If you were tracking with us back in June, you may recall that we shared some hopes and dreams for upgrades to the South Worship Space at St. Joseph. We’re upgrading our worship space so that it’s less temporary in nature and better suited to our needs as a growing, modern, and online church.
We even shared some rough sketches of some of these upgrades (read our previous blog post for all the details).

These upgrades will be pivotal in advancing our mission to reach people with the good news of God’s love. Back in June, a family in our community very generously stepped up to match every gift made to this effort. We had a one-time giving weekend to support these upgrades, and you gave just over $100,000--all of which has been matched. We’ve been busy over the summer working with the best professionals in the Boston area to scope out this work and we’re really excited that we’re ready to move forward with these upgrades, starting...surprise--tomorrow! 

The timing might not seem ideal, but really, it never would be. And we figured, the sooner we start, the sooner it’s done! So construction in the South Worship Space begins tomorrow, Sept. 13th--but don’t worry, we’ll keep meeting in person and online at 10:00am every Sunday. 

In person at St. Joseph, we’ll meet in the North Worship Space, formerly referred to as “the church.” It may feel a bit odd, maybe even jarring, to be back in that space, but it may also serve as a good reminder for why we’re investing in the South Worship Space. We will have music but it will be very stripped down since the North Worship space is not well suited to the acoustics, tech, and space needed for our full worship team. We won’t have projected lyrics either. But we will have our message series, and we’ll continue to have safe and easy access to our kids spaces for Kids’ Church and Tiny Disciples. We’ll be back in the South Worship Space as soon as it's ready later in the fall. And we’ll of course keep you informed about that.

Our online Mass will continue to be broadcast at 10:00am each Sunday. If you have any questions, we’re happy to answer them. Thank you for your support in this work; it is so exciting to see what God is doing in and through this church family!

​We're excited to share today some dreams and plans we have for the future, specifically for the future of our worship space at St. Joseph. We’ve made some gradual upgrades to our worship space (which we call the South Worship Space) over time, but we realize now more than ever that we need to make some significant upgrades to our worship space so that it’s less temporary in nature and better suited to our needs as a growing, modern, and online church. We have been blessed to have some amazing friends and partners who are helping us design and plan our space upgrades. We even have some rough sketches to share!

​In this photo above, you’ll see a sketch of the worship space with:

• a new wall behind the altar to allow for liturgical lighting
• new screens so everyone can easily see lyrics, images, and videos 
• a lighting truss hung over head which will dramatically improve our ability to light key spots
• new and consistent staging that doesn’t creak and provides sufficient space for us to lead worship

One of the dreams we have with our space is to be able to better control lighting. Being able to darken the space allows us to use lighting intentionally to engage and draw people into the experience of worship. While we can and will use some window tinting and curtains in certain areas, we’re planning to construct some walls in the back of the worship space to help control the lighting and improve the acoustics of the space. 

​The photo above shows the entrance to the worship space as you approach the steps (the walls are highlighted in yellow). As you approach the steps, you’ll see a mounted welcome screen, and if you go up the steps, you can enter the worship space to the right.

​​The photo above shows the view up the ramp as you enter the worship space, with a wall constructed to block the light and sound that enters from the hallway near the courtyard.

​The photo below shows a view looking from the back of the worship space toward the information desk.

​I realize it may be hard to really visualize these changes but they will vastly improve our experience of worship from an audio, visual, and lighting perspective.

We’ve been working with the best professionals in the Boston area to scope out this work and we’re really excited about the possibilities. In addition to upgrades to our physical worship space, we also need to invest in technology for recording and streaming. In our new hybrid world, we must invest in technology to continue and expand what we’re doing online and in person. We need to invest in upgrading computers and purchasing new equipment.

Finally, we have dreams of refreshing our kids spaces so that our church is an engaging, fun space for kids--a church kids want to come to. The photos above are some photos, not of our space, but of some inspiration for where we’re hoping to go with our kids spaces in the future.

To move toward making those dreams and plans a reality, we are inviting you to make a one-time gift to New Roads in the coming week. As we’ve been dreaming with God about the future at New Roads, a family in our community has generously stepped up to give to get us started--and, they want to encourage and inspire others to give by offering to match every gift made to this effort.

All gifts of any amount, from $100, $1,000, $5,000, all the way up to an individual gift of $25,000 will be matched. To be clear, this is a one-time commitment to support this project. We won’t be coming back to you in a month to meet a particular dollar amount. We’re praying that our community will respond to this opportunity and help us take this significant step forward. To give, simply visit: givebutter.com/NewRoadsMatch. Thank you for your support and partnership in what God is doing in our midst!

Dear Friends,
​
It has been a joy to worship with many of you online (and some in-person) over this past year. While online worship has lifted our spirits during a difficult time (and may continue to be the best option for some), we’re thrilled to be gathering in person more this summer, starting next Sunday, June 20th.

What’s happening in person?

• At St. Joseph, we’ll resume our 9:00am in-person Mass in the south worship space on Sunday, June 20th. (We’ll resume the 10:30am Mass in person when needed based on capacity.)
• St. Luke’s will continue to have in-person Masses on Saturdays at 4:00pm and Sundays at 10:00am. 

What will in-person worship be like?

• Following guidance from the State of Massachusetts and the Archdiocese of Boston, masks are no longer required for fully vaccinated people, but are always welcome and respected on our campuses. Masks are advised for non-vaccinated people. 
• For the comfort and safety of all, we are practicing social distancing of at least 3 feet. 
• Registration is not required for any of our in-person Masses. However, given that we cannot anticipate attendance (particularly at our 9am Mass at St. Joseph), it is possible we will reach capacity. We’ll add a 10:30am Mass in person at St. Joseph when needed. Thank you in advance for your flexibility and patience as we work through this transition time together!
• We are planning to resume our in-person children’s worship experiences (Tiny Disciples and Kids’ Church) this fall. These programs are normally on break over the summer.
• For more details about in-person worship, as well as FAQs, please visit our website.
• Questions? Please reply to this email. We’d be glad to hear from you and we’re here to help!

What’s happening online?

• Our Sunday online broadcast schedule remains the same: 9:00 & 10:30am from St. Joseph and 10:00am from St. Luke. Find the links to join us on our Website.

We are deeply grateful for your support and for all the ways we have carried out our mission through new methods this past year. We look forward to seeing you very soon.

Peace & blessings,
Fr. Thom and the New Roads team

Dear Friends,

We’re excited to begin offering more opportunities to gather in person in the coming weeks. At St. Luke, we’ll continue to hold our 4:00pm Saturday Vigil Mass in person. Beginning on Sunday, May 16, the 10:00am live-stream Mass at St. Luke will also be in person each Sunday. Please view the procedures for in-person Mass on our Website and find the link to pre-register to attend Mass in person at St. Luke.

At St. Joseph, we are in the process of transitioning from pre-recording Mass to live-streaming Mass. We are also moving towards welcoming people to join us for Mass in person in the south worship space (formerly called the hall). While we don’t have a firm date to announce just yet for in-person worship at St. Joseph, we are aiming to resume our 9:00am in-person Mass at St. Joseph sometime in the month of June. We will of course keep you posted! Our online schedule at St. Joseph will remain the same: Sundays at 9:00am and 10:30am. We are sharing more information about this transition each Sunday at the end of Mass, so be sure to join us online. We will also be sharing further updates via email and our website. 

We look forward to seeing you online or in person soon,
The New Roads Team
--

St. Luke Masses:
4pm Saturday Vigil Mass--in person
10am Sunday Mass--online and in person (starting May 16)

St. Joseph Masses:
9am Sunday Mass--online and in person (starting in June, exact date to be announced)
10:30am Mass--online

​This year has forced us to reimagine almost everything our church does, from worship to prayer to community and more. While this has brought about significant challenges, it has also brought about great opportunities to bring new life to our standard ways of being. As we approach Advent and Christmas this year, we’re faced with the same reality: great challenge to our normal practices during these seasons, and great opportunities too. 

Christmas will look very different this year than in years past. Normally we welcome more than 1500 people to our two campuses at 4:00pm for Christmas Eve Masses. Obviously we can’t gather in anything close to those numbers this year. In considering the possibility of any in-person Masses this Christmas, the challenges are significant: singing is prohibited, capacity is significantly reduced, and people have to register in advance (on a day when the majority of people who attend Mass aren’t regularly connected with the church at all). All together, these restrictions create a sense of exclusion, so contrary to the spirit of Christmas and contrary to our mission as a faith community. In addition, holding multiple in-person gatherings in the midst of a worsening pandemic raises significant public health concerns.

Given this, and considering that the overwhelming majority of our community has chosen to worship online instead of in-person during this time, we’ve made the decision to host our Christmas Masses online only this year. We’ll have 2 online Christmas Eve Masses, both at 4:00pm, one from St. Joseph and one from St. Luke. Both Masses will be available to view on demand at any other time after they’ve been broadcast, either later on Christmas Eve or anytime on Christmas Day.

This is a challenge to be sure--we’d all love to be together in person for Christmas--but it also represents a great opportunity. Since we’ll be online, our capacity is unlimited and we can fully welcome everyone to join in. Our virtual doors will be wide open! Families will be able to worship together in our online campus, even if they are separated by a great distance this Christmas. We’ll have easy and fun ways to help you invite friends and neighbors to join us online this Christmas.

We’re also preparing Christmas Eve Kits, to help us feel more connected in our worship together. The kits will contain candles to light as we worship together, Christmas activities for your kids, and some other fun surprises. You can reserve your Christmas Eve Kit here and it can be picked up on the weekend of December 19/20.

Even though we’ll be worshipping from home this year, we’re committed to making this Christmas a wonderful and meaningful celebration. We hope and expect that Christmas next year will look very different from this year; but above all, we place our hope in the joy of Emmanuel, God with us, no matter where we are.

​Dear Friends,

This Sunday we celebrated Stewardship Sunday at New Roads, celebrating what God has done in our church this year and inviting you to make a financial commitment to New Roads for the year ahead. (If you weren't able to join us this Sunday, you can view Mass on our Website.) If you have already made your Stewardship Commitment for 2021--thank you! If you have not yet made your commitment, simply click the link below to complete your online Stewardship Card for 2021.

Stewardship Card for 2021

Your giving supports the growth and development of our church—our staff team, worship team, and ministry teams; our technology; and our children’s programs. Every aspect of our ministry relies on the support and investment of our parishioners who give sacrificially to create a church where people can grow deeper in faith, a church that outsiders want to call home, and a church for this generation and the next one. If you missed the Stewardship Sunday video sharing stories of New Roads' impact, be sure to check it out here.

Thank you for your support. Thank you for your partnership in spreading hope, love, and good news. Thank you for your investment in God's Kingdom.

With gratitude,
Fr. Thom

Dear Friends,

Even though I don’t like to admit it, fall is upon us. I never like the end of summer and it feels especially challenging this year. While we are celebrating one in-person Mass at this time, the majority of our community is gathering to worship online together. Normally this weekend we’d be holding our annual Fall Kickoff, but this year we’ll have our first ever Virtual Fall Kickoff. At our 9:00am and 10:30am online Masses, we’ll be kicking off the new season with new music, new families leading us in prayer, and a new message series (with this week’s message shared by Kathy O’Leary at the end of Mass). I hope you’ll join us for worship this weekend, and I hope you’ll invite friends, neighbors, and family (wherever they are!) to join you for church online.

As you and your family adjust to new patterns and rhythms this fall, I encourage you to make weekly worship a priority. Our souls are thirsting for God’s presence and peace these days and God is with us and ready to meet us right where we are.

Be sure to check out the new Invite a Friend page on our Website which has some great ideas for how to invite a friend to Mass. 

Blessings & peace,
Fr. Thom

Dear Friends,

I hope you are enjoying a healthy and restful summer, whatever shape that may be taking for you and your family this year. I miss seeing you and know we all miss seeing each other. I am very grateful for our online worship experiences and know many are finding these to be meaningful and grounding experiences of connecting to God and one another during this time. We will continue offering our online worship experiences from both St. Joseph and St. Luke according to our regular broadcast schedule.

While it seems clear that many will continue to prefer to join us online instead of in-person at this time, we will be experimenting with a gradual re-entry to our church buildings starting with a 4:00pm Saturday Vigil Mass at St. Joseph Church (in the north worship space) on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Due to safety mandates, please keep in mind that these experiences of worship will be very different - no congregational singing, social distancing, masks, etc. There are several procedures and protocols that anyone who wishes to attend Mass in person must follow, including pre-registration, social distance seating, and wearing a mask at all times. If you wish to attend Mass in person at this time, please carefully review the procedures for Mass in person on our website by clicking here. 

Please note: While in-person Masses are currently permitted in limited form, Cardinal O’Malley has dispensed the Sunday Mass obligation indefinitely. With this in mind, all people who are 65 and older, those with existing health concerns, those unable to wear a mask for an extended period, or anyone who feels fearful, anxious, or simply unsure of the safety for themselves or their family are encouraged to stay home and join us online. While public health trends in our area are trending in a better direction at this time, the increase of COVID-19 transmission in our wider country gives clear reason for continued prudence and caution. 

We will continue to keep you apprised of our plans moving forward. And most importantly, we’ll continue to move forward with our mission to love God, love others, and make disciples.

Please know of my daily prayers for you and your family.

Blessings and peace,
Fr. Thom Mahoney

Join us tonight, Thursday, June 4th at 7:00pm, for Belmont's Virtual Unity Vigil. New Roads is honored to participate and join our community for this online event. Hear healing words, prayers, and music from local faith communities, Belmont Police, and state officials, then go outside and light a candle with your neighbors. More information can be found here.
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Watch live online: bit.ly/BMC-PublicTV
Watch on cable TV: BMC-Public TV, Ch 9 (Comcast) & Ch 29 (Verizon)