Waconia parish weathers winter with outdoor Masses

Father Stan Mader stepped into the sacristy of St. Joseph in Waconia to get vested for Sunday Mass Jan. 3. 

The first layer was a set of brown coveralls, followed quickly by a set of insulated boots. Then, it was time for the traditional vestments to celebrate Mass on the first Sunday of 2021. Minutes later, he headed out to the parking lot and a small plastic-walled shelter resembling a greenhouse mounted on a trailer. 

Call it outdoor Mass, Minnesota style. 

This is not new. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, Father Mader and parish staff discussed how to keep public Masses alive with the closing of churches due to restrictions set by Gov. Tim Walz and followed by Archbishop Bernard Hebda. They decided to bring the liturgy outdoors. 

“It started on Easter (Sunday). … It was snowing and cold.” Father Mader recalled. “We had four (outdoor) Masses on Easter morning.” 

After months of continuing the practice, people wondered what would happen when the weather turned cold. The answer came on Christmas Eve, when Father Mader held not one but two outdoor Masses. A little ingenuity went into the endeavor, with parishioners buying and setting up their makeshift greenhouse. Their shelter was tested by strong winds and plunging temperatures produced by a cold front arriving just hours earlier. But, outside of a little ice formation during the second Mass, all went well. 

“We should be able to keep it up through the winter,” Father Mader said of the once-weekly outdoor Mass that takes place in the church parking lot Sundays at 10:30 a.m. “I think we are providing a service that is useful, and people are grateful for it.” 

Father Mader said about 60 to 80 cars park in the lot every Sunday, and the parish decided to hold a naming contest for the shelter. One of the clever entries so far is Our Lady of Snows Globe.