The staff of St. Raymond Catholic Church, 301 S. I-Oka Ave., worked hard throughout the pandemic to provide as many services and as much outreach as they could, despite severe restrictions from the Archdiocese of Chicago, based on health department guidance.
Music, for instance, has continued to play an integral part in St. Raymond’s parish life.
“The biggest changes are that we have not been allowed to have choirs for the duration of the pandemic thus far and we have had to reduce the number of instrumentalists we would normally have,” explained Brian Fife, St. Raymond’s Director of Music. “Initially, we were limited to just a cantor and piano, but we have been allowed to add additional personnel on a very limited basis, as each person needs to be socially distanced.”
During April 2021 Fife said that songs are still sung at some points during weekend masses, “but we try to avoid singing when there is movement in the pews, such as people coming up for communion or leaving church at the end.” At these times, the music is all instrumental.
Because of the pandemic, Fife said that they don’t actively encourage singing in the pews and people are instructed to leave their masks on. So, it would seem that the very reason for music ministry — which is to lead and encourage the faith community in sung worship — is defeated. But that has not been the case. “People are still expressing their faith in song. It’s just a lot quieter, or they are doing it at home while watching the live stream.”
“Despite the changes, we have done our best to provide music that can encourage people in their faith, and though it is vastly different, music can still be a point of inspiration and encouragement to people in their faith. And judging by the response we’ve gotten, I believe that this has been happening,” he continued.
“We may not be able to proclaim our faith in song as an assembly as robustly and boldly as we did before the pandemic, but as the title of one of the songs we sing aptly expresses it, “How Can I Keep From Singing?” Our communal faith experience may have outwardly changed, but I have seen the resiliency of faith more than ever during these challenging times.”
Communications have also been particularly important during this trying time.
“I started at St Raymond in November of 2019, just a few short months before the pandemic started. I was just getting my feet wet and learning the behind-the-scenes of all that’s involved in running a church. I’m still learning,” said Brandi Sulak, Communications Coordinator. “The job description definitely didn’t include live streaming or audio mixing, both of which are now a favorite part of my job. I love a challenge!”
“From the beginning of the pandemic, we worked to grow people’s faith by livestreaming Mass,” she explained. “The St. Raymond Parish took the initiative and started to stream weekend and Wednesday masses live for everyone, a part of our congregation or not, to continue to flourish in our faith despite the barrier that Covid-19 brought.”
“I also continued to create and share the parish bulletin, which brings information to the parish and updates them on the church, on the community and on the world. I soon realized that these two things brought the church community together more, despite the separation throughout the globe.”
“We also remodeled our website to be more user-friendly. Every live stream, every podcast, every zoom event: all located right there for individuals to discover, use and enjoy. That was definitely one of our successes during this time and I hope it continues to be one moving forward.”
“Overall, this pandemic, although painful and heartbreaking, has really brought the St. Raymond Parish together on a new level and I am forever grateful for all it has brought for me,” she continued.
“Personally, this time has been full of creativity, struggles and lots and lots of days wearing comfy clothes. But, as the months progressed, my family and I tried to think outside of the box as to how to preoccupy our minds while in quarantine. Along with all of our arts and crafts, new movie and television finds, and outdoor activities, we also found a new way to study and learn about the Lord. Especially during Easter last year, my family and I took a deep dive into what the holiday really meant,” Sulak added.