St. Bartholomew Catholic Church

This weekend, we celebrate a very special occasion, the 50th Jubilee of Fr. Clem’s ordination to the priesthood.  Fr. Clem was ordained on August 8, 1970 and over the years has filled many roles –  a monk, an educator, a parish priest and pastor - and to many at St. Bartholomew, a good friend.
 
Under Fr. Clem’s guidance ground was broken in 2000 for the new church, we celebrated our parish’s 175th anniversary and new parish offices were recently completed.  Along the way Fr. Clem learned to speak and celebrate mass in Spanish, sang with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and became a well-known fixture in the Columbus community.  Many people, not just the members of St. Bartholomew parish, have benefitted from knowing and working with Fr. Clem. 
 
While we have postponed the Jubilee celebration originally planned for August 9, we would like to recognize and thank Fr. Clem for his years of leadership, wisdom and many, many hours of dedication to our parish community going back to 1997 when he first arrived at St. Bartholomew parish!
 
Este fin de semana, celebramos una ocasión muy especial, el Jubileo #50 de Padre Clem. La ordenación de Clem al sacerdocio. El Padre Clem fue ordenado el 8 de agosto de 1970 y a lo largo de los años ha desempeñado muchos roles: monje, educador, párroco y pastor, y para muchos en San Bartolomé, un buen amigo.
 
Bajo la guía del Padre Clem en el año 2000 se estableció la primera piedra para la nueva iglesia, celebramos el 175 aniversario de nuestra parroquia y recientemente se completaron nuevas oficinas parroquiales.  A lo largo de su trayectoria el Padre Clem aprendió a hablar y celebrar misa en español, cantó con la Filarmónica de Columbus Indiana y se convirtió en un miembro muy conocido de la comunidad de Columbus. Muchas personas, no solo los miembros de la parroquia de San Bartolomé, se han beneficiado al conocer y trabajar con el Padre. 
 
Si bien hemos pospuesto la celebración del Jubileo originalmente prevista para el 9 de agosto, nos gustaría reconocer y agradecer al Padre Clem por sus años de liderazgo, sabiduría y muchas, muchas horas de dedicación a nuestra comunidad parroquial desde 1997 cuando llegó por primera vez a la parroquia de San Bartolomé!

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Dear Friends,

On behalf of the staff of St. Bartholomew, I want to thank you again for your compassion and patient understanding during this pandemic. The restrictions and closures have been difficult, but they have also shown many beautiful and creative ways people have adapted to the situation. We believe that we can safely reopen the Church as long as we follow the three keys: respect social distance, wear face masks and maintain clean hands.

 The Coronavirus is still very much present and active in our community. Attending any public gathering has inherent risk. The phased reopening and precautions we are taking are to minimize this risk.  We recognize that the reopening will not be perfect and may need to be modified as we go forward. Below are some of the health and safety precautions that we are asking people to follow to in order to keep everyone safe as we reopen.

I look forward to seeing you… at a proper distance, wearing a face mask and with clean hands.  We will not be able to see the beautiful smiles behind the masks or share a hug, but our love of neighbor, abundant charity and warm community will shine through!   No virus known to mankind will be able to take that away from us!

Blessings, Fr. Chris

HEALTH AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:

• Out of an abundance of charity and love of neighbor, facemasks are required in the Church.  Please bring your own facemask. A limited number of disposable masks will be available at the entrances.
• Those who are 65 & over, and those with high-risk health conditions are strongly encouraged to stay at home.
• Those who are symptomatic or have tested positive for COVID-19 should not enter the church until released to do so by their healthcare provider.
• The dispensation from the obligation to participate at Mass on Sunday has been extended thru November 1, 2020.
• The Precious Blood will NOT be offered for the foreseeable future.  
• Music books and printed materials have been removed from the Church. Music will be limited and no participatory music will be sung during Mass.
• Social distancing of 6’ must be observed. Families who live together can sit closer than 6’. The Sanctuary pews are marked with blue tape to indicate proper social distances. Please observe the markings and adhere to the social distancing rules. 
• Seating capacity in the main Sanctuary will be limited. Current configuration of the Church and Narthex will allow safe seating for 194 people.
• Given that seating in the Church will be very limited, we encourage people to consider attending a different Mass time during the week.
• Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Sanitizer stations are available in the Narthex.