When I run up against problems which I am unable to solve, that is a good indication that I need to widen my circle of consultation. With parish problems, I will often go first to the staff, then to my consultative bodies, then to other involved parties. But this particular problem is sticky enough that I need to bring it directly to you.
I cannot figure out what to do about church capacity. As things stand, even though many of our Masses look full on the registrations, nearly every weekend Mass still has 1/4 to 1/3 of the pews open and available. This is enough capacity that I feel bad that we are still asking people to come every other week, but not enough capacity that I can actually take us down to a one-week cycle. Theoretically I could do a three-week cycle where everyone can come 2 out of every 3 weeks, but that seems too complicated to succeed.
The reason this is such a sticky problem for me is that, someday, there will no longer be the threat of a global pandemic and we will return to the idea that Mass attendance every Sunday is obligatory for all who are able. Looking to that future, I deeply desire to find a way to allow and encourage weekly Mass attendance now, but our current church capacity makes that desire just out of reach. How frustrating!
Whether we find a solution to this problem or not, I would definitely appreciate your prayers. There are going to be a lot of difficult pastoral questions between us and “normalcy,” and we are going to need the Lord’s inspiration to navigate them well. The Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church, and your continued prayer will ensure that he has plenty of attentive hearts ready to receive that guidance.
Fr. Moore 