St. Joseph Fellowship
Program
This program provides an opportunity for all parishioners to participate in
various acts of love and concern for the sick, lonely, and shut-ins
This program, established in our parish in 1977, provides an opportunity for all
parishioners to participate in various acts of
love and concern for the sick, lonely, and shut-ins.
The program is supervised by the Legion of Mary members, but physical and
material help is obtained from all our parishioners. All works performed are
done in the name of St. Joseph parishioners.
A Fellowship Drive is held once a year at which time parishioners are given an
opportunity to volunteer their help by
visiting, entertaining, baking, or money donation.
Programs are conducted at Mercy Pavilion once a month and occasionally at the
other nursing homes in the area. At Christmas and Easter our parish shut-ins and
nursing home residents are remembered with small gifts and treats. Throughout
the year, greeting cards are mailed and special visits are made to sick,
elderly, and shut-in parishioners.
Every year students in the 5th grade at St. Joseph School are given a list of
our shut-ins to whom they write letters during the year.
Please feel free to call the rectory (269-962-0165) for further information.
An organization of women dedicated to enriching the lives of students and
supporting activities related to the students’ welfare.
The St. Joseph Moms’ Club is an organization of women dedicated to enriching the
lives of students and supporting activities related to the students’ welfare. We
welcome all members of the St. Joseph School community.
Some goals are:
To address approved student needs through volunteers, projects, and financial
assistance.
To foster fellowship within the school community
To provide students opportunities for community service
Some activities include:
Annual teachers’ gifts
Teachers’ appreciation luncheon
Santa’s Secret Shop
Sponsoring outside educational programs (i.e., Zoomobile)
Sponsor for collecting food labels (Campbell and General Mills)
Cultural events
Ice cream social
Family picnic
Our fundraising is supported by two main efforts—wrapping paper sale and the
Posie Patch (flower sale).
We have monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month.
For more information call the rectory at 269-962-0165.
Battle Creek St. Joseph Conference
The Society of St. Vincent DePaul is an international organization of Catholic
lay people seeking to fulfill the two great commandments: Love of God and love
of neighbor.
The St. Joseph Conference was founded in 1952 and consists of about 14 active
members and various parishioners who are benefactors of the Society. Throughout
the week, the active members make assigned visits to the homes of the poor and
needful in our parish area and perform many charitable works. They meet
regularly to review cases and decide on what courses of action are required.
The St. Vincent DePaul Society is also responsible for the parish’s expenses for
the Soup Kitchen and the Lakeview Area Food Pantry. In addition, the Society
handles the Tree of Love project at Christmas time, gathering food and holiday
gifts for dozens of needy families.
For more information, call the rectory at 269-962-0165.
Originally
the Dads’ Club had the mission of providing an athletics program that would
include all who were interested at St. Joseph Elementary School. While this
continues to be their main mission, they have evolved into much, much more.
Some of the fund-raisers the Dads’ Club runs are quite familiar to parishioners.
They sponsor pancake breakfasts with the Easter
Bunny and Santa Claus, and co-sponsor the Draw Down with the Catholic Athletic
Association.
Their assistance reaches all the students and all the Catholic Schools. For
years they have organized floor hockey for K-2nd Grade. In 1996 they ventured
into organizing a very successful basketball program and plan to continue this,
which incorporates both schools. They purchase one large “wish list” item for
the teachers every year. They have invested in computers, gym equipment, gym
bleachers, and air conditioning for the cafeteria. They contributed their time
and monies to provide the maintenance for the Ark Park, the bus used for
transportation for athletics, and are active with Superfest and providing
tuition assistance every year.
While these multi-talented men come together to form a strong and vital force
that keeps our Catholic Schools pumping with new life and opportunities, they
also know how to have fun. They enjoy getting together weekly for a friendly
game of basketball, they sponsor a golf outing every year and they have fun with
a softball league in the summer. All parish men are invited to join them every
second Wednesday of the month, September through June. There are many ways to be
involved.
For further information call the rectory at 269-962-0165.
The Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary is a world-wide organization of Catholic men and women which
offers its services to the pastor to aid him in performing spiritual works in
the parish. With the Blessed Virgin Mary as their special patron, members strive
to develop greater holiness in their own lives, as well as spread a deeper
devotion to Mary among others.
Works of mercy undertaken in our parish are visiting the sick, the lonely, the
shut-ins, and elderly; supervising and participating in the St. Joseph
Fellowship Program; assisting in pastoral ministry work and other special
assignments from our pastor.
St. Joseph Parish has two active groups:
Men – Mary, Refuge of Sinners Praesidium. Weekly meetings are on Thursdays at
8:00 p.m. in the Parish Center.
Women – Mother of Perpetual Help Praesidium. Weekly meetings are on Tuesdays,
9:00 - 10:30 a.m. in the Parish Center.
Auxiliary membership is available to those who cannot attend the meetings or
perform the apostolic work. These members support the Legion by their daily
recitation of the rosary and the Legion prayers.
For additional information, please call the rectory at (269)-962-0165
Back to Top
Catholic Adult Faith
Enrichment
C.A.F.E.
Background and Information
Begun in 1996, St. Joseph’s Catholic Adult Faith Enrichment committee plans,
advertises, and conducts events that are enriching for Catholic adults in the
Battle Creek area. The committee’s mission statement is: “To discover and
celebrate the joy of our faith, CAFÉ seeks to offer all adults in our parishes
(married, single, widowed, divorced) opportunities for spiritual enrichment
through social and educational activities, presented in an enlightening and
stimulating format.”
Events are usually held from September through May. These include speakers on
Scriptural topics, adult spiritual growth, marriage enrichment, etc. There are
also video programs on various topics. In addition, CAFÉ supports and maintains
the parish Spiritual Library, which contains quality books, videos, and audio
cassettes.
For further information call the rectory at 269-962-0165.
C.A.F.E. Leadership
Catholic Adult Faith Enrichment (CAFÉ): Anne Goscenski (chair),
David Rohr, Linda Yeric, Mike Diamond, Jack Heston, Mickey
Heston, Rita Wahmhoff, Bonnie Squires, Pat Riggs, Gary Green, Yvonne Green,
Murray Switzer, and Shirley Youmans.
Spiritual Library Committee: Grace Mains, Dave Rohr, Cindy
Martinez
Back to Top
St. Joseph
Council of Catholic Women
The St. Joseph Council of Catholic Women (CCW) is a group of enthusiastic,
caring women who serve the parish in many ways:
provide weekly altar care
serve funeral luncheons for any person of the parish whose family requests
contribute generously to materials which enhance the celebration of the Mass
sponsor fund-raising activities
participate in various Superfest activities
active representation in the National Council of Catholic Women and
opportunities to attend quarterly luncheon meetings
Mass for deceased members
Thanksgiving baskets
Prayer and good fellowship
Host receptions for our bishop and priests
The Council’s units meet individually each month. General meetings happen four
times yearly and consist of a potluck dinner, prayer, program, and short
business meeting. We welcome all women of the parish to join us.
For more information, call the rectory at 269-962-0165.
Back to Top
Small
Christian Communities
These small groups of eight to ten people meet on a regular
basis to reflect on, discuss, and pray with the Scriptures to be proclaimed at
the next Sunday Mass. Using their Bibles and printed resources,
participants try to connect the Scriptures with their daily lives. They
find that sharing with other parishioners around God's Word is a valuable way to
deepen and enrich their faith. To learn more about St. Joseph's Small
Christian Communities, contact Anne Goscenski at 965-2636.
Back to Top
Youth Ministry
Where's the Youth Group?
Youth Ministry is the parish community responding to the needs of the teens and
the teens giving their gifts back to the community.
Youth Ministry is changing at St. Joseph's. The United States Bishops have
created a vision for ministering with youth that goes beyond the standard. One
way to think about it is that instead of a Youth Group we have many groups of
youth.
The times are flexible to help families out. The focus of each group is specific
to the interests and needs of the teens. The length of each session is clearly
defined. The leadership depends on the teens to determine the course. On the
next few pages you'll see some of the groups that are currently going on. Please
do not think these are the only groups. Our teens do tons within our parish!
Below is the Vision of Youth Ministry that we are following at St. Joseph's.
This is how we minister, why we minister and what we are working towards.
God bless.
The Vision
How and Why
Core Values
Living and Celebrating our Catholic faith.
Jesus Christ is our model for accepting and giving love of God, self, and all
others.
It takes a whole parish to raise a soul.
Core Purpose
To create and sustain an environment in which youth grow through faith and faith
grows through the youth.
Goal
We will create an environment from which all teens in St. Joseph’s parish will
be excited to come to Mass and want to be involved in the parish ministries.
Back to Top
Stephen Ministry
Le ader: Deacon Mike Moreno
Call:
269-601-1977
Mission Statement: We are entrusted by God to provide confidential and
spiritual support for those who may be experiencing a difficult or traumatic
period in their life. We are Christian caregivers listening and supporting,
while trusting God to be the Cure Giver.
Our qualifications: Coming from all walks of life, Stephen Ministers
succeed with over fifty hours of initial training and attend group support
meetings, along with continuing education, throughout the year. Our proficient
leaders have an additional forty plus hours of intensive training.
St. Joseph Members:
Deacon Mike Moreno
Norma Naas
Jim Hazdra
Mary Sine
Betz Kaplan
Rose Shump
Carol Gastineau
John Kaplan
Murray Switzer
Bonnie Squires
Karen Partin
Lydia Schillinger
Back to Top
|
|
