Celebrating Pentecost

Re-Opening of Public Masses

Please subscribe to the St. Joseph YouTube channel, where this week's Vigil and Sunday Liturgies will be livestreamed.  

• Thursday 7:00pm – Holy Hour Livestreamed concluding with night prayer and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday 9:00am – Life & Mercy Mass with Devotion & Adoration following
• Saturday 3:30pm – Confessions (PAC cry-room)
• Saturday 4:30pm – Vigil Mass (PAC)
• Sunday 8:30am – Mass (PAC)
• Sunday 10:30am – Mass (PAC)
• Monday 5:30pm – Daily Mass (Church)
• Tuesday 5:30pm – Daily Mass (Church)
• Wednesday 5:30pm – Daily Mass (Church)
• Friday 8:00am – Daily Mass (Church)

Adoration – The Church will be open for Adoration on Thursdays 8:00am–Noon and 4:00pm–8:00pm, with Night Prayer and Benediction at 7:45pm. Please email Lori Crock to sign up.

Dear Parishioners of Saint Joseph Parish,

By now you have heard the good news that we may return to public celebrations of the liturgy and the sacraments. Bishop Brennan has approved public celebration of Masses to begin again on May 30-31, 2020, Pentecost weekend. Masses will follow the regular summer schedule: A vigil Mass at 4:30pm on Saturday; Sunday at 8:30am and10:30am.

Every aspect of our lives has been changed by the coronavirus (COVID-19).  It has changed the way we go about work, school, going to stores, how we live at home, and even how we worship and celebrate the Liturgy and the sacraments.

Going forward, we need to have a new awareness of safety and concern for one another. Every parish has been asked to develop their own specific procedures, and also follow guidelines set forth by the Diocese to create a safe environment as we re-open.  This will require wearing masks, the use of hand sanitizer, physical distancing of 6 feet, observing limited seating, and disinfecting the church/PAC. Everyone’s safety is our first concern.  If you are feeling ill, please protect others by staying home, and not attending Mass.

Bishop Brennan continues to dispense the faithful from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass through September 13, 2020.  Live-streaming of our parish Mass will continue. This is for anyone who is not yet comfortable attending a gathering, in a “high risk” category, or ill.  A safer option may be attending one of the weekday Masses with fewer people.

This new way of participating in the Liturgy is going to require sacrifice. But these requirements are helping everyone to be safe.

Below are public gathering safety guidelines for Mass, and necessary liturgical changes to have a safe space and environment.  In order to accommodate more people, and meet the standards of cleanliness, all Masses will be held at the PAC.

The Church began at the first Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the Church. From Jerusalem, the Apostles went to witness to the world.  Let us pray and ask the Holy Spirit to renew us this Pentecost, that we may be witness to God’s love and power during this pandemic.  May the Holy Spirit fill us with the desire to return to the Eucharist, our earthly nourishment and food so needed for our pilgrimage.

Please be assured that our Parish is doing everything to keep you safe by sanitizing and disinfecting the church and high traffic areas.

With Easter faith and hope, we turn to Jesus, our health and salvation, in union with the intercession of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and our Parish Patron Saint Joseph.

May God Bless you and Saint Joseph keep your family safe.

Sincerely,
Reverand Joseph John Trapp, II
Pastor, Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Bishop Brennan has extended the dispensation of the faithful from their Sunday obligation to attend Sunday Mass through September 13, 2020.

We will return to having in-person Mass on the weekend of May 30 and 31, with practices in place to allow for social distancing.

Please remain home and watch our Livestream of Mass if you or anyone in your household have the following:

• Fever of 100.4 or higher.
• Cough.
• Headache.
• Sore Throat.
• Shortness of Breath.
• Fatigue.
• Loss of taste or smell.
• Unexplained body aches.
• Recent contact with anyone having symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive diagnosis.
• If you are in the “High Risk” and over the age of 65.

For the return to Mass and Parish activities, you are required to:

• Wear a face mask (except those under the age of 2).
• Maintain physical distancing of 6 feet upon entering and leaving.
• Use hand sanitizer entering the Church.
• Safe distancing while sitting in the church and PAC. (Except family members).
• Maintain 6 feet of physical distance in the Communion line.

The following Liturgical changes will take place:

• No Holy Water fonts. If you want Holy Water, it will be blessed to take home for use.
• The cry room will be available.
• The Processional and Recessional will be shortened.
• Lectors will not carry the Book of the Gospels in Procession.
• Altar Servers will be temporarily suspended for weekend Mass.
• Hymnals will not be available to borrow. The readings can be found in the current issue of The Word Among Us, available to take home and keep, by request.
• Fewer verses of the hymns will be sung and will be distributed in single-use sheets.
• There will be no offertory procession (bringing up the gifts). Ushers will continue to collect the offerings.
• The Sign of Peace will be omitted.
• Communion from the Cup is temporarily suspended.
• Extra-Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must use hand sanitizer.
• The reception of Holy Communion in the hand is strongly encouraged.
• At the reception of Holy Communion, only instrumental music will be played.

In years past, St Josephs has offered a Baccalaureate Mass to honor our seniors and pray for them before they begin their new endeavors. While we will not be able to host a Baccalaureate Mass this Spring, we still want to celebrate the 2020 graduates. Please visit this page to view the St. Joseph graduates. We will plan on a Blessing for Graduates to happen sometime in early August.

Please find the full letter from Bishop Brennan on the Diocese of Columbus web site.

Guidelines for All the Faithful for the Return to Public Worship

Registration is now open to parishioners of St. Joseph's for the 2020-2021 Parish School of Religion program. Please visit our PSR page for more information including the handbook, fees, and how to register.

Home & Church Virtual May Crowning – The month of May is dedicated to Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, and one way we typically celebrate this is with a May Crowning. Please join us virtually on YouTube where we concluded the PSR program year with a May Crowning Liturgy. Learn more on our May Crowning page where a program to follow along and tips for creating your own Marian Altar can be found.

Saint Meinrad Archabbey's pilgrimages to honor the Blessed Mother at the Monte Cassino Shrine, typically held each Sunday in May, have been canceled this year.

Instead, each Sunday in May at 2 pm CDT, (3pm EST), a monk from St. Meinrad Archabbey community will post a video, Marian talk weekly during the month of May You can find them at: www.saintmeinrad.org/live

Speakers and their topics are:

• "Mary: A Woman for All Seasons" by Archabbot Kurt Stasiak, OSB
• "Mary, Mother of Sorrows" by Fr. Adrian Burke, OSB
• "Mary, Mother in Times of Need" by Fr. Jeremy King, OSB
• "Mary, Sign of Hope" by Fr. Bede Cisco, OSB
• "Our Lady of Einsiedeln and Our Lady of Monte Cassino" by Fr. Christian Raab, OSB

We have new The Word Among Us – June booklet, "Sharing the Faith That You Love." They include all daily Mass readings and prayers. Copies will be available in the foyer of the PAC for each family to use and keep for Mass readings. Please click on the photo to the right to request a copy of the June booklet be mailed as soon as possible.

Do you have a prayer request that you would like to send to Father? Please click on the image to the right to send him your private prayer request.

O Mary,
You always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of Your People, know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Encounter Christ

Meet Jesus during a holy hour during our Eucharistic Adoration program at the church.

THURS
     8 AM – 12 PM & 
     4 PM – 8 PM
 

St. Joseph has many ministries that are 100% dependent on YOU! As Mother Teresa said, "In this life we can not always do great things. But we can do small things with GREAT love." Please contact the parish office for any ministries you are interested in.

We welcome you to join one or more of these ministries:

• Bible Study
• Children's Litergy of the Word
• Eucharistic Adoration
• Knights of Columbus Council #12772
• Ministry at Mass (Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Serving, Ushering, Communion to Shut-Ins)
• Parish School of Religion
• Rosary Garden
• Saint Martin de Porres Outreach
• Social events such as Corks, Caps & Cuisine, the Parish Picnic, pot lucks, or bereavement luncheons
• That Man is You! – for men
• Vacation Bible School
• Walking With Purpose – for women
• YDisciple (8th-12th graders)

Discover Jesus while sharing your gifts with your church!