October 1, 2020 Dear St. Joseph Parish Parishioners, Last Friday, the Diocese of Sacramento informed parishes in Solano County, which includes St. Joseph Parish, Rio Vista, that the State of California, through the Department of Public Health (CPDH), has moved Solano County into the red tier (Tier 2) on the state’s COVID-19 response framework, which means we can now hold mass indoors following the guidelines of 25% of the building capacity or 100 people, whichever is smaller.
As a reminder, the General Principles pertaining to health and safety protocols still apply (e.g. vulnerable category, facial covering, physical distancing, sanitation, and contact tracing). In consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) it was agreed by all that we will reopen the church on Saturday, October 10, 2020 with a 65-person seating capacity as prescribed by County and State guidelines. The question now is: How do we apply these guidelines to our parish so that everyone has the opportunity to attend mass in person and be able to receive the sacrament?
The PPC decided to have signup lists for each mass during the week so the faithful can fulfill their weekly obligation. As such, I encourage everyone to choose your first and second options, both the day and the time, you would like to attend mass. Please note that if your first option is not available, we will assign the second option. If you signed up on a particular day, let us say Friday, that will be the ONLY DAY you will be able to attend mass during the week. In other words, you will not be able to attend on any other day be it Tuesday or Sunday. In this way, we are able to accommodate all 475 parishioners in the fulfillment of their weekly Eucharistic obligation.
For your information, our mass schedule is the same: Tuesday – Friday @ 8:00am; Saturday @ 5:00 pm; Sunday @ 8:00 am; 10:00 am; 12:00 noon (Spanish). This schedule is also posted on our website.
Please call the parish office to sign up (707) 374-2155 or email the office at [email protected]