The sun shone as March parish met to celebrate Mass in the presbytery garden last Sunday. Fifty people of all ages joined Fr Paul Spellman for worship on the lawn among the roses.
“After months away from Mass, it filled my heart with joy to see my parish family again, as people came down the path with their garden chairs,” said Rebecca Bretherton, one of the stewards who were on hand to keep everyone safe.
“We were joined by people watching on Fr Paul’s Facebook live-stream so we were able to include those who could not be physically with us at Mass.
“The garden Mass is a practical solution in March, as social distancing rules mean that the church cannot fit everyone. Our garden is accessible and large enough to seat about 60 people. The weather forecast means that we will have Mass outside this coming weekend (Sunday July 19 at 10am) before starting a new routine of Masses in church. We know we can’t rely on the English summer for much longer.”
Pictured above are parishioners from March joining the garden celebration of the Mass