With all of the information that is out on the news and social media about COVID-19, we feel it is necessary to detail the steps our church and the diocese are taking to insure the health and well-being of our community. Please go to this LINK to keep up to date on the procedures the Diocese of Cleveland are taking to combat this virus.
 

As for our parish here is a list of what has been canceled,  postponed or still happening.

• Church Cleaning/Disinfecting: In order to open the church for Mass we need to clean the church after each Mass.  This will entail cleaning twice a day, every day.  Volunteers are needed to help with the cleaning, which will primarily involve wiping down the pews and kneelers and other surfaces.  If you could help once or twice a week that would be great.  Cleaning will take place immediately after each Mass.  Masses will be:
  • Monday, Thursday & Friday 9:30am and 7:00pm
  • Tuesday 9:30am
  • Wednesday 7:00pm
  • Saturdays 4:30pm
  • Sundays 8:30 and 11:30.  

• Please read the document Liturgical Minsters in a Pandemic in the Document Section below. Even if you are not an EM or Lector you can still volunteer to be an Usher or Greeter.
• Here are the guidlines that have been published by the Diocese for us to follow for opening the church:
  •  https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/forward-in-christ/worship-guidelines/overview    
  •  Please read the Overview, Before, During and After sections so you understand the procedures that must be followed.
• The chapel and church are NOT open for private prayer.
• We will be streaming Mass live on Sunday's going forward.Go to https://www.facebook.com/olqpgrafton/ to watch. If you cannot watch live we will post it to the website following the Mass. It will be to the right of this box. There is a Worship Aid available in the document section below. 
• The next food distribution will be June 6th from 10am - noon. This will be a drive through food distribution. Please enter the church parking lot from the Rt. 57 entrance.
• The parish office is open on a limited basis. Please call before you come up.
• Daily Masses are available on EWTN and if you go to the top right of this page you will see a link to Bishop Barron's Word on Fire daily Mass.
• First Communion and Confirmation information will be posted at a later date.
• The Parish Festival has been canceled.

During this difficult time we would appreciate it if you could continue your giving to the church. You can mail your envelopes or you can sign up for E-Giving. Your financial support is very important for the well-being of the parish.

We are also communicating via E-mail and Facebook. We have received a few back with undeliverable addresses and have many parishioners who do not have an email. If you could please contact the parish office to give us your email or to update your existing email that would be great.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call the parish office 440-926-2364 as we are here to assist you any way we can. Please check back here often as we will continually post any new updates.

Finally we ask for your prayers for those affected by COVID-19 and all the healthcare professionals caring for them. 

We are a Roman Catholic family centered in the Eucharist, rooted in our immigrant traditions since the 1800’s and devoted to our Blessed Mother.  Humbly guided by the Holy Spirit, and with the warmth and hospitality that springs from a small community, we seek to share our faith in Jesus Christ through prayer, devotion, education, stewardship, and service to others. 

Use this Link to go to the Catholic Charties Website

2020 Appeal Link.

We are open!  

 The other day I ventured out for lunch for the first time, and sat among shower curtains to eat.  Who would have ever thought that we would be having to find ways to keep each other safe like this?  When you come to church you will not find shower curtains, but it will look different.  You will find yourself sitting in a different pew, having been escorted to a seat.  You will see each other’s eyes but the face masks will be covering our smiles.  There will be no singing, not even an Alleluia.  No Precious Blood, Sign of Peace, Offertory collection/procession, or Holy Water.  What there will be is the bare bones celebration of the Eucharist where you will be able to receive the Real Presence of Jesus in Communion.  I hope that a positive outcome will be that you are able to delve into the prayers of the Mass in a deeper and more meaningful way, as well as the ritual actions that remain.  You will find a richness in the prayers that will take on more meaning than before.  Eventually things will be restored.  Yes it will be a different look and feel, but it will still be the same God who is with us and that we glorify with masked spoken praise. 
    
The weekday Masses have been great to have once again.  What we are finding is that there are about 24 people at the 9:30am Mass and 12 at the 7:00pm.  The majority each day are different people, and not the same people returning day after day.  My intention in offering two Masses a day was that it would offer people an opportunity to come out and feel safe.  Please keep in mind that the weekday Masses will still be an option, rather than to go on the weekend.  The dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues for the time, and so it offers an opportunity to go on a different day than Sunday in order to receive communion. 
    
Please review the procedures that are on the diocesan website, as well as the particular guidelines that have been posted on our parish website.  If you are sick, have a fever, or are in the risk category of age or health, please do not come out.  The Sunday 11:30am Mass will be streamed and then posted on the parish website.  To maintain the social distancing, as well as the required less than 50% occupancy, there are about 120-140 seats available depending on how many singles, doubles or families come.  There will be no one permitted in the cry room, or in the Gathering Area, during Mass.  Doors will be closed when Mass begins or when we reach capacity. 
  
It is exciting to be able to open the doors of the church for Mass.  In the midst of the anxieties and uncertainties we are trying to keep everyone safe so that we can Break Bread.  Everyone is in a different place in their response to these times, but the celebration of Pentecost will remind us that it is the Holy Spirit that unites us.  Please keep one another in prayer, that in following the procedures for coming together we can keep each other safe.  Be assured of my prayers.
 
Fr. John

Today’s celebration varies from place to place. In some parts of the United States, people gather for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, while other places celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Several years ago, regions of bishops were permitted to decide whether to retain Ascension Day on Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter, or to move the celebration to the nearest Sunday. This new flexibility in the Christian calendar has to do with the desire to gather the Church to celebrate its central feasts fully, and with the Eucharist. Increasingly, as priests serve remote and scattered parishes, this is not always possible mid-week.
The Ascension is a key moment for grasping what life in Christ is all about. It is not about a departure, but rather a plan for presence. We who are nourished by the Lord’s body and blood in the Eucharist are transformed to be his abiding presence in the world. That is a truth so worth celebrating that we can adjust our calendar in order that the fullest possible gathering of the Church can be achieved.
—James Field, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.