St. Patrick's Church

Dear Parishioners of St. Patrick's Church,

On Friday, November 13th, Governor Doug Burgum issued a mask mandate for the State of North Dakota. The order is effective from November 14th until December 13th, and requires masks to be worn at indoor gatherings as well as outdoor gatherings where social distancing is not possible.

Religious services are exempted from the Governor’s order. Additionally, Bishop Kagan has not required masks to be worn in the churches of our diocese. However, there is more to consider here than what is strictly required. Masks do help to control the spread of the coronavirus, and the desire for personal freedom of choice has to be governed by the call to exercise Christian charity, which is expressed in doing what we can to help keep one another safe and healthy.

I am grateful that we are blessed to still be able to come together and worship during this time. I ask you to consider wearing a mask when you attend Mass at St. Patrick’s. It is a simple thing that we all can do to express charity and goodwill toward each other. As St. Paul said, “in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:3-4)

The current coronavirus guidelines for the Diocese of Bismarck are available to view on the diocesan website. We will continue to adhere to these guidelines as it is always important for us to follow what our bishop asks of us. Fr. Smith, Deacon Keller, Deacon Nelson, and I know that we are called to do our part. We sanitize our hands before Mass, and are always ready to return to the sacristy and wash and sanitize again if needed. From now until at least December 13th, we will also wear masks when we distribute Holy Communion.

I also want to remind everyone that I am in close contact quarantine until November 27th. Fr. Smith got sick with Covid a couple of weeks ago, and my 14-day quarantine began when his 10-day quarantine ended. Fr. Smith is feeling better, and so far I do not have any symptoms. So I guess I’ll just say that I look forward to seeing you next month!

Stay safe, wear a mask, and never forget that God is still in charge.

Sincerely,

Fr. Bill Ruelle
Pastor
St. Patrick’s Church
 

Get thousands of movies, programs, audio and books instantly. It only takes a minute to sign up, no passworkd or purchase is necessary. Theres something here for the whole family.
To Log in:
1. Click here on the image below
2. Click "sign up"
3. Click "sign up as a parishioner"
4. In the box type "St. Patrick Dickinson"
5. Select "St. Patrick Parish" when it comes up
6. Click "Next"
7. Enter you name and address

As many of you are not able to attend Mass during this time, we have made available the resources that are included in our weekly bulletins.  Click on the links below to view them online.