Msgr. Terrence Watanabe greets parishioners young and older July 25 after Mass at St. Anthony Parish in Wailuku. (Courtesy photo)
Welcoming parishioners back to church will be a test of a parish’s hospitality and community spirit
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Hawaii Catholic Herald checked in with parish administrators, pastors and parochial vicars in the Diocese of Honolulu at the end of July to see if they had fostered any new approaches to parish ministry as the coronavirus pandemic progresses.
For some, there isn’t much to report. Augustinian Father Norlito Concepcion, the new administrator of St. Pius X Parish in Manoa, said he has not changed the COVID-19 approach of his predecessors.
Other parishes are beginning to rev up their plans for in-person events and are seeing more people back at Mass.
“People have returned to the pews,” said Sacred Hearts Father Brian Guerrini of St. Damien of Molokai Parish in Kaunakakai of church attendance. “We are trying to plan some events in the church for the fall such as family night, a concert, an adventure retreat/mission.”
Bishop Larry Silva canceled public liturgies on March 17, 2020, prompted by recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the direction of local health and government officials. The bishop also issued a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass.
Public Masses returned last year on Pentecost weekend May 30-31, but with strict rules requiring face masks and social distancing that, in many churches, necessitated attendance by reservation. These regulations remain in place for the most part, and are factors leading to Mass attendance in Hawaii dropping nearly 60%, according to the annual October count.
Meanwhile, with the encouragement of the bishop, many parishes began to livestream their liturgies over the internet. Today, 30 or more parishes livestream at least one Mass on Sundays. A few parishes livestream Masses daily.
Bishop Silva “strongly” urged Catholics who had taken the dispensation to view a livestreamed Mass, attend a weekday Mass, read and meditate on Scripture, and pray the rosary.
The bishop lifted his dispensation from the Sunday obligation on Easter Sunday this year April 4.
Social distancing is still in place at St. Rita Parish in Nanakuli, said Father Alapaki Kim, pastor of the west Oahu church. The 10 a.m. Mass is broadcast, and up to 20 seats outside are made available for people to watch the service on a television screen.
“If we get more than that which is socially distanced safe, we ask our overflow to watch the Mass on their smart devices in their cars and come into the church at Communion time to receive the Holy Eucharist and then go back to their cars,” Father Kim said.
St. Rita’s also held a school supply collection recently and distributed those donations along with food during the weekend of July 30 to Aug. 1. The church is still limiting the number of volunteers it uses to be COVID cautious.
In preparation for the construction of the church’s multipurpose building, supplies stored in the Quonset hut “parish pantry” are being moved to the parish’s old rectory.
Over at St. Anthony Parish in Wailuku, Maui, both the pastor, Msgr. Terrence Watanabe, and parochial vicar, Father Ace Tui, are new to the church community having been assigned there July 1.
But in that short time, Father Tui said that he and Msgr. Watanabe have noticed Mass attendance numbers rising gradually.
“It is not a big change, but a subtle, noticeable one,” Father Tui said. “What we have done is simply what a ‘stewardship parish’ should be doing — ‘hospitality.’”
“We have made small changes in the environment of the church, cleaned up a bit and created a brighter and cleaner ‘home’ for our parishioners.”
Father Tui also said that the parish is working to better use its social media platforms and apps for better communication with parishioners.
Upcoming fellowship and training sessions are planned for parish ministry workers. Getting sacramental preparation numbers up is another goal.
“We believe the best way to educate people is in small, personal encounters; for example, when parishioners come to the parish office and make arrangements for baptism, a funeral, counseling, etc.,” Father Tui said.
