Dear Friends,

Since the beginning of the pandemic crisis we at MHT have worked with the diocese and followed closely the recommendation of country and state health services to make sure everyone is as safe as possible when we return.  In May we began a reopening with outdoor masses.  Sadly, we had to close in early June because of a massive new rise in cases.  In late July we were able to resume outdoor masses under our phase 1 plan as approved by the diocese.  The lingering question for many has been, when will we be able to return to the church?

That’s a good question since the diocese is allowing some churches with proper social distancing and mask wearing to celebrate mass in church structures if it can be done safely.   For us this is a difficult question on a number of fronts.  The areas of concern are the structure of the building itself and the state standards for reopening.  Here is my thinking at this time:

Structure

Our church is unique is design.  Unlike most of our churches with traditional high roofs and better air circulation our roof is low with poor circulation.  Our church is very limited in its capacity to circulate fresh air constantly throughout the building.  The air conditioner recirculates and the fans push the air down right over our heads.  This is not unlike most schools and restaurants that our struggling with the same issue.  Covid is a disease of the interior.  In other words, the vast majority of cases occur in buildings with poor circulation.

Diocese policy and the Health Department Requirements

For us to establish mass back in the building will require a certain amount of progress in the control of the virus.  If you go to the Arizona Department of Health Services, (www.AZDHS.org ) you can see where we are as a state and county in our battle with Covid.  The news is good but we still have a way to go before we can let our guard down.  On the front page of the health department website at the bottom of the page you will see standards for schools.  Here at MHT, we are following these standards for returning to the parish.  We are following these standards because our building and campus has characteristics more like a school than a traditional church.  These standards are:

 1. Two weeks of less than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

 2. Less than 7% infection rate for two weeks or more
 
3. Major reduction in hospital usage that allows for new surges in cases if necessary.

At the present time, Pima County only meets the standard for hospitalization.  Until the other criteria are met, we cannot return to indoor celebrations safely.  Luckily, we are seeing good trends and if we keep up our discipline of distancing, staying home and wearing masks we will be able to meet our goals.  It is my hope that we can return to the church setting by the end of September or early October.  However, that will depend on our meeting those standards and criteria.  In the meantime, we will continue outside masses and the serving of communion from 9 am until 11 am on Sundays.  We will also continue to record a mass for each week so everyone can celebrate the liturgy at home.  As always, we urge vulnerable populations to stay home and take advantage of our online mass and communion reception on Sundays.  If you have any questions or suggestion please do not hesitate to let me know.
   
As always, I thank you for your amazing support of our parish.  I pray you will continue to support your community both financially and with your prayers as we move forward.  May God continue to bless you all your family on this challenging journey.

Yours in the Savior,
Fr. Tom

August 24th 2020