By now you’ve probably seen the slogan around the parish or heard of the saying “We are Saint Joe’s.” It means that all of us by pitching in make a big difference.
The thing of it is, the work never ends, because our parish always has needs throughout the year. So I’d like to take some time this week to highlight some needs we have right now and that are ongoing.
For one, we are really looking for a couple of people who would like to help make a good first impression for our parish on the weekend. Our Sunday helpers have moved out into the gather space but our numbers have dropped to 6. It’s nice to have at least 8, this way they get scheduled 1 time every other month. This is a wonderful ministry, please call the parish or email Patty Stibal if interested.
We only get one chance to make a good first impression.
We are also getting really close to the figure we need for hymnals. We’d love to be able to purchase these soon so please consider donating in honor of a loved one.
Faith Formation is right around the corner. Thus far, sign-ups have been a bit sluggish. As I preached on last week, we can’t think of God as one thing among many, but have to keep God first. That means learning about Him and what our faith teaches. It’s so important kids get the message that God needs to come first. We are also in need of volunteers to help pass on the faith to our young, and it’s made possible by so many great people willing to give of their time. As a former volunteer of 8th grade faith formation, I can tell you that yes, it can be a bit scary at first, but the parish provides you with great materials and great support to help you, and talk to many catechists and they’ll share with you how rewarding it is to see the faith grow in our young people over the course of a year.
We also have an ongoing need for liturgical ministries. Each weekend we need people who are willing to lector, to be an Altar Server, to distribute Holy Communion as a Eucharistic Minister, or to serve as an usher. So many are so faithful to these ministries, but each week can also pose challenges. Sometimes people forget they are scheduled, or end up out of town and could not fine a sub. These ministries are very important to the flow of Mass each week, so please consider them.
RCIA/RCIC is also coming up. In the summertime you may run across people in your travels or among friends and extended family who have thought about the Catholic faith. Lori Hannasch, one of our “super” volunteers, has done so much in this ministry to help bring people into the faith. If you’d like to get involved in RCIA or know someone who would like to know more about our faith, please let us know.
St. Joseph’s is once again participating in the annual Leprechaun Days Parade on Saturday, July 29th. Please come join us and walk in the parade. (More info on pg. 6)
Lastly, we have our Harvest Festival coming up in September. Bridget Samson has been working very hard on this, and we’re looking forward to a great meal, great music and great fellowship again. We’ll be needing lots of help though so we hope you can consider being a part of our volunteer army for the festival. Please drop Bridget a line at
Bridget.samson@stjosephcommunity.org
Thank you for all you do to make our parish thrive!
One final pastoral note, lest rumors fly that I have been re-assigned, I will be away the first week of August (1-8), and be away for 3 Sunday nights coming up, so you may be seeing a familiar face at Mass and we’ll also be having a missionary visiting the weekend of August 5th and 6th. Hopefully you too can get away and enjoy our wonderful summer weather.
Have a great week!
Fr. Paul