of any important information regarding the parish or the diocese.

The registration would fully comply with GDPR rules. Initially the form would be on the website but as soon as the Church is open, even for private prayer, hard copy forms will be available. You can download a copy of the form by clicking here. Register online by clicking here.

The registration details will be kept securely on the computer in the office in the parish house.

It will only be accessed by the Parish Priest or designated persons, e.g. the Chairperson and Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council.

Many parishioners are already on various lists, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Cleaners. Full registration would allow communication with all parishioners.

​

It is hoped you will fully support this important initiative.

Any queries please contact; Brian Blacklaw brianeblacklaw@icloud.com    07939152980

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Rosary Wednesday at 7pm

​

You Tube Link; https://bit.ly/stjstp

This and the daily Mass can be viewed at any time that suits.

Volunteers for

stewarding and cleaning

Would those who have volunteered for cleaning and stewarding the church please meet in the hall on Monday 29th at 6.30pm.

​

All volunteers welcome. Please observe all the social distancing guidelines, stay safe.

Donations to the Parish

Thank you to everyone who is donating to the Parish.

A number of new standing orders have been started.

If you have online banking and wish to make a donation you can do so directly to the Parish account.

St Joseph’s Wemyss Bay

Bank of Scotland  Sort code 80 15 86  Acc. 00356136

​

​

Bishop John has written a letter regarding parish finances. You can read the letter by clicking here.

Hospital Chaplins

Hospital Chaplains will still be attending IRH but under strict instructions from the staff.

Please remind the people that if they wish their patient-relative to be attended by a priest in an emergency they must ensure that the staff on the ward know that their relative is a catholic and would want the priest in an emergency. Religion is not asked as routine now on admission and families must give that information to staff.Mgr Gallagher