St. Margaret of Cortona-St. Gabriel

On June 15, 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that COVID 19 restrictions would be lifted throughout New York State.   As a result of this good news, please note the following changes to COVID 19 protocols:

• Masks are no longer required to be worn during church services for those who are vaccinated. Churches should continue to maintain a physical distance section those individuals who wish to utilize such accommodations regardless of their vaccination status. However, as I have clarified, there should be no designation of attendees to such an area based on vaccination status.
• To reiterate, there are no capacity restrictions on houses of worship.
• As a practical matter, not everyone will be ready for an immediate return to normal activities. As such, to ensure our people recognize that their safety is our paramount concern, we recommend the following practices continue:
  • ​​​​​​​Holy water fonts should continue to remain empty.
  • Communion from the chalice should not resume right now. Continue to encourage your communicants to receive in the hand rather than on the tongue.
• The sign of peace may now be offered again, even though our people seem to do so or not spontaneously.

• The lifting of these restrictions is a much welcome sign that we have returned to a normal way of life while still recognizing that it will take time for all in our community to feel comfortable to resume pre-pandemic activities. We hope and pray that our parishioners will feel safe to return to the church life they knew before these unfortunate circumstances befell us.

  
  
   

The annual Cardinal's Appeal has begun.  The Cardinal's appeal supports many ministries within the Archdiocese including Catholic Charities and retired priests.  
Please see below a link to a video about the Cardinal's Appeal and the needs of the Archdiocese (You may need to copy and paste into a browser):
https://cardinalsappeal.org/
Donations can be made by completing the pledge form sent to parishioners.  Contributions will also be accepted via  QR code:




 

Our  Masses have resumed..   Occupancy on both weekend and weekday Masses will be 33% of Church capacity (although a NY State Judge said 50%).    The obligation to attend Mass has been suspended by Cardinal Dolan.   Those who feel in any way sick (e.g. oral temperature higher than 99.5 degrees, cough, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat or new loss of taste or smell) or who are worried about attendance, should not enter the church.  In addition, those who are at highter risk for COVID-19 (i.e. those who are older than 65 or have underlying health conditions) are urged not to come to Church for Mass. 

New Rectory Hours
The Rectory Office at St. Margaret's is open Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  
The Rectory Office at St. Gabriel is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We will update this website as we expand our days. Thank you for your understanding.
If you need to contact the Rectory at other times, please e-mail us at: smcchurch@optonline.net.
If you need a priest in an emergency, please call St. Margaret's Rectory; there is always a priest on-duty to assist you. 

WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT
We are most grateful to everyone who has supported our Parish during this difficult time.
 
To support our Parish today, we urge you to enroll in the We Share collection system. It is safe, simple and convenient using a debit or credit card or your checking or savings account.
 
To enroll us the following link:
https://stmargaret-stgabriel.churchgiving.com
 
set up an account, choose a payment option and customize your donation plan.
 
If you have any questions regarding this collection system, please send an email to the We Share Customer Support Team:
weshare@4lpi.com or call (800) 950-9952.
 
Thank you for your continuing support and generosity.
 
                   God bless you,
                   Father Brian McCarthy
                   Pastor
 

Welcome to the Parish of St. Margaret of Cortona-St. Gabriel!
We have many different services, programs and activities. Our Church is the heart of our parish. We try to make Jesus the center of all things with an ample number of Masses and the availability of the Sacraments. Devotion to the Eucharist and devotion to Mary are part of our life.
We offer many programs and activities for all our parishioners to help them engage meaningfully in the life of our parish community. As they say in Ireland ‘100,000 Welcomes!”