The Handi-Helpers of the Knights of Columbus are here for older or disabled parishioners who need help with small projects around the house with no cost to them. Please contact the St. Joseph Parish office at 636-227-5247 to get your request scheduled.
The Kairos retreat is coming up in October and we need COOKIES! Each team member is asked to provide 40 DOZEN cookies. Due to the unique requirements of the prison environment, cookies MUST be made according to a few simple guidelines (for example: no fruit, no nuts, no icing, no sprinkles.) Cookies should be about 3” in size, packed in quart-sized Ziplock bags, one dozen per bag. Chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter, chocolate or oatmeal cookies are great – other varieties are welcome, too! All cookies must be ready by Friday, October 12, 2018 for the for the Kairos Weekend. Also, please pray for the success of the retreat and finally, consider making a donation to help defray the cost of the ministry. More information can be found on the parish website under Outreach Programs. Flyers with team members’ contact information and more details are available in the parish office.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has accepted Archbishop Robert J. Carlson’s invitation to review files “for the purpose of making an independent determination of our handling of allegations of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.” Archbishop Carlson invited the independent review in a letter to Hawley. The archbishop also wrote that, last year, he instructed that a review of its safe environment protocols to protect children and vulnerable individuals be undertaken by a former member of the FBI with experience in the matter. “She found our protocols to be appropriate and robust,” Archbishop Carlson wrote.
It is my pleasure to announce that our Lily and Hammer Fund has 325 members. This means our parish was able to make $29,500. This money will be placed in a special fund for future capital expenditures. I was going to choose our first monthly winner on Sunday the 20th at 11AM Mass but instead I was sick in bed. So I drew our first winner on Monday the 21st at the 8:30AM Mass with our Fourth and Fifth Graders serving as witnesses. Our first $200 dollar winner is Barrett and Sharon Dolan.. I want to once again express my gratitude for everyone who is participating the Lily and Hammer Fund.
I ask each of you to help me open wide the doors of St. Joseph Parish to Father Ricardo Escobar. Fr. Escobar is coming to us from St. Charles Borromeo parish in St. Charles. He has been ordained for twenty-five years and has spent most of his life as a Dominican in Columbia, South America. In addition to serving here at St. Joseph Parish Father Ricardo will be taking English classes at University of Missouri Saint Louis.
Fr. Mathew’s New Assignment It is with deep sadness and great joy that I listen Fr. Mathew announce his assignment change last Sunday. My heart is filled with sadness because I have come to see Fr. Mathew as a valuable and well-respected member of our parish leadership team. I know that he was appreciate by many parishioners for his pastoral care and countless other contributions to lead us all closer to Christ. We will miss Fr. Mathew’s charm, professionalism, empathy and strength. We respect Fr. Mathew’s decision to accept this new assignment from the archbishop and we pray that God will bless him in his new ministry. On behalf of all the parishioners of St. Joseph, I wish God’s many blessings upon Fr. Mathew. (Farewell celebration and other information will be forthcoming).
Experience the amazing true stories of three women from Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Republic of Congo. Hear how they came to St. Louis with hope to create a new world by healing their old-world wounds. Gitana Productions presents NEW WORLD By Lee Patton Chiles Based on True Stories about Women Refugees in St. Louis