Parish Update

03-27-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. Will Schmid

Dear Parishioners of San Francisco de Asis,

I hope you and your family are all doing well during this difficult time. Last Sunday was a very strange experience. I very much missed seeing you! I am grateful for those of you who reached out to us and let us know how you are doing. We hope to be able to connect with every parish family in the coming weeks. Even though we haven't seen many of you these past two weeks, we are grateful that you are a part of our parish.

Although there are still many unanswerable questions at this time, I write this letter to you to keep you informed about recent developments with the Church and how we are responding to this crisis.

  1. It seems like our current social distancing initiatives will go on for a longer period of time than hoped for. In addition to cancelling the April Confirmation Masses, Bishop Olmsted has now officially cancelled the public celebration of Holy Week, which includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. Thus, the priests of Flagstaff will be celebrating the Triduum Liturgy in private at Nativity Chapel. Of course, we will live-stream them so that you can join in remotely. As we get closer, we will let you know about the times for these events. We do not know yet when we will be able to give the Sacraments to those who were supposed to receive them at the Easter Vigil. We will provide that information as soon as we know.
  2. The drive-thru confession system seems to be working well, but the weather is not always compliant. We will keep a close watch on the weather and continue to offer confessions when possible. Make sure to keep a close eye on our Facebook page and our website. Also, if you haven't signed up for Flocknote, please do so. There is a banner on our webpage that will help get you signed up.
  3. After monitoring the situation for the past week and a half, we have decided to reduce our office hours. Beginning April 1, the parish office will only be open to receive phone calls from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm on Wednesday. At this time, there are no physical walk-in hours at the office. The majority of our staff are now working remotely and are happy and ready to respond to emails. Please use email as the primary form of communication with staff. You can find staff email addresses here.
  4. The Adoration chapel is still open for those who want to spend time with Jesus. Please respect social distancing norms: no more than ten people at a time and please keep a healthy six foot distance from other people.
  5. Our school is still operating to the best of their ability. Students will begin with distant learning on Monday until the Diocese of Phoenix and Arizona Department of Education determine it is safe to return. The teachers have spent this week taking webinars that will help reach students while at home. Students will stay connected with their teacher each day with live lessons through zoom. Students will also work on assigned lessons from their teacher through a distant learning program. In order to create a normal schedule, Mr. Carroll will begin and end each day with prayer through the school's Instagram page.
  6. I want to thank all of you who have been able and willing to financially support the parish at this difficult time. Many of you have signed up for online-giving, mailed in your contributions or deposited your envelopes in the drop safe in the Adoration chapel. We are so grateful for your continued support. Every gift helps.
  7. It is too easy to get disconnected at this time. Please reach out to parishioners that you know to check in on them and see how they are doing. Also, you are all welcome to join Fr. Matt and I on Instagram for 12:15 pm daily Mass (Monday through Saturday) and listen to our daily podcast. Our podcast now has its own account separate from Catholic Jacks and can be found on your podcast app through iTunes. The title of our podcast is "Northern Fathers." The image to look for is blue with cartoon images of Fr. Matt and I holding axes. We will also put a link to our daily podcast on our parish's Facebook page.

In addition, every Friday we will be live-streaming Stations of the Cross at 6:00 pm, and on Sundays Fr. Matt and I will live-stream a Mass at 10:30 am on our parish's Facebook page. Some parishioners struggled to access the Facebook live feed last week. The following is a troubleshooting guide for watching Stations of the Cross and Sunday Mass on our Facebook page:

How to watch Live Streaming video on Facebook from your smart phone

  1. Open your Facebook app
  2. Click on the search icon on the top right side of the screen
  3. Type in San Francisco de Asis Parish
  4. Choose San Francisco de Asis Parish from the search options (it should be the 1st option)
  5. On the Parish Facebook page you will see a list of options (Home, About, Photos, Reviews, Videos, etc...) Click on Videos.
  6. When a Live Stream video is active it will be the top video. Click on the video to watch.

How to watch a Live Streaming video on Facebook from your computer

  1. Logon to your Facebook profile
  2. Click on the search bar on the top left side of the screen
  3. Type in San Francisco de Asis Parish
  4. Choose San Francisco de Asis Parish from the search options (it should be the 1st option)
  5. On the Parish Facebook page you will see a list of options (Home, About, Photos, Church tour and More) Click on "More". Then Click on "Videos"
  6. When a Live Stream video is active it will be the farthest video on the left. Click on the video to watch.

Another option for viewing Live stream on a computer:

When you are in Facebook, click on the "Watch" icon on the top of the page. It's to the right of the "Home" icon. Once you are in the "Watch" screen, you will see the word "Live" on the left side tool bar, click on the word "Live" and all pages that you follow will have their Live videos here. Note: you must "Follow" our parish page in order to see our Live videos from here.

Lastly, In order to grow in our priestly fraternity, and to give our minds a break from everything, the priests this week have been watching the Lord of the Rings movies. We have all been moved by the theme of good triumphing over evil, even in the midst of great pain and suffering. In times like this we need such reminders. Jesus is still God and He is still with us. Remember this beautiful truth in the midst of your fear and anxiety. We must always resist the despair that comes from the lies of the Evil One. Be assured of my daily prayers for you, and know that I long for the day when we are able to gather again for Mass.

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Will

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