We are both the seventh child of large families: The Rau family has nine siblings: Bob, Debbie, Jeff, Larry, Shawn, Elaine, Jerry, Stephen, and David; the Spampinato family has eight: Paulette, Philip, Connie, Janice, Len, Michael, Christine (Tina), and Stephen. We had envisioned a wedding that would bring together our two large families and life-long friends. Our plans had to change as a result of the pandemic. We are both constrained by the careful choices of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and, most importantly, by our desire that our family and friends remain safe and well. Joyfully we will gather in-person with a group that cannot exceed 50 attendees. Our extended family and dear friends will, we hope, join us virtually, viewing our nuptial mass on the website of our parish, St. Mary of the Assumption in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania. It is important to us that you witness our sacrament and we ask for your prayers and blessings. Instructions as to how to view our mass on-line are noted below. Our church has adopted the use of technology to live-stream Sunday masses during the time when the pandemic forced parishes to cease holding live masses. Daily masses resumed on June first, with attendance limited to 25 people. Sunday masses are live-streamed and able to be viewed throughout the following week. It is through the use of this same technology that our nuptial mass will be available for viewing by all. Instructions to view our nuptial mass: Please visit https://www.stmaryglenshaw.org Please scroll down and click on "Live Stream Mass Links" Please scroll on this page to the "Posts" section. There you will see a box labeled "The Nuptial Mass of Christine Ferguson and Gerard Rau". Click on this box to view our nuptial mass. Thank you so much for sharing this significant day with us. With sincere thanks and love, Christine and Jerry

Bishop David Zubig, head of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, has limited gatherings for weddings to not more than 50 people and requires that all local, state and federal guidelines be observed. Churches are allowed to raise attendance limits to 25% of capacity (St. Mary's capacity is 1,000) while maintaining physical distancing of 6 feet or more, mask-wearing, and a regular regimen of cleaning and disinfecting worship spaces. The Centers for Disease Control states the following: CDC continues to study the spread and effects of the novel coronavirus across the United States. We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. It is critical to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus. CDC is additionally advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure. The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Anyone who wished to view the live stream can go directly to the page or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/FergusonRauWedding/live/ To join us virtually, please use this URL: https://www.facebook.com/FergusonRauWedding Ferguson-Rau Wedding - @FergusonRauWedding