Short version:
June 2023 Update: We are mostly only livestreaming when Bishop Mark is here. Mass from a variety of parishes is available at saskatoonmass.com
Mass will be available at saskatoonmass.com
The expected livestream schedule for the next few weeks is:
- Mass from a number of parishes is always available at saskatoonmass.com
Long version:
In order to encourage a stronger connection with our bishop and our diocese, we encourage those who are unable to attend Mass in person to pray along with Mass celebrated by Bishop Mark when it's available.
Livestream from March 2020
When the COVID shutdowns began in March 2020, Bishop Mark jumped in and quickly arranged to regularly celebrate and livestream Mass from the Cathedral. It filled a definite need at the time. Other parishes also started livestreaming, helping all of us to connect at a time when we were all very isolated and uncertain.
Over the last two years, the intensity and uncertainty of the pandemic has shifted. We were legally limited to gatherings of 10 people, then 30, then 150, then 30, then 150 again. More and more people were slowly able to return to celebrating Mass in-person, due to both the lessening of restrictions and the change in the dynamics of the pandemic. While at certain times we could only accommodate about 50 attendees over the course of a whole weekend, we now typically have over 1000 attending.
As restrictions lifted, Bishop Mark began again visiting his diocese, rather than celebrating Mass almost exclusively at Holy Family. We (mostly) continued to consistently livestream the 9:00 AM Mass when he wasn't present. We considered it (and still consider it) an important outreach to those who were not able to be here to celebrate with us. That said, we've been able to watch as the number of viewers dropped from several hundred down to a couple hundred, then to a hundred, then eighty, then fifty...
Along with the lifting of legal restrictions, the obligation to attend Sunday Mass was restored in April. Celebrating the Day of the Resurrection together is an essential and central part of our identity as a Christian community. While there are definitely exceptions - particularly as this pandemic continues to affect our world - and we absolutely want to meet the needs of those who are unable to be here in-person, the number of people legitimately unable to join us at our Sunday Mass has grown smaller. We have been looking at how we can best make use of our limited resources to serve everyone, both in-person and online.
The livestream is not fulfilling the same need it once did, and so we're shifting.
While we have loved helping to maintain the connection with Holy Family as a parish, as the cathedral for the Diocese of Saskatoon we also want to encourage and strengthen the connection with our shepherd, Bishop Mark Hagemoen. One positive effect of this pandemic is that it has forced all of us to find new ways to connect, especially online. We are very pleased that we have been able to regularly bring the experience of Sunday Mass to those who are unable to leave their homes, unable to be in large groups, or otherwise unable to be with us physically.
Also, summer is here, and with it vacation times. Tim (running the livestream for Bishop Mark) and Andy (running the livestream for Holy Family) won't be able to stream every week. As such, it's a natural time to make a change.
Join us at saskatoonmass.com or on either the Holy Family or Diocese of Saskatoon channel on YouTube, depending on who is presiding.
And so, for the coming months, here's our plan for those who are unable to join us in-person:
- We encourage joining the livestream from Bishop Mark as he celebrates throughout the diocese.
- On weekends when he is not livestreaming, we plan to livestream the 9:00 AM Mass from Holy Family.
- Especially during the summer, there will be weekends when neither is able to happen. In those cases we encourage praying along with another parish from our diocese.
- We'll try to keep the schedule updated, both at the top of this page and in the bulletin.
- When in doubt, go to saskatoonmass.com
Unfortunately we will be losing the consistency we've had with livestreaming the 9:00 AM Mass over the last couple years. At this particular time, we simply can't maintain that, but we will continue to review our options in the coming months.
Let us continue to keep our parish and all its members - especially the most vulnerable - in our prayers.
