“Let everything you do be done in love.”
- 1 Corinthians 16:14

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
– 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
– Pope John Paul II

“Hope is praying for rain, but faith is bringing an umbrella.”
- Unknown

Dear St. Vincent Parishioners,
 
Bishop J. Mark Spalding held a ZOOM meeting (online video meeting) with the priests of the diocese to discuss real plans for re-opening our Churches for public Holy Masses. Thursday, I will be sending you a letter, through the Office Manager, from the Bishop announcing the date for us to resume public Masses.
 
Re-opening will occur this month … and soon!
 
We may have to begin with daily Masses first, so that we can practice using diocesan and state guidelines; adapting the guidelines as necessary as possible for our facility, and plan and, if possible, rehearse how a Sunday Masses will be conducted.
 
Opening for Sunday Masses is going to be complicated initially. For those who will choose to attend, you will need to bring your patience as we learn to follow the guidelines as efficiently as possible.
 
We will need some of you to graciously and generously volunteer to act as ushers helping people to be seated in accordance with social-distancing guidelines. The ushers will also have to help with the Communion Procession and help with exiting the building in order to keep social-distancing expectations of staying 6 feet apart. We will have work hard to rehearse with the volunteers at least once before we have Sunday Masses in order to accomplish this.
 
Currently, our plan will be to return to our usual Mass schedule for weekdays and Sunday and see how things will go.
 
Things may be clumsy at first when we re-open, but we will learn together and we will make attending Mass possible.
 
I miss you all very much, and I will surely see you all very soon. Stay safe and healthy. Remember that God loves you and so do I. His grace and mercy will make us all go through these troubling moments and come out stronger than before.
 
Fr. Francis Gerald Appreh
Pastor 
 

Dear Church Family,

As your Pastor, I am not only concerned with your spiritual health but with your physical health and safety as well. With regard to the spreading coronavirus, the Metro Public Health Department, Tennessee Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have provided direction on best practices to keep safe. Please remember, the best ways to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like coronavirus are to do the following, consistently and dutifully:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
• Avoid, as much as possible, close contact unless absolutely necessary.
• Be courteous and concerned with the health of others. This means that you should stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the trash. If tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

• Do not stress or panic. God is with you. But be thoughtful, cautious and careful.
• If you are sick, stay home. If you believe your symptoms may be coronavirus, call your doctor first. Your doctor can discuss your symptoms and help assess whether you should be tested for coronavirus.
• If you are tested and diagnosed with coronavirus, you will likely need to stay quarantined and away from others for the length of time recommended by your doctor.
• If someone in your immediate household like a spouse, child, parent, roommate, or significant other is tested and diagnosed with coronavirus, you will need to stay quarantined and away from others for the length of time recommended by the appropriate physician.

As a reminder, the Tennessee Department of Health now offers a Tennessee Coronavirus Public Information Line at 877-857-2945.  The information line is available daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time.  For more information about CORONAVIRUS visit the Metro Public Health Department’s website, https://www.nashville.gov/Health-Department/Coronavirus.aspx, the Tennessee Department of Health at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html.  CDC has updated information and guidance available online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Remain prayerful, my dear family. Remain faithful. Remain dutiful. As I said in mass on Sunday, “If God is with us, who can be against us?” We will get through this. We will do so by being faithful and by being smart. Also, remember, it is the Lenten Season. Continue to take time for repentance, almsgiving and self-denial. It is a time of preparation and thoughtful reflection. During this time, let unhealthy habits go. Let fear go. Let the hate go. Let arrogance go. Let go of unnecessary spending and materialism. Forgive others for past trespasses. Prepare yourselves and try to truly realize the sacrifice that has been made for you. Do not allow the challenges of today to make you stray from the path. We made it through the storm. With God, we will make it through this as well.

 I love you, my dear St. Vincent Church Family and I pray for your health, both spiritual and physical.  

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Francis Appreh
Pastor
St. Vincent de Paul Church