Dear members of Narashino Parish
✞Peace of the Lord be with you
The "Priority Measures for Prevention of the Spread of Covid-19" were lifted on March 22. Catholic Narashino Parish also resumed "Open Masses" and other activities on the 22nd, as instructed by Archbishop Kikuchi of the Archdiocese of Tokyo. Please see the following notice.
1)Sunday Mass to be resumed tomorrow, March 27
2) Both Group A and Group B can participate in the 7:30 Mass on this day.
(With both groups attend, there will be about 80 people. The limit in the chapel is 100 people.)
3)The 10:00 Mass is open to Group B.
(Since one group will have 80 to 120 participants, only Group B can participate on the 27th because if both
ABs participate, we will not be able to accommodate them even if we relay to the congregation hall).
※Instructions from the Archdiocese of Tokyo (excerpts)
1. keep a distance of about 1 meter from each other in the chapel. Provide adequate ventilation. Refrain from
"greeting" and "standing around" in the chapel.
2. Elderly persons and those with underlying medical conditions are welcome to pray at home as much as possible.
However, we will not impose age restrictions in the church. Please pray at home even when concerns are expressed
by family members. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass will continue to be waived for all parishioners.
3. Please strictly observe hand sanitizing and wearing masks to prevent infection.
4. Meetings and study groups can be held with careful attention to the capacity of the venue (about half the capacity),
ventilation, and time (1.5 hours at most). Please refrain from events involving meals.
Tomorrow is the 4th Sunday of Lent. The Gospel reading is from Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the "lost son" (the parable of the "prodigal son"). Let us look to the mercy of our Heavenly Father who always greets us with open arms and pray that he will turn both the Covid-19 situation and the war in Ukraine into a blessing.
March 26, 2022
Parish Priest Joseph Dinh