Over the last five months – but especially during the last several weeks – I have been in discussion & discernment around the question of our weekend Mass schedules across the Catholic communities of the Olympic Peninsula. I recently posted a deep-dive explanation on the needs involved, the limitations within which we are working, and the two scenarios that had emerged from prayer & conversations with and among our pastoral councils.

In-person myself at Saint Joseph’s vigil Mass and by letter to the other Masses of the central region, I announced my decision on Mass times this weekend. For those who so desire, you can read that letter here. The short version is that the east region (Saint Mary Star of the Sea parish in Port Townsend) will be resuming its 5pm Saturday vigil Mass with confessions offered from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The vigil Mass for the central region will be celebrated at Queen of Angels (no time change), with slightly extended confession times (3 pm to 4:30 pm). Though the Saturday evening confessions & vigil Mass at Saint Joseph parish will come to an end, it will continue with its regular Sunday morning Mass and gain a second Sunday Mass, to be offered at 1 pm. All of this will take effect on January 1, 2025.

A number of elements factored into this final decision, but foremost was the fruit of our pastoral council conversations, which highlighted the value of having a Sunday morning Mass at each parish. Though the vigil Mass is a helpful option – indeed, a necessity for some – the Lord’s Day stands apart as having its own special dignity. Our circumstances have brought us to the creation of an afternoon Mass, but the idea of either of our central region parishes not having a Sunday morning Mass was quickly realized to be a potentially crippling blow to the life of that community. Regardless of the time slots, having a morning Mass at each parish is crucially important.

The second element is the safety of our older parishioners. As many know, the crossing between our parking lot and church at Saint Joseph is more than a little fraught. The combination of  darkness (especially after Mass), any slippery-ness due to rain or ice and traffic that is often unaware of the mid-block crosswalk creates great opportunity for accidents or even tragedy – something we are sadly not unfamiliar with. Queen of Angels’ isolation from major thoroughways offers a significant advantage in safety even during evening events. Having the afternoon Mass at Saint Joseph will provide for a well-lit environment for attendees & drivers (weather notwithstanding) and gives extra time for any sunshine – should we be so blessed – to be able to melt any ice that forms overnight.

The third element is simplicity of travel for the priests. With Mass times grouped together – the first two of the weekend at Queen of Angels and the last two at Saint Joseph – travel between parishes is greatly minimized. This is especially important when considering how often we must rely on guest priests who already drive great distances to assist us. Our new schedule will allow the priest to stay at Queen of Angels on Saturday, start his day there on Sunday and then go to Saint Joseph. From there, he can make his way home – that much closer for having concluded his Masses in Sequim. Most of our local priests will also benefit: the central region priest (that’s me!) will be able to stay overnight at his own rectory on Saturday and when he is trading spots with me, our east region priest (Father Gali) will conclude his day nearly half-way back to his rectory.

Though it is helpful to know the why of this decision, the fact of the matter is that we are facing a real loss: at the end of this year we will no longer be gathering together for a vigil Mass at Saint Joseph. Those who currently attend that Mass are confronted not only with the prospect of choosing what Mass they will go to in the future but of joining a Mass time where they know fewer people, are unfamiliar with the style & tenor of that Mass community – even the simple question of where they will sit are up in the air. Who among us wouldn’t feel at least a little angry or sad at the loss of our particular Mass?

For the majority of parishioners who are not affected by this Mass schedule change, there is a special duty: to deliberately and explicitly welcome our fellow parishioners – especially those with whom we are not well-acquainted. This is a key part of being a parish family: going above & beyond parish boundaries and Mass time communities! We will need to make special effort to be understanding and empathetic to the sorrow & frustration being experienced in our parishes.

I want to offer a particular exhortation to our younger and more able parishioners: with the new schedule there will likely be parishioners who need assistance getting to and from Mass. For those of us with good eyesight, decent reflexes, and other advantages of youth, the extra 17 miles to go to a vigil Mass is not especially onerous. Perhaps not our favorite – at times inconvenient – but doable. But for many of our parishioners, that could be a factor that simply prevents going to Mass – especially if going on Sunday isn’t possible (for example, due to daytime health difficulties, lack of public transit, etc). This is my exhortation: don’t wait to be asked – YOU be the one to ask around if there is anyone you could help come to Mass!

As we know, Partners in the Gospel has been prompted above all by the shortage of priests. As I shared at one of the Masses, we were not the only parishes in the archdiocese to have a letter read at Mass. In Parish Family 48, a letter from Archbishop Etienne was read at all seven churches of their parish family announcing the coming departure of their only vicar due to health reasons – this after their second vicar had to leave ministry not two weeks after arriving due to a car accident driving between locations (he has recovered well, though he has since gone to a simpler assignment). Though the archbishop will be looking to find replacement priests, their parish family – of seven churches, mind you! – is facing the possibility of only having one assigned priest, even if only temporarily.

I mention this not to minimize our struggles, but to put them into perspective: parishes and Catholics across the archdiocese are burdened with painful changes and major sacrifices. There is some solice in the awareness that ours is a shared suffering – with the Lord and each other.

Real though our own sacrifices are, I would assert that our parish family is in a fairly strong position. Not only do we have enough priests to meet our needs, but the priests we have are talented, motivated, caring, and experienced in a wide variety of ways. Moreover, we are blessed with three deacons with a wealth of ministerial experience & expertise, each of whom contributes a significant amount of their retirement (!) to ministry among our communities. Also also (!), our staff is comprised of many wonderful people who cheerfully, faithfully, and generously work with each other & our parishioners to make our day-to-day efforts successful.

And I would be remiss if I did not point out that far from shrinking, our communities are actively growing. Our two PAAs (did I mention that our staff is great? Our staff is great!) did a bit of spontaneous legwork last month and discovered – to their surprise and mine – that all of our have continued to grow over the last year or so. At one of our communities (I forget which one), our attendance was up by 10%! The others, it should be noted, were up significant percentages themselves. The fact of the matter is that I am already actively considering what will be involved in expanding existing or building new churches (yes, plural) in the coming years. Even the fact that we simply must maintain four Masses in the central region is a sign of the Holy Spirit actively working in our midst.

In addition to eventually expanding our buildings (looking at you Saint Anne, Saint Thomas and Saint Mary) and someday building a new church (anyone know of 30-100 acres of land we can purchase between Sequim & Port Angeles?), there are more immediate opportunities to explore. Perhaps the most exciting is the 1 pm Mass at Saint Joseph: what do we want to do with this new Mass community that we are forming within our parish family?

Some have (understandably) expressed skepticism at the attractiveness of an afternoon Mass, but I have experienced great enthusiasm from parishioners for a noon or 1 pm Mass in other parishes at which I have served. When I was pastor in Tacoma, our noon Mass was easily our best-attended Mass each Sunday. During my time in Chehalis, the 1 pm Mass – offered in Spanish – was similarly packed on a weekly basis. Were I not a priest, I would likely choose a mid-morning Mass as my regular time – but I can understand the appeal of being able to sleep in nearly as late as you want (and not fighting one’s children or teenagers about getting up)!

At our joint pastoral council meeting last month, we briefly discussed the need to determine what features might be most appealing for those who come to this new Mass time. Being fairly liturgical minded, my mind went to the idea of making the 1 pm Mass the principal Mass (the post-conciliar analog to the High Mass of the Extraordinary Form). Could this be the Mass where we chant everything, bring out the thurible every Sunday, have 6-candle processions, and otherwise pull out all the stops liturgically? I’m not saying that this is what we’re going to do….but I AM saying that we could – the sky is the limit!

Beyond considerations of any one Mass, how might we to grow as a parish family – seeing ourselves not as members of a single site but part of the larger community? With Sunday Masses in the central region grouped together as they are, there is new opportunity for Catholics who normally go to Queen of Angels to check out Saint Joseph and vice versa. It is my sincere hope and plan that we continue to build bonds such that we identify ourselves not by the building where we celebrate Mass but by our common baptism – and the mission of sharing that gift with those who have yet to hear the Gospel!

In short, the changes we are preparing to enact are helping provide a firm foundation for us to go forth and invite others to meet the One Who is our savior and friend!

Though we know the shape of things to come – at least among our own decisions and plans! – there is still much to do. We will need to be patient with ourselves and each other, especially sensitive to the loss of what was and any uncertainty of what is to come. We also need to be open to hope, allowing for and deliberately inviting God to foster in our hearts a sense of optimism & trust. In my own experience, these are parallel tracks though often uneven in their progress! The Lord, in His kindness and gentleness, uses even our human frailty to bring about great graces – something we will spend this Advent season preparing to celebrate at Christmas as we praise God for the gift of the Incarnation, the Word among us, the eternal union of humanity with divinity.

Let us stand ready to support each other in prayer and fraternity. As one of the deacons of our archdiocese is fond of saying, ‘the Lord is going to do something amazing’. We might not yet know what it is, but we can be confident that it will be for our good and the good of all those to whom we proclaim the Gospel.