From the Rector: Chalices and Masks

16 March 2022

Dear Friends of Saint Mark's,

I have good news to share. For the past month at some of the daily masses we have restored the sharing of the common cup with the weekday congregations. Beginning this Sunday, we will share the common cup at our Sunday masses. Many of you will be elated by this news, while others may have some anxiety. No one is required to receive the Blood of Christ from the chalice, but it shall be offered for those who wish to partake. We continue to teach that the Sacrament is fully efficacious for our salvation in either or both the bread and the wine. It should also be noted, that as was the case before the pandemic, intinction is not permitted. (Intinction is the practice of taking the bread and dipping it into the chalice.)

As for the wearing of masks inside the church, this Sunday, March 20, will be the last Sunday in which masks are required when in the church buildings. The state is expiring the indoor mask mandate on March 25. After that point, masks will be optional when in the church. You are welcome to wear a mask, or not wear a mask, as your conscience dictates. We rejoice in the miracles of science and vaccines which have brought us to this point two years after this plague began.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to communicate with me directly.

Father Paul Lillie +