The King's Crier
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The King’s Crier Christ the King Parish December 2020 Parish adapts to pandemic 2020 changes a.m. on their computers or cell by Rose Sterger phones. Those Masses continue as winter sets in. In addition, the When did you ever imagine that Wednesday morning school you would walk up to the church Masses are recorded and posted door and find a notice that services online. were cancelled until further notice? The parish office was closed for In March of 2020, the unimaginable inperson services for several happened. weeks. It was then opened gradu- As the number of cases of the ally for a few hours each week. coronavirus mounted, the entire As we publish The King’s Crier, country M except for “essential ser- the office is still open only for vices” M closed down. The bishops limited hours with staff members of Indiana dispensed the faithful rotating days of working onsite. from attending Sunday Mass M first As in other businesses, much of until August 15, then until Novem- the daily work has been done at ber 1, and, finally, “until further home computers. notice.” During the shutdown, Fr. Todd Each Sunday, parishioners could “covered” the office much of the Karen Alley of our maintenance staff attend “virtual” Masses at about 10 has been kept busy sanitizing pews time and attended to sacramental between Masses as we follow protocols needs as parishioners requested. in working to keep parishioners safe. After a few weeks, the church was allowed to open with limits allowed to provide limited help to on the number of people who the celebrant at each Mass. could be in attendance at any School and religious education Mass. Parishioners were instruct- activities have also been affected by ed to wear face coverings, to use the pandemic. Sunday morning re- hand sanitizer upon entering the ligious education classes have been church, to practice social distanc- suspended until further notice. The ing inside, and to avoid congre- RCIA classes are in session, but gating after Mass. Until the end of scripture studies are being conduct- October, the 8 a.m. Mass was cel- ed via Zoom. The school has expe- ebrated outdoors. At the indoor rienced a number of changes N see Masses, music was instrumental story on page 6. Sadly, it appears only until November when the that COVID19 will continue caus- congregation could sing again N ing disruption in all of our lives. but still wearing masks and prac- But we have found that there are ticing social distancing. No serv- On their way into church, parishion- new ways to do what we need or ers are greeted by a statue of Pope St. ers assisted at the Masses until like to do. And, God willing, this John Paul II reminding them of the November when one server was too shall pass. need for masks and hand sanitizer. 5884 N. Crittenden Ave., Indianapolis IN 46220 Only one word for 2020 by Fr. Todd Riebe Eerie. It’s the word that first Masses continued to be celebrated comes to mind as I reflect on these by parish priests, they were cele- last months. brated without a congregation. It was the feeling Deacon Michael and I set a sched- I had as we cele- ule for daily Mass in the Adoration brated the regular- Chapel. Pictures from the Parish ly scheduled Tues- Pictorial Directory were pinned to day 5:30 p.m. the chairs in the chapel as a way of Mass on March 17, staying connected with parishioners knowing that it during the Eucharist, but it re- would be the last mained eerie. Mass for some Each Sunday, Fr. Bonke would days. There were more parishioners join us for the recording of Sunday present for that daily Mass than usu- Mass as Cheryl Beckerich made al as word had spread that churches virtual Masses a part of our “new would be closed on March 18. normal.” Preaching into a camera lens in an empty church, rather than Parishioners are cautioned to observe We would then begin the “Two social distancing as they proceed down Weeks to Flatten the Curve” which one filled with people, was an eerie the aisle of the church. were later extended, prohibiting experience. Celebrating Holy Week public church services in Marion and the Easter Vigil in an empty periences, as were funerals cele- County for several weeks to come. church was the eeriest experience of brated in cemeteries without a Mass Eerie. The dictionary defines the my 40 years as a priest. and with no more than ten mourn- word as “abnormal,” “strange,” The Parish Office, which is usual- ers present. “unnatural,” “chilling.” All of those ly a pretty active place, was eerily With many restrictions in place, words described my mood as I quiet. The school building, which is we resumed the celebration of pub- locked the doors of the church on always an active place, was eerily lic Masses on the weekend of June March 17. There was so much that quiet. Kessler Boulevard, which is a 67. Outdoor parking lot Masses was eerie about those first days of very busy street, was eerily quiet. became a memorable part of the coming to grips with a pandemic. Visits to nursing homes for Last summer of 2020. Baptisms, confes- For us, as Catholics, a prohibition Rites with families huddled together sions, funeral Masses, outdoor Ad- on the public celebration of Masses outside windows N wearing masks oration of the Blessed Sacrament, was unthinkable. It had been 100 and dressed in different degrees of and scaled down weddings all be- years since U.S. churches had protective gear N became eerie ex- gan to be celebrated, respecting the closed their doors during the pan- (Continued on page 8) demic of the Spanish Flu. While Virus takes toll on priests’ celebrations The King’s Crier is published by Christ This year two important anniver- included Our Lady of the Green- the King parish. Your contributions saries have gone, for the most part, wood, St. Christopher, Nativity of (articles, letters, ideas, or photos) are unrecognized and certainly uncele- Our Lord Jesus Christ, and St. Mi- welcome. Send them to kingscrier@ctk brated N yet another casualty of chael the Archangel. He then be- indy.org. the pandemic. came the archdiocesan defender of the bond at the Metropolitan Tribu- Editors: Mary Kivela Fr. Todd Riebe was ordained on Rose Sterger Sept. 6, 1980. Before becoming nal. He even offered the invocation Staff: Jenny Annee our pastor in 2017, he worked in a at the Indianapolis 500 three times! Helen Burke mission field in African Sudan, then In retirement today, he assists with Eric Engleman at St. Patrick in Terre Haute, St. weekend Masses here at Christ the Janet Engleman Mary, St. Andrew, and Holy Family King and is kept busy filling in for Tom Hayes other priests in the archdiocese. Matt Henninger in Richmond, Indiana, and St. Mark Kelly Lucas the Evangelist in Indianapolis. While nothing is currently Jerry Traub Fr. James Bonke was ordained on planned, we hope that some celebra- Ruth Warner June 6, 1970. His assignments have tion will eventually take place to honor our two clergymen. 2 The King’s Crier• December 2020 Parish generosity funds church renovation possibilities, it was decided to cre- ing allows, a crown of thorns made by Kelly Lucas ate a designated space for the choir in the back, southwest corner of the of black granite will surround the altar and the motif of the crown of church. The choir space will accom- In late 2019, Christ the King par- thorns will be repeated on the metal modate 40 people and, when not ish initiated a 50th Anniversary rails running along the handicap campaign to raise $300,000 for being used by the choir, will be used for general seating. Moving ramp and around the area surround- needed church renovation. Fr. Todd ing the choir. the organ and piano from their cur- Riebe recently announced that The steps behind the altar will be rent location to the back of the thanks to the generosity of parish- removed and the presider’s chair ioners, that goal has been met. church will open up needed sanctu- ary space, Fr. Todd explained. and the servers’ chairs will be relo- Construction and renovation origi- cated to the side of the altar in the The baptismal font will be reposi- nally scheduled to begin in Septem- main sanctuary. The pews will be tioned to the opposite side of the ber 2020 were delayed because of refinished and new kneeling pads the COVID19 pandemic. Under the church with space for families to gather around the font during bap- will be installed. The renovation guidance of Indianapolis architect will also include six designated tisms. A ramp will be built along Michael Eagan of Entheos Archi- spaces to accommodate parishioners the wall where the baptismal font tects, plans were fine tuned and a who use wheelchairs or walkers. new timeline has been established currently rests to allow easy access to the sanctuary. The ambo/pulpit “We know that 50 years ago peo- calling for work to begin in early ple made a tremendous investment will be moved to the opposite side 2021. to build the ‘new church’ and, like a of the sanctuary and brought closer According to Fr. Todd, the initial house, we have to keep it up,” Fr. plan to open the brick wall on the to the congregation. Flooring will include ceramic tile Todd added. “We aren’t called to west side of the sanctuary to create build a new church, but we are for the sanctuary and main aisle, a choir space was scrapped due to c with vinyl flooring under the pews alled to pass it on to the next gen- space constraints and acoustical eration in the best condition that we and carpet in the side aisles.