The Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr in Warwick. File photo by Roger Gavan. (
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The Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr is now open for private prayer.
On March 23, parishioners received a message via email that no one would have expected to see in his or her lifetime: “St. Stephen’s Church is now closed until further notice.”
In the interest of minimizing exposure to COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo had banned gatherings of more than 50 people and the federal government had also issued guidelines discouraging social gatherings of more than 10 individuals.
At that time St. Stephen’s had recently installed live-stream technology and parishioners have been able to go to the church’s website and participate in daily and Sunday Mass.
Shortly after last Sunday’s Mass, the Rev. Jack Arlotta, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr, made an important announcement about this week’s opening of the church for private prayer.
”The Mid-Hudson Region,” he reported, “has finally been given the green light to open for Phase 1 of the NY-Forward plan to re-open the state in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic situation. We are pleased to announce that St. Stephen’s is currently making plans to slowly open back up for worship. We will be approaching this process slowly and responsibly, paying close attention to CDC, governmental and archdiocesan guidelines to open cautiously while keeping the health and welfare of St. Stephen’s clergy, parishioners as well as the community-at-large in the forefront of the process.”
The sanctuary, he reported, will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there are restrictions including limitation to 10 visitors at one time, all wearing masks and keeping social distancing.
Returning to daily and Sunday Mass and celebration of the sacraments is still in the future.
“May God continue to bless you,” Arlotta said.
For additional information and details about the reopening of St. Stephen’s for private prayer visit https://ststephenchurchwarwick.org/
- Roger Gavan