On Monday, Governor Murphy revised and relaxed some of the restrictions that he had imposed on gatherings lifting the indoor gathering limit to 50% capacity or 250 persons and the outdoor gathering limit to 500 persons. The following guidelines are issued for the Diocese of Camden:
The faithful participating in Mass are expected to wear masks in accord with CDC guidelines for indoor gatherings. At parish or school meetings that are of a general nature, masks are to be worn. For smaller parish or school meetings (i.e. pastoral council, finance council, school board, Bible study, etc.…) masks need not be worn by those who are fully vaccinated (two weeks past their second shot). At outdoor gatherings, those vaccinated, are not required to wear masks – please consult the CDC guidelines when planning indoor and outdoor gatherings.
At the discretion of the pastor, altar servers and other ministers may resume their ministries. Care should be taken to keep altar servers socially distanced in the sacristy and in the sanctuary.
Parishes and schools need to be vigilant about cleaning common surfaces – door knobs/pulls; bathroom facilities; banisters; etc.… With more people returning to Mass and other events, surfaces are being touched more frequently. At the discretion of the pastor, all pews may be opened for seating. The faithful are to be reminded to practice social distancing between households.
Limited food service for meetings and events may resume. When and where possible, food items should be individually packaged. Meeting participants or event guests are NOT PERMITTED to serve themselves at a buffet or beverage station, but may be served “cafeteria style” by a server wearing mask and gloves. The fewer people touching utensils or coffee pots/urns the better.
Guidance regarding proms and graduations at our schools will be provided by the Office of Catholic Schools.