Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph Catholic Church and Corpus Christi:

Sorry everyone, it's been a little while and there's quite a bit to catch you up on. 

1. RCIA 2019-20 -- Over the course of the Easter Season, and then some, we were able to offer the Sacraments of Initiation to a large number of candidates over several Masses. 

Molly Manning, now Molly Lee, was baptized and soon thereafter was married in Ocean Springs to Drew Lee. The following Catholics were received Confirmation:  Shelby Patti and Nik Green. 

The following received the Sacrament of Confirmation and were received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church: Brenda and Tom Brooks and their children, Ella and Aleck; Dylan Bufkin; Reid Clark; Seth Coughlin; Rachael Dvorak Barkl; Cam Hickey; Wilson Locke and his father Dr. Wil Locke; Alex Lummus; Alex Lundy; Sarah Grace Senn (now Stevens); Laine Wilson Vandevender; and Jackson Winton.

There were some others who came into the Church in other parishes around the country: Tyler Fulmer, Lee Hester, Olivia Shackleton, and Manny Gonzalez.

Congratulations to all of you! Please keep them all in your prayers as they continue to live out their faith.

Special Thanks to the RCIA team. They have put in a lot of time, a lot of Masses, many prayers, lots of questions, and a lot of coordination. Thanks to our team: Dave Monts, Director; Trish Auel; Connor Ferguson;  David Gaudin; Anthony Hagey; Glenn Schmidt; Maria Sherman; Hilary Smith;  Liz Varco; and  Anne Varieur.

2. Marriages -- Congratulations to Sarah Grace and Jonah Stevens who were married this past Saturday at St. Joseph in Gluckstadt, MS and to Victoria and Jordan Bruce who were married here at St. Joseph, Starkville on Saturday, July 25. Victoria is daughter of Melissa and Randy Follett.

3. First Holy Communion -- We held our First Holy Communion Mass on Wednesday July 10, 2020. Congratulations to our second graders (now third-graders) who received their First Holy Communion: Benjamin Alexander, Caleb Buys, Collins Davis, Jack Dimino, Preston Dimino, Pablo Gonzalez, Henry Jones, Anthony Machuca, Angelina Nguyen, Emily Twietmeyer, and Tyler Young.

Special Thanks to our Catechists last year: Deacon Jeff Artigues, Carolyn and Ben Abadie, and Laurie Freeman.

4. Baptisms -- Congratulations to Kayleigh and Ian Few who had their daughter, Madaleine Joy Few, baptized this past weekend. Congratulations to her and to her parents and grandparents, Debra and Vince Few. Also congratulations to Eli Jesus Velazquez, the son of Adrian Velazquez and Savannah Wollbrink, who was baptized here at St. Joseph on July 15, 2020.

5. Dwelling Place -- After 30+ years of service Clare Van Lint and Mary Horrell of the Dwelling Place will be retiring and moving from Brooksville, MS. For years, we have used the Dwelling Place for our RCIA retreats and they are staples of the Corpus Christi Community. They will be missed. The Dwelling Place will continue to operate as a retreat center under new management. 

 

6. RCIA 2020-21 -- Dave Monts and his team are preparing for RCIA this year. Several precautions are being taken to prepare for this year's class. We are trying to get an idea of who might be interested. Please consider inviting someone or praying about inviting someone to consider RCIA. Feel free to share this link with anyone you might know who is interested in joining the Catholic Church or interested in finding out a little bit more.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4baba72fa2f85-rcia

7. Mass signups -- Here is the link for Mass signup this weekend. Thank you all for being attentive to the safety precautions -- wearing a mask, and physical distancing.

8. Sunday Mass Live Stream -- We will continue to live-stream from YouTube. Our link will be provided on the Facebook page and our webpage. Or you can watch straight from our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgnYRs2xFCo8J-fMq6xBMkg

9. Mass precautions -- Please remember to stay vigilant about wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart while in the Church for Mass or Adoration.

10. Senior Citizen's Mass -- The Noon mass on Friday is designated for our senior citizens (65+). This allows our seniors who may not feel comfortable attending a Sunday Mass to be able to worship God with a smaller number of people and in a safer environment.

11. Get Swept Up! -- The 17th annual Get Swept Up event is scheduled for Wednesday, September, 2nd. This is the day that hundreds of volunteers devote time and effort to pick up trash, pull weeds, and work together to get our community looking its best before the first MSU home football game. Sign-up this by this Friday to get the T-Shirt. Please call Dawn in the Church office or sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4baba72fa2f85-getswept

Clean-up will be followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall, with Covid restrictions in place.

12. Assumption -- Saturday, August 15, 2020 is The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Typically, this is a Holy Day of Obligation, however becasue it fell on a Saturday this year, and there is still a dispensation in place because of the Pandemic, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation and we will not have a Mass on Saturday at St. Joseph. 

Peace,

Fr. Jason