22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

8/29/21

Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,

We are quickly moving toward the beginning of the parish year when all our ministries restart: soon Religious Education and RCIA will be restarting, as well as full choirs at the 11:30 am and 6 pm Masses! The printed bulletin will resume after Labor Day (but we’ll continue to email my letters). 

We’re pushing to have the new parish hall, McGuire Hall, completed for these ministries. I wish that it was completed in June, but supply line problems have been difficult. We’re still waiting for windows, the decorative covers for the columns, bathroom stall walls, and other parts. We’ve just ordered the furniture and are awaiting its arrival. My hope is that the parish hall will be ready to use by the second week of September. Please keep this project in your prayers!

Last weekend we had a flood in the church basement, where the new parish hall is going, due to the tropical storm that hit NYC. It didn’t do much damage and won’t delay the completion of the hall; however, we have had to perform significant repairs to the drainage system around the church. The drains were in bad shape but have now been restored. In some ways, the flooding is a benefit because it was a stress test on the drainage system and afforded us the chance to repair that system before there was furniture in the basement. We shouldn’t have any flooding in the future.

Also, we’re currently restoring the parish bell’s ringing equipment so that we can use it again. It should be ready soon. We’re also currently moving the music room from the front of the rectory basement to the rooms above the upper sacristy. The adoration chapel will go into the room that is currently the music room, so we’re moving the music room so that we can begin construction of the chapel in September. In addition, we’re about to perform some repairs on the rectory roof (some of the bricks in the bulkheads need replacement). We’re currently upgrading the security cameras in the church, parish hall, and rectory. This new system will provide more security and safety for the parish. Finally, an engineer is creating a plan for the parish boilers – they most likely will have to be replaced in Spring ’22. 

The purpose of all this construction and renovation is so that we have the physical foundation to support a vibrant parish and community. When the parish hall is completed we’ll be able to greatly expand ministry and community events, and the adoration chapel will be a spiritual boon to our parish. The real work begins now that the building is about to be complete!