Last year for Holy Week and Easter, St. Stephen the First Martyr Church, located at 75 Sanfordville Rd. in Warwick, was closed up completely as New York State started its “pause” in response to the coronavirus health situation. It remained closed, with livestreamed Masses only, until June.
Since re-opening in June, reservations have been necessary to attend Mass on the weekends to ensure proper social distancing in the sanctuary as well as adherence to capacity guidelines as set by the Archdiocese of New York and New York State. To that end, Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, and Easter services will also require reservations in advance.
In order to welcome all who plan to worship during Holy Week and Easter, St. Stephen’s will be holding several Masses, some concurrently in the sanctuary and the school gym at the former St. Stephen-St. Edward School located on the St. Stephen’s campus.
Reservations are required for Holy Week: Palm Sunday Masses at 5 p.m. on Sat., Mar. 27, and 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m. on Sun., Mar. 28; and Holy Thursday Mass, Thurs., Apr. 1, at 7 p.m. A Liturgy of the Word service will take place on Good Friday, Apr. 2, at 3 p.m., reservations required.
For Easter weekend, reservations will also be required for all Masses. The Easter Vigil Mass will be held on Sat., Apr. 3 at 7 p.m. On Easter Sunday, Masses will be held at 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 11 a.m. To accommodate more worshippers on Easter Sunday, an additional Mass will be held concurrently at 11 a.m. in the former St. Stephen – St. Edward School gym off West St. Ext. across from Warwick Valley Middle School.
The links to make reservations will be available on the parish website, www.ststephenchurchwarwick.org, in March. Parishioners who have signed up for Flocknote will also receive sign-up information via email. Currently, links for weekly Sunday Mass reservations can also be found on the website beginning on Thursday mornings until 24-hours prior to the start of each mass.
For those who still do not wish to come to Mass for health reasons, St. Stephen’s will be live-streaming Masses on Palm Sunday at 9 a.m., Holy Thursday, Easter Vigil and at 9 a.m. on Easter Sunday. The livestream link will be available on the parish website, or on Facebook Live, facebook.com/ststephenwarwick. On an ongoing basis, Mass at St. Stephen’s is livestreamed each morning at 9 a.m.
Fr. Jack Arlotta, Pastor, and Fr. Reynor Santiago, Parochial Vicar, are looking forward to welcoming all who wish to worship at St. Stephen’s throughout Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
“Last year, due to circumstances beyond our control, we were observing Holy Week and Easter from our homes. This year, we are blessed to be able to come together safely through our reservation system to worship and celebrate Easter in person,” said Fr. Jack Arlotta.
For more information, visit the St. Stephen’s website or call the parish office at 986-4028.
Reservations will be necessary for all St. Stephen’s the First Martyr Church Holy Week & Easter Masses in order to comply with social distancing & capacity guidelines.
Last year, at Easter, he pews were empty at a closed St. Stephen Church due to the Covid-19 pandemic health situation. This year, the church is open, however reservations will be necessary for all St. Stephen’s the First Martyr Church Holy Week & Easter Masses in order to comply with social distancing and capacity guidelines.
