This Christmas, in order to fully comply with Covid-19 restrictions while yet giving as many parishioners as possible the opportunity to attend Christmas Mass, the Ballinderreen Christmas Masses will be celebrated in a drive-in format outside Blake Manor Nursing Home. Please do not get out of your car at any time before, during, or after the Mass.
Christmas Eve: Mass at 9.15pm
Christmas Day: Mass at 10.30am.
Sincere thanks to Aideen and Justin Scanlon of Blake Manor Nursing Home for hosting the Masses, and for their enthusiasm for the idea, to Dónal Fordham who is kindly lending a truck for the altar, etc, and to Kinvara FM who will kindly transmit the Mass to the car radios on a special frequency of 105.9 FM.
Please be patient entering and leaving the carpark and follow the directions of the stewards. It will be very important not to drive on or park on the grass or the verges, so that we show full respect to our wonderful hosts. Please note that there will be no toilet available as there will be no entry to the nursing home building in order to protect the safety of the residents during the pandemic.
As there is only so much space outside, there will have to be a limit of 55 cars for each Mass. Therefore, if you would like to book to attend the Mass, please contact the parish office by email bkoffice@parishes.galwaydiocese.ie or telephone (from Tuesday) 086 8577 644, and please give your name, telephone number, car make, colour and registration number, and indicate which Mass you would like to attend, in order of preference. The steward will admit the cars on the list for each Mass. In accordance with the GDPR, this data will be deleted after Christmas.
People of the same household should come in a car together, taking all relevant Covid-19 precautions, so as to maximise the number of people who can attend. It won’t be possible to come on both days.
A great advantage of this format is that families can attend. Also, it will be lovely to bring the Mass close to the residents of Blake Manor in the Christmas of this challenging year. The format won’t be perfect, and obviously it’s not liturgically perfect, but it’s an effort to give parishioners the chance to celebrate Christ’s birth with Mass while keeping fully safe.
The obligation to attend Mass on holy days is lifted during the pandemic, so another option will be to attend Mass on any of the twelve days of Christmas, if you prefer to attend Mass in the Church. You are also welcome to come and pray in St Colman’s Church, Ballinderreen and see the crib any day.
We will need ten stewards for each Mass to guide the cars at the different parts of the grounds in entering, parking, and leaving. If you would like to volunteer to steward, please contact the parish office or Fr Hugh.