Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners,
St. Mary Parish remains open and will strive to provide for those who may require aid as a result of the local, state, and national response to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Our homebound parishioners, those in our community who are vulnerable due to age or health issues, and those who will otherwise be affected may need additional support during the coming weeks. The St. Mary Parish will strive to minister not only to the spiritual needs of the Parish, but also to the physical, mental, and emotional needs of our community by being the Hands of Christ during this time of need.
Parish leaders are working to:
· provide spiritual support to all;
· identify the current and potential future physical needs of our community (e.g., grocery deliveries, transportation, etc.);
· establish a network of communication;
· identify those in need within our community; and
· organize volunteers to address these concerns.
The Parish Leadership Team is meeting with the various Parish ministries and consulting with the Diocese of Knoxville, City of Oak Ridge officials, and local aid organizations to prepare a plan for coordinating available resources. As the plan develops, additional information will be provided.
The church office will remain open daily from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, however, the lobby will be closed to visitors beginning Friday March 20, 2020.
Please call the office (865-482-2875) at any time to request assistance. If after hours, please listen carefully and follow the instructions in the voice message. Messages from the Pastor will be relayed via the church website www.stmarysoakridge.org and the myParish® app for smartphone users.
If you haven’t already signed up to receive updates from the website please consider doing so by going to the “Latest News” page and entering your information under the “Subscribe Now” area.
The myParish app can be downloaded on your Apple or Android smartphone by simply texting App to 88202 to begin the download.
Also, please consider making online donations to the parish to help us compensate for the considerable lack of Sunday collections. The vast majority of Sunday Mass collections go to pay the salaries and benefits of our parish employees.
In Christ,
Parish Leadership Team
