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August 2022 Newsletter
Dear St Joseph Family,
Late summer is always an exciting time for parishes. Here at St. Joseph we are looking forward to welcoming our children back to school and CFM classes. We welcome all of our new teachers and returning teachers and catechists. And if you have been away for the summer at your cottages or wherever, we welcome you back too. Also, if you have not yet returned to Mass since the Covid pandemic, it is now time for us to welcome you back to Mass too!
At the end of July we were finally able to move the Tabernacle from the Blessed Sacrament Chapel into the church behind the Altar. Thank you to those anonymous donors who made this a reality. The Pastoral Council has decided that we should turn the old Blessed Sacrament Chapel into a chapel for the Blessed Mother. We are currently working on getting quotes for a good quality 4ft tall statue of Madonna and Child which is made in northern Italy. We are also looking into the possibility of purchasing 5ft tall statues of Mary and St. Joseph to mount to the front walls in church.
As I write this newsletter we are still in the wake of our wonderful Parish Picnic on August 14th. It was truly a wonderful day enjoyed by all. I just love how St. Joseph Parish came together to make this day happen. A special thank you to all those who helped in any way, and to everyone who made donations to help make the parish picnic successful. Thank you to the planning committee and for all those who helped with set up, take down, and everything in between. It was a wonderful day for our parish. It is my hope that we will be able to have our Parish Picnic again next summer. In order for this to happen though, we will need a chairperson or a small team to chair the event (Don’t worry, you will have a lot of help and support). The planning committee expressed to me several times that they are not getting any younger, and we certainly do NEED younger people and families to step up to keep making our picnic a reality. It is certainly a lot of work, but a lot of fun too when everyone works together. If you are a younger member of the parish please consider being on the committee for next year. Just let me know.
I am pleased to announce that beginning August 1st we have a new Director of Youth Discipleship for our parish. Her name is Erika Evans and she brings with her a great wealth of knowledge and experience. Erika will be coordinating the Christian Formation Ministry (CFM) program and other events/opportunities to help our youth grow as Disciples of Jesus. She is already working very hard planning for the upcoming year. If you have not yet registered your children for CFM, please do so on-line very soon so we can order the appropriate amount of materials. Also, if you would like to be a catechist or small group leader for our youth please give Erika a call in the CFM Office at 262.662.3317 or email her at [email protected]
I am happy to report that St. Francis Seminary has again chosen us to be a Teaching Parish for another Seminarian. His name is Peter Danner and will begin his time with us in September. He is starting out in First Theology and will hopefully be with us for his four years while in the seminary. Please welcome Peter when you see him.
Our Adult Faith Formation (AFF) Committee is working to get AFF opportunities going for fall. Let’s continue to reignite the flame here at St. Joseph that was present before Covid. My prayer is that we will come back better and stronger than ever before. Let’s also continue to work together to get more small groups going again too. Now that I have been here at St. Joseph for just a little over two years, I look forward to getting to know more and more of you as we reignite the flame with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is a great joy for me to be with you here at St. Joseph Parish and I look forward to the year ahead.
Blessings,
Fr Andy
Fr Andrew Kysely