California may not have been hit the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we certainly had the longest and strictest lockdown. During this time, we livestreamed Masses and Zoomed everything that we could think of because we were not able to gather together. We have just begun to open up more fully, with all restrictions lifted for the entire state of California.

In celebration of the lifting of restrictions, the Redemptorists of Whittier hosted a barbecue in thanksgiving for the members of our Pastoral and Finance councils in our rectory garden. Fr. Ted Dorcey and Bear, his faithful companion, and Frater Steven Urban manned the grills.Parishioners brought salads or desserts to share.

I am very grateful to the members of our parish councils. Thanks to their guidance, we have been able to keep our parish afloat. We have been able to pay our bills, and in this time we have initiated a huge expansion of St. Mary’s Place, our parish food bank. We went from serving 30 families a month to 600 families every week.

Fortunately, as restrictions have been lifted and people have more work opportunities, we are now down to helping 200 families twice a month. We have also initiated a fully online family faith formation program. Parents no longer register their children for the sacraments and send them to class.

Families are registered for faith formation, and together they share their faith. We also have livestreamed Masses and other devotions and launched many programs on Zoom. On a typical evening, several of us head to our computers to begin a Bible study, faith sharing or a Redemptorist spirituality group meeting online.

We are currently planning a celebration for our patroness, St. Mary of the Assumption, on August 15. Preliminary plans include a novena, a COVID-19 memorial, a bi-lingual Mass and a celebration.If you are in southern California, join us!