Bishop Zinkula recently issued new protocols for the Diocese of Davenport churches in regard to COVID-19. In a nutshell, he has lifted most restrictions that were in place to keep parishioners safe during the pandemic.
We understand the excitement that these changes have generated, and we ask your patience as we act upon the new guidance. To quote St. Mary Grinnell’s parish office, “this task can be compared to a cruise ship turning around. The boat does not easily turn on a dime, rather it makes a sweep arc to point itself in another direction.” This is what you can expect in regard to us following through on the updates to protocol.
Some changes you’ll see right away, like the ropes being gone from the pews and the return of wine to the Eucharist. The return of other opportunities and practices will require your assistance. Many ministries have been dormant for months, years now, and will take time to reorganize and restart.
We need altar servers, choir members, Eucharistic ministers, and ushers. We will offer training, refreshers, and recommissions as soon as possible, so we need to hear from you right away to plan these. Please contact the parish office to let us know you would like to volunteer for these roles. The sooner we have volunteers for these roles, the sooner things can return to what things were pre-pandemic.
Even with all this progress, we must remain respectful of those who still prefer to social distance, have health concerns, etc. We understand if you have helped in the past and are not able to or don’t feel comfortable doing so now.
We thank you for your patience and ask for your prayers as we work to make these changes.
St. Anthony Catholic Church 