RCIA: is meeting in a combination of in person and virtual sessions.
JP Kidz and Tweens: are currently meeting in person. Parents will be kept up-to-date on the status via email.
Teen Group and Juniorhigh Youth Ministry: are currently meeting in person. Parents will be notified via email on the status of sessions.
Parish Intergenerational Faith Formation: Virtual gatherings for households are held monthly, on a Sunday, and repeated again on the following Wednesday. A video of the online gatherings is available on the faith formation website, Kitchen Table Faith, for those who are unable to attend. There you will also find follow-up activities and resources for households each month. Find more information on faith formation opportunities, including calendars, for your entire household here.
Sacramental preparation will have a combination of in person and online sessions, along with at home preparation. Parents will be kept up-to-date via email. Find more information on the First Reconciliation/First Eucharist page and on the Confirmation page.
Some parish ministries are meeting:
Men's Bible Study: meeting in FDC room 10
Finance Council & Building Project Committees meeting virtually or in the social room to allow for more space for physical distancing.
Anointing of the Sick: If you need to celebrate this sacrament, email Fr. Tim.
Reconciliation: Saturday at 4 pm, or contact Fr. Tim to set up an individual time.
Knights of Columbus: Regular monthly meetings are held in the FDC social room.
Some parish ministries are still cancelled or meeting virtually:
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Small Faith-sharing Groups
SSJP Playgroup
JustFaith
Choir practices
Facility Rentals: will be suspended for the time being.
Outside groups will no longer meet in the parish facilities until further notice. This includes, but is not limited to:
Girl Scouts, Kindermusik, yoga class.
We will update changes in status as they occur.
As communities across the world are impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19), we pray for those impacted, and those working to treat those infected. Find resources for worship and prayer during this difficult time.
Give Us This Day
Concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 virus have left many parishes with the difficult decision to suspend liturgies. To support our community's prayer, Give Us This Day has made available at no charge a digital file of our periodical, which includes daily Mass texts. Visit GUTD.net and select "Digital" in the upper right of the screen. While it is not a replacement for community worship, we hope this resource will support you during this challenging time. Please share this resource with friends and family.
Following guidelines set forth by the Diocese,the parish office will be closed to foot traffic. Phones will be answered from 9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Staff members will rotate working from home to maintain physical distancing and minimize physical contact with staff and others. When at home, staff will check voice mail remotely and return calls as soon as possible, sometimes from cell phones.
If you need to reach a staff member, you can contact them by phone or email. If services you require cannot be handled by phone or email, you can call to set up an appointment. Find staff contact information here.
Our desire is to protect our parishioners, staff and our partners in the broader community, and to provide services throughout this period of vulnerability due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Due to anticipated difficulties that the winter season will bring, the rollout of the vaccine, and the development and spread of variant viruses, Ss. John and Paul continues to suspend all parish sponsored or hosted social events.
This includes, but is not limited to the following types of events:
Sunday obligation remains suspended. Mass will still be virtually available Sunday by 8:30 am through a post on the parish Facebook page and a link on the parish website.
Daily Mass has been moved from the parish hall to the main church, due to construction.
Church doors will be open 30 minutes before Mass begins. Please observe physical distancing in the parking lot and stagger your entrance through the entrance doors to give others a six-foot leeway. Maintain a six-foot distance from other households in the building.
Everyone age 5 and older is required to wear a mask in the church building and for the entirety of Mass, except for the brief moment of receiving Communion. Wearing face masks is very important to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and is a charitable act toward others as we try to protect each other from contracting the virus.
We will have to be mindful of avoiding physical contact and extended conversation, including gathering and clustering together before and after Mass, including in the parking lot.
Everyone will be asked to leave directly after Mass. Please follow our ushers’ directions for seating. Every-other-pew will remain unoccupied for social distancing. Ushers will seat front to back and exit back to front. Family members within a household may sit together in one pew.
For now, we are unable to visit or take Communion to parishioners at local care centers in Bondurant, Altoona and Mitchellville, at Prairie Vista Village, or at hospitals in Des Moines. All these facilities are off limits for visitors indefinitely.
Children's Liturgy of the Word: is not taking place in person at this time. Find more information about available alternatives.
Adoration: resumes Monday, June 29
The Diocese of Des Moines Coronavirus Webpage has information concerning the following: