St. Mark the Evangelist, Greencastle, and our Mission St. Luke the Evangelist, Mercersburg, endeavoring to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as individuals and as a community of participation of all our members in worship, believing, learning and in service. As a Catholic community of faith, hope, and love, we invite others to join us in our goal of renewal—and welcome them into our fellowship.
Dear St. Mark and St. Luke Family,
This week, we were notified that a member of our parish has tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Please remember this parishioner in your prayers. This member of our parish family was last in our church on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at the 9:00 AM Mass. This parishioner is currently quarantining at home.
We remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all our parishioners and staff during this time. We continue to follow all Federal, State, and Diocesan Guidelines regarding mitigation, sanitization, and social distancing and are exercising every effort to keep everyone as safe as possible. As part of this process, we are sanitizing the Church after every Mass. We ask that anyone who is ill, please do not attend Mass. Bishop Gainer has extended the dispensation from attending Mass and a listing of parishes livestreaming Masses can be found on the Diocesan website at www.hbgdiocese.org/communications/faith-in-time-of-coronavirus. If you have a concern and wish to speak with us, please contact the Parish Office at 717-597-2705.
Please join me in praying for our sick parishioner, as well as all those who have been impacted by this virus.
God bless,
Fr. Walter
Pastor
Thurs. Dec. 24 4:00 PM: Celebration of the Word & Communion*
Thurs. Dec. 24 6:00 PM: Christmas Mass
Thurs. Dec. 24 8:00 PM: Christmas Mass
Fri. Dec. 25 9:00 AM: Christmas Mass
Thurs. Dec. 24 4:00 PM: Christmas Mass
Thurs. Dec. 24 6:00 PM: Celebration of the Word & Communion*
Fri. Dec. 25 11:00 AM: Christmas Mass
* Celebration of the Word & Communion: includes music, the
Christmas Readings and Gospel, a Homily and Communion.
Please review Fr. Walter’s message regarding the return of Masses at Saint Mark to the Church. There are no changes to requirements for masking, social distancing, and sanitation (details are in the linked message).
This is a link to Fr. Walter’s June 1 2020 letter that was mailed to parishioners this past week. It outlines the plans, schedules, and safety measures in place as we return to public masses on June 13 & 14.
There are many important details in the letter, including:
If you wish to follow the readings during Mass using your electronic device, you may follow this direct link for the current day’s readings (http://usccb.org/bible/readings/index.cfm).
To download the readings in advance, you can find a link to them on our website (https://www.stmarkstlukeparish.org) near the bottom of the home page in the “DAILY READINGS” feed.
Dear Ones,
I hope everyone is doing well. I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since I have seen you. I truly miss all of you. I am getting excited knowing that our time to be together is coming soon. I, with our wonderful parish staff, have been preparing for your return to St. Mark and St. Luke for public Masses. Please know, as we move into the yellow phase of reopening, I must follow the guidelines established by the Diocese of Harrisburg. That being said, I am happy to inform you that we will begin our public Celebration of Mass on the weekend of June 13 and 14. I will start offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Mark every Monday from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, beginning June 8. Confessions will be heard in the foyer between the church and the social hall. To prevent the spread of the virus, you will need to remain standing. Confessions will be face-to-face. Please park in the north lot and wait in your car. We will have volunteers to let you know when it’s your turn. If there is still a line at 7:30, I will continue to hear confessions. The church itself and restrooms will remain closed.
I will be mailing a letter to everyone next week with the guidelines given to us by the Diocese. This letter will explain the new procedures that we have formulated to fit our parish’s specific needs.
I kindly ask for your prayers and patience as we work to make the liturgy and sacraments as available as possible during these unusual times. I know that you are excited to come back to Mass. Please know that I can’t wait for you to come back to church again, however, I must make sure we have a safe place for you to come back to.
In Christ,
Fr. Walter
Let us prayerfully welcome Father Walter Guzman as our newly assigned pastor!
Continue to pray for our priests and parishes of the diocese during these transitions.
As announced, our parish is providing free access to FORMED online content for all parishioners. If you are still not sure what FORMED is all about, please watch the video below to see all it has to offer!
REGISTER NOW:
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a program designed for those people interested in becoming Catholics, those who are inquiring about the Catholic Faith, and those Catholics who want to know more about their faith. Now is the time to plan. Do you know of someone you can invite to learn about our faith and perhaps even become Catholic? Each Catholic has an important role to play in sharing our Catholic faith. Inviting people to our R.C.I.A. classes is a special way to do your part. Classes will begin this fall. Please call the office 597-2705 with questions or to sign up.