Jambo –
We are fast approaching the glorious Christmas Season. I think that you will agree time passes more quickly year after year! Over the last few years it has been apparent that on Christmas Eve many parishioners along with their extended families, come to worship at St. John. I am thrilled that we have such community on this very special night.
To accommodate all who wish to celebrate on Christmas Eve, we will be offering TWO Children’s Masses: 4pm and 6pm. For safety reasons and because of fire code regulations, ushers will have to strictly monitor the number of attendees at each Mass and only allow enough participants to fill the seats and keep the aisles clear. There will be minimal standing allowed. We anticipate that this means approximately 600 people can attend each Mass.
To have the best chance of getting seats for your family and any guests, we strongly encourage you to have all members of your group arrive 30 minutes prior to Mass.
At 15 minutes prior to Mass, ushers will begin filling in any open spaces to reduce the crowd that may be standing in the aisles or in the vestibule.
We did reach capacity at the 4pm Mass last year and we did have to turn quite a few people away asking them to return for a later service. We ask for your understanding in our efforts to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all.
We look forward to having our wonderful children lead us in worship on this very blessed night. We are so fortunate to have the Schola choir join us for the 4pm Mass and the Cantionis Choir assist us in worship at the 6pm. There are additional masses at 9pm on Christmas Eve and 9am on Christmas morning.
In the coming weeks, please read the bulletin for additional information regarding the Masses for Christmas. The parish is making every effort to ensure that the Masses are a joyous celebration for everyone.
Baraka ya Yesu!
Padre Crispin
