Parish Weekly Update –
May 23, 2019
Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph:
We have made our way into the summer and we will begin Vacation Bible School and summer hours very soon.
Starkville Pregnancy Care CenterToday, I traveled with Mike Kassouf, representing our Knights of Columbus Council, to present the Starkville Pregnancy Center with a $3,000 check that you helped raise with the Baby Bottle Drive. We both got a tour of the current office on Academy Drive and were also able to see where they were renovating the old Atmos Gas building on University Drive right down the street from us. They are hoping to move before August 1. Carol Lee, the Executive Director was very gracious and hospitable. She has only been in the position for about 6 months. She was very proud of the work that had been done, but there is still more to do. They are seeking volunteers from local churches to help them defray some of the labor costs. They are particularly looking for painters and skilled trim carpenters. If you are interested or would be willing to give yourself in that way, please contact them at
contact@starkvillepregnancycarecenter.com.
Vacation Bible SchoolAll 5 year olds through 4th graders are invited to join us for VBS June 3rd-6th from 8:30-11:30am. This is a great way for your younger children to learn about their Catholic Faith and have fun at the same time! They will hear bible stories, do crafts, play games and learn new songs. Please sign up your child on the sheet in the gathering space of the church. If your older children want to help, sign them up as well and indicate that they are helpers
Ladies Auxiliary ScholarshipThe Ladies Auxiliary is offering a $1000 college scholarship to a graduating high school senior from our parish! Application forms are available on our website www.stjosephstarkville.org, or on the parish Facebook page. The deadline to apply is June 3rd at 2pm.
Welcome new Choir Director for 5:30 PMWelcome to Rhett Fereday, a graduate student here at Mississippi State who has agreed to serve as our 5:30 Sunday Choir Director. Rhett has led the youth choir when he was in McComb at St. Alphonsus and attended a school for the performing arts. He and his wife Izzy have been a part of our community for several years now. Our first 5:30 Sunday student Mass will be August 18, 2019.
Parish Pastoral Council MeetingTonight will be the last time the current Parish Pastoral Council meets before the recently elected council steps in to place. The new members of the council have been asked to attend as well in order for them to observe how the council operates. Please keep this very important ministry in your prayers as the members of the council aim to help us live out our parish mission, vision, and pastoral priorities.
PPC Commissioner ReportsIt has been noted that the Parish Pastoral Council commissioner reports have not been made available. We are currently discerning how we can do that most effectively and efficiently. Be assured that we are working toward that goal. In the discussions about making these reports transparent and available it was noted that most of the information that makes its way into commissioner reports is outdated or irrelevant by the time it gets to the council meeting, or it has already been published in the bulletin in some way. Often these reports detail events and programs that have already happened.
Call for Adoration VolunteersEvery week we are able to have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for a full 24 hours. Our parish is blessed to have the committed volunteer adorers to offer this opportunity and to have parishioners praying for for a full day.
One of our adorers will be leaving town for the summer and we will need someone to cover 4 AM hour of Adoration starting Wednesday May 29th through July 31. As the dates indicate, this is temporary. Please pray about serving in this important ministry. Email Mike Kassouf at
kassouf@bellsouth.net if you can help.
Air ConditionerOur Air Conditioner work is well underway and should be completed very soon. We should be nice and cool for the summer heat. Thanks to Don Rhodes and his two sons of Rhodes Heating & Air.
House at the Lakes -- 15 Middleton CourtAt the recommendation of the Physical Plant Committee, the Finance Council voted to put the house at The Lakes on the market. There is a considerable amount of work that would need to be done and at this point, it was decided that we sell the house "as is." We are in the process of doing just that and we are hoping to have it up for sale very soon. We would like to thank Judy Webb and Libby Gerald, with Starkville Properties, both our parishioners, who are helping us with this effort.
FormedOur parish has been using FORMED.org for some time now. Just the other day, Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, host of the Wild Goose series on Formed was named the president of Franciscan University in Steubenville. There are a lot of great programs offered through this series. It works just like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Go to
stjosephstarkville.formed.org and register with our parish code -- HT24XG -- and you should be able to watch a whole host of Catholic Programs that will help you grow deeper spiritually and live our your faith.
Peace,
Fr. Jason Johnston