Saint Elizabeth Parish, Chester Springs, PA

This year we are scheduling a total of eight parish Masses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to accommodate those planning to attend Mass in person, while respecting social-distancing and maximum capacity requirements during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result we need many more men and women to assist as ushers for all these Masses, along with several altar servers and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, especially at the 2:40 PM & 4:40 PM Masses in the gymnasium. If you can lend a hand at one of the Christmas Masses, please call the parish office ASAP (610-321-1200). Thank you!

Beginning Monday, December 14th, our students will be taught virtually through Friday, December 18th. Monday and Tuesday, December 21st and 22nd, will be in service days for teachers and the start of Christmas vacation for students. No classes will be held those two days. Students are bringing home materials today to support their studies. Any student who does not have all the materials they need can call the office on Monday (610-646-6540) to come by for a pick-up. Teach...ers in Grade PreK-4 to 3 will be using SeeSaw as the basic learning platform and teachers in Grades K to 8 and Specials will be using ZOOM as the learning platform. We made this decision in view of our already having whole classes learning virtually and wanting to encourage families to quarantine when necessary. This week went smoothly even in light of being short staffed and having some students outside of quarantined classes learning virtually. Even though our COVID cases are not increasing, it is difficult for teachers to balance the demands of teaching in both modalities. We considered several options and felt that the timing of the option chosen will result in our being able to open in-person again on January 4th. See more

Pope Francis is offering the gift of a plenary indulgence to Catholics who celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at home. The plenary indulgence will be granted on December 11th and 12th. To receive an indulgence, a remission of the temporal punishment of one's sins, the following conditions must be met. A person must: Prepare an altar or place of prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe at home. Participate in a live streamed or televised Mass at the Basilica... of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City actively participating in the Holy Eucharist as you would in person, that is, with devotion and with exclusive attention to the Eucharist. You can watch the Mass via https://www.youtube.com/user/BasilicadeGuadalupe Comply with the usual conditions to benefit from indulgences by praying for the intentions of the Holy Father, being in a state of grace after confession, attending a full Mass, and receiving Communion. The last three conditions can be fulfilled when public health guidance allow. For more information here is a piece published by Catholic News Service via CatholicPhilly.com: https://catholicphilly.com/.../pope-says-catholics-can.../ See more

All Saints Day: A Word from Father Mullin Can you imagine having a canonized saint right in your own backyard? Yet those of us growing up in Upper Darby and attending Msgr. Bonner High School in the mid-1960's (like Fr. Frank Chambers and myself) really did have a saint living in our own backyard: Fr. Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. I find great consolation and hope in the affirmation in the Book of Revelation (7:9): After this I [John] had a vision of a great multitude, which no o...ne could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. By the grace of God in Jesus Christ, there’s room in heaven for lots of ordinary people, even for the likes of you and me! See more

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Yesterday, Ms. Hickey's Second Graders celebrated All Saints' Day with a prayer service,... celebrated by Fr Mullin and Fr. Kevin. #StESchool #AOPSchools Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools - AOPS

As we prepare for the celebration of Mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we are conducting a short survey of our parishioners to guide the parish staff in the scheduling of Masses and in making physical arrangements for the liturgies. Please note that the current social distancing and face mask regulations will remain in place over the Christmas holidays, together with a maximum seating capacity for the church, chapel and other parish gathering places (social hall and/or... gymnasium). At present we are planning to live-stream one or more of the Masses celebrated in the main church. After the results of this survey have been considered a final schedule of Mass times and locations will be published through all the parish communication vehicles in a timely manner. Please complete and submit this survey no later than 5:00 PM on Monday, November 2. Survey: https://docs.google.com//1o3ZEkV8geoFW8EOd1C-7WDh0bAR/edit

Daily Mass Live-Stream Broadcast Interruption: If you have been attending the daily Live-Stream Mass on Monday, Wednesday or Friday mornings at 7:30 AM you may have noticed some broadcast interruptions or technical difficulties. It has not impacted weekend Masses and is not a problem with your equipment. We are working diligently to resolve the issue. During this time you may still view the Live-Stream daily Masses or access recordings at a later time on our website, YouTube and Facebook pages.