NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Loving God, We ask for blessings on all those who have served their country in the armed forces. We ask for healing for the Veterans who have been wounded, in body and soul, in conflicts around the globe. We pray especially for the young men and women, in the thousands, who are coming home with injured bodies and traumatized spirits. Bring solace to them, O Lord; may we pray for them when they cannot pray. We ask for,, an end to wars and the dawning of a new era of peace, as a way to honor all the veterans of past wars.
 
Have mercy on all our Veterans. Bring peace to their hearts and peace to the regions they fought in. Bless all the soldiers who served in non-combative posts; May their calling to service continue in their lives in many positive ways
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Give us all the creative vision to see a world which, grown weary with fighting, Moves to affirming the life of every human being and so moves beyond war. 
Hear our prayer, O Prince of Peace, hear our prayer.
Amen.
 

Please note the following times:
Mass at 8:00 a.m.
Mass at 12 Noon
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament immediately following
Adoration all afternoon
Benediction at 7:00 p.m.
Mass in Spanish at 8:15 p.m.

Time Changes – please remember that overnight October 31- November 1 we will return to Standard Time and clocks will “fall back” for one extra hour of blessed sleep. Please remember to adjust your clocks accordingly so you will be on time for Mass on Sunday morning!

 

October, 2020 

Dear Saint Peter’s Parishioners, 

As autumn progresses, it seemed an opportune time to give you a progress report on our Parish.  ❖ Total Mass attendance on the weekend is now just over 500. The church does not reach  its 165 person capacity at any Mass. Before COVID we were getting 1,300 per weekend. ❖ Daily Mass attendance is light – plenty of room for anyone avoiding crowds on the  weekend, but who want to attend Mass.  

❖ Confessions are all heard in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Fields and the numbers have  remained fairly robust. 

❖ In-person visits to the sick are coordinated by Sister Theresa and all the homebound are  regularly contacted, sent items through the mail, and checked on. 

❖ St. Peter’s School has 273 students (near capacity) and is financially sound. All COVID  regulations are scrupulously followed, students attend on a staggered schedule, and  tuition continues to be paid. 

❖ St. Peter’s Religious Education program is underway with primarily virtual learning. We  were ahead of the curve because we have been moving to more virtual learning over the  past few years. Students are still enrolling. 

❖ Since the end of May when public Masses resumed, we have had 23 Baptisms (we  baptize only one person per ceremony), 7 Marriages, and 27 Confirmations and over two  dozen First Communions.  

❖ Enclosed in this letter, please find the envelopes for All Souls and Christmas Flowers – both of which are usually attached to the bulletin. With your devotion to your beloved  dead, please return the envelope with the names of your deceased. Envelopes will be  place on the altar for the month of November (All Souls Day is the 2^nd of November).  Also, please feel free to make use of the Flower envelope to remember loved ones, living  and dead, at Christmas. 

❖ In addition to my responsibilities as Pastor of this Parish and Dean of Charles County,  Archbishop Gregory has appointed me Administrator of Saint Mary’s Church in  Newport. This situation will probably last until next summer. I am responsible for the  pastoral care and administration of Saint Mary’s. 

It is probably opportune to offer a word about our parish finances. Before COVID, a normal  weekend offertory collection taken up in church would yield between $12-15,000 per week. Our  new normal is between $7-8,000. Additional funds come through electronic giving, but not in  large amounts. The first Sunday of every month is the most profitable in any parish – some first  Sundays we get close to our pre-COVID amounts. The rest of the month, the collection drops  almost by half. As previously announced, we have let all our paid musicians go since we can’t  have singing at Mass anyway. More recently we have let all our paid cleaning staff go. Our  facilities manager and his assistant clean the church throughout the week and Father Ryan and I 

sanitize the church after each weekend Mass. We no longer pay a Youth Minister. We only purchase altar flowers on special occasions. With these savings, we close out each month close  to even. Some months revenue goes just over expenses; other months it’s the other way around.  Over time, further cuts may be needed if we can find ways to make them. In any parish, the only  way to save real money is personnel. We are trying hard to keep everyone employed. I realize  some of you are facing unemployment and financial hardship yourselves. We will work with  whatever the parishioners contribute to the Church. Note that several projects – like placing our  repainted statues from the old church on pedestals and relocating the current statues – were  already paid for by the capital campaign before COVID started. Campaign funds cannot be used  for general operations.  

Finally, Election Day is Tuesday, the 3^rd of November. On Monday the 2^nd, All Souls Day, we  will have an extended period of Exposition and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in  church from Noon to 7 p.m. to pray for our Nation, for the happy repose of the souls of the  faithful departed, and for an end to the current pandemic. Please plan to stop by church for a few  moments or more of silent prayer before the Lord Jesus – perhaps on your way home from work?  We need for people to stay with the Blessed Sacrament so It is never left alone. If you would  email the Parish Office with the times you would like to spend or to inquire what times are  available, we would appreciate it. That way designated “adorers” are present and others can  come and go. Of course, we will observe all the necessary sanitary regulations.  

To keep abreast of current news and announcements, please consult our parish website or sign up  for Flocknotes – christianformation@stpeterswaldorf.org. Letters are too expensive to mail too  often but we can post parish information instantaneously online. 

Please be sure of our prayers each day for you and your family, especially at Holy Mass.  October is the month of the Holy Rosary and we entrust ourselves and our Nation to the  protection and intercession of Our Lady. Begging God’s blessings on you, through Saint Peter,  Prince of the Apostles, I remain 

Sincerely in Christ, 

Father Keith A. Woods 

Pastor