Oakmont, Plum and Verona Parishes offer alternative ways of participating in the Mass

While the parishes in Oakmont, Plum and Verona have been on lockdown, more people than ever have participated in their Masses, thanks in part to adapting their livestream for those without Internet.

Father Kevin Poecking began streaming Mass in 2017 after discovering that a parish in another county was hearing from prospective converts who lived in his parish, but listened to the other parish’s Mass on the radio. Using livestream rather than radio reached a younger audience.

“It was meant as an evangelization effort for people who wanted to learn more about the Church but didn’t feel comfortable stepping inside the Church. And we were also thinking of shut-ins. But everyone is shut in now,” Father Poecking said.

Now the grouping has provided a way for people to listen to the Mass on landline phones. That old school provision builds on three years of innovation in the grouping, www.opvcatholic.org. Its five parishes – St. Iranaeus in Oakmont, St. Joseph in Verona and St. Januarius, St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Joy in Plum – will merge in July.

Before the lockdown, combined attendance at all 12 weekend Masses averaged nearly 3,000. The streamed Masses now have 4-5,000 viewers.

Father Poecking started as his own technician, then hired a technician. Two parishes have professional grade remote control cameras. Students at St. John the Baptist School in Plum learned how to operate them and, before the lockdown, had been responsible for livestreaming the 9 a.m. daily Mass.

“In order to do it, the students have to learn not just the technology, but the Mass,” Father Poecking said. “They know that for this part of the Mass you move the camera here, and in the next part of the Mass, you’re pointing it over there.”

The schools also use a mobile social media camera to livestream events such as student award ceremonies. Parents who can’t attend can watch on their phones from the office.

The coronavirus lockdown forced parish leaders to find new ways to reach parishioners who lack digital technology. A self-quarantined parishioner with technical skills moves processes the feed through Zoom, which allows people to listen on any telephone.

Despite his livestream success, Father Poecking is convinced that parishioners are eager to return to public Mass. During Holy Week he sent word that at 3 PM on Easter Sunday he would broadcast a blessing from the loudspeakers atop the carillon tower at St. John the Baptist. He didn’t expect much response.

After broadcasting from the sacristy, he was shocked to find the parking lot full of cars.

“People were beeping their horns and cheering. One of our staff members told me that her neighbors were outside, whooping and cheering,” he said, adding that everyone kept social distance.

“I think that, for a lot of Catholics, this experience has made them really hungry for the Eucharist, for Holy Communion. They are learning how much they miss Mass after being away from it. There are a lot of people who might have been unaware of how much the sacrament really affects their whole life. Watching is really important for those people, but the physical connection of receiving it is even more desired now than it was two months ago.”

Photo: Father Kevin Poecking, adminstrator of parishes in Oakmont, Plum and Verona