2018-19 PSR Enrollment 
PSR Enrollment is in advance of registration and is for students who will be attending our program for the first time this year.  You can enroll your student/s at the PSR Office from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Friday throughout the month of August. Or you can enroll your students at the Parish Center during regular St. Joseph Parish office hours. If your child was baptized at a parish other than St. Joseph Parish, please bring your child/ren’s baptismal record/s at this time. If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact the Parish Office (330-274-2253) or Peg Haney (330-274-2268). Click here to visit our PSR page & download registration & other forms.
 
Catechist Meeting
There will be a meeting for all PSR catechists and CLOW ministers on Thursday, August 23, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the All-Purpose Room. All catechists and CLOW ministers will be completing VIRTUS training at that time. Teacher guides and weekly pamphlets will be available and distributed at this meeting. 

First Day of PSR
Sunday, September 9 ~ 9:40-11:0 a.m.

Whether they are carrying their first box of crayons to preschool or lugging a locker-full of textbooks from class to class, a backpack is the symbol of the student’s call to grow in wisdom. We’re sending our students and teachers back to school with our prayers and blessings. 
ALL STUDENTS (public, private or home schooled) and school staff are joyfully invited to bring their backpacks, briefcases, or tote bags for our “Blessing of the Backpacks" after all Masses on the weekend of August 26/27. As we celebrate God’s gift of learning, we will pray for His blessing on students and schools in the coming year.

Sharing Our Abundance
Care of our Common Home

Do you have an abundance of fresh foods from your garden – maybe more than you can use? Beginning August 11/12, we here at St. Joseph Parish will start a Produce Sharing Program coordinated by St. Joseph Cares. For the weekends of August 11/12, 18/19, 25/26 & September 1/2 and 8/9, you can share your abundance with other parishioners and the 4C’s. During WEEKEND MASSES ONLY, please bring in clean, fresh fruits & vegetables from your garden. Place them on the table provided in the alcove outside the church entrance. Parishioners are invited to take home what they need from the sharing table. All produce left after the last Mass will be taken to our local food cupboard, the Crestwood Coalition for Community Care.

We Plant  ~  We Grow  ~  We Share

Parish Business Directory
St. Joseph Church is creating a Parish Business Directory of parishioner-owned businesses and professional services in an effort to help the parish provide economic support within our own community.  This new Business Directory is intended to be an online resource that gives current information such as contacts, links to websites and other descriptions of these businesses. In addition, there will be a printed edition created as the list develops. Click here to learn more.

Blue Mass for Safety Forces
The Father John Cassidy Assembly #3034 of the Knights of Columbus cordially invite all local Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMT members and their families & all St. Joseph parishioners to a Blue Mass to honor our safety forces on Sunday, September 23, at 11:15 a.m. The intent of this Mass is to recognize all the hard work and dedication these individuals do for our communities. A Community Picnic will be held in St. Joseph’s Pavilion (Hughes Hall if inclement weather) immediately following, courtesy of the Mantua K of C. They will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, and pop. Guests are asked to please bring a dish to pass. For more information, please contact Lonn Safko (330-968-8293) or Jim Fields (330-274-8938). 

K of C Reverse Raffle
Tickets are on sale now for a night of entertainment fun at the Reverse Raffle to be held Saturday, October 6, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 11845 S.R. 44, Mantua, OH 44255. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. Ticket price includes dinner with soup & salad, steak, baked potato, vegetables, rolls & butter, beverages & dessert. There'll be an open bar, musical entertainment & dancing, a chance at $1,000.00 grand prize along with other games of chance!  Tickets are  $65.00/couple or $55.00/single and are available by contacting Terry Kulka (330-813-0236).  

Women's Auxiliary Hosting Casino Bus Trip
The Women's Auxiliary is hosting a bus trip to Rivers Casino, Pittsburgh, PA, on October 8. The bus will depart from the Mantua K of C Hall, 11845 St. Rt. 44, at 9:00 a.m. and return at approximately 6:00 p.m. The cost is $40.00 per person and each attendee will receive $20.00 in free play plus a $5.00 food voucher. The casino recommends you have your player cards and a photo ID with you. Please call 330-274-4982 by Monday, September 24, and leave a message to reserve your seat or contact Mary Ann Feddor (330-842-0505).

Bishop's Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church
The 2018 Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church continues through Pentecost. This important annual fund raising campaign unites Catholics throughout the six counties of our diocese in a spirit of compassion and charity to serve the needs of others. In 2017, Catholic Charities provided help and hope to over 11,000 of people in Portage and Stark Counties. Your generosity and support for the Bishop’s Appeal helps to change lives . . . one family at a time. As of August 8, St. Joseph Church has 170 households contributing $37,025.00 in support of the 2018 Bishop’s Appeal — that’s 117% of our goal of $31,601.00! Bishop Murry has approved a 25% rebate to all parishes that exceed their goal (in cash received) for this year’s collection. To make your gift to the 2018 Appeal online, visit www.doy.org. Thank you for helping Catholic Charities change lives one family at a time through the Bishop's Appeal. 

Church Renovations
Thanks to the generous offering of time, talent & treasure from Bill Hafemeister and his workers, the long awaited renovations to the interior of St. Joseph Church have begun. The altar wall's water damaged wallpaper was removed, decorative columns were added, the mold issue was addressed, and new wood-grain textured wallpaper was installed. In addition, the canopy above the altar and the ceiling fans were cleaned and LED lighting was installed throughout the church. Next, plans are to clean the wood beams and take care of the rest of the church walls and flooring issues as funds become available.


You may have also noticed that our St. Joseph niche now has votive candles on the carpenter's bench and a new table crafted by Char Baumbick. As with the Blessed Mother statue, you may light a candle while praying for your intention or offering thanks and then leave the flame burning as signs of our prayers (donation envelopes are available).
 

Good Stewards

• Thanks to logging of trees on church property & the generosity of parishioners, church roofing has been replaced with an energy efficient white surface.
• LED lighting installed in Hughes Hall, kitchen, school hallways, downstairs rooms, and offices (church space to be done soon).
• Sacristies received painting of cupboards & walls, new hardware and reorganization thanks to some wonderful volunteers.
• Electric meters have been shut off when not in use in areas like ac units and  pavilion saving considerable monthly fees.
• Back-up well work done to comply with EPA regulations & donor paid deductible from insurance claim (lightning strike).
• Many kneelers were repaired & background of Joseph & the Children artpiece received some sanding & painting thanks to one of our faithful volunteers.
• Devotional candle stand for St. Joseph niche crafted by one of our loyal volunteers (decorative screen to be added soon).
• Church’s north wall has been cleaned & new wallpaper installed thanks to a generous parishioner (other walls done as funds allow).
• Parish's Hughes Hall Kitchen very old stove has been replaced by two new units with electronic ignitors & safety gas shut off.
• Non-working large freezer unit from kitchen was sold allowing for better kitchen lay-out.
• Permanent metal building was installed where Ox Roast Fair pizza, sausage sandwich & pierogi booths are located. This will allow easier set-up & provide much needed storage for Fair's equipment.

Finance Council & our Pastor continue to prioritize our parish facility needs & address them as funding becomes available.

St. Joseph Church now has a new system, called My Own Church, for updating your family information! All you need to do is hit the blue "Update Your Info" button and create an account. Then, someone in the church office will approve your account, and you’ll be able to update all of your family information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses. Your family members' sacrament information is also among the information available. You’ll be able to view the St. Joseph Church pictorial directory (photos from the 2008 and 2014 Parish Pictorial Directories are already loaded into the database). You’ll be able upload your favorite family photo and chose whether you want that photo (or other information) to be visible to other members who’ve logged in—or you can keep some information private and available only to church administrators. If you’re involved in ministries here at St. Joseph Church, the information you put into My Own Church will help us schedule your ministry. You’ll be able to update your preferences and availability. For more details including FAQs and how to videos, click here.

Please remember to check out My Own Church soon! 

ParishSOFT Giving (formerly ConnectNow Giving)
We’re pleased to announce that St. Joseph Church now provides online giving through software called ParishSOFT Giving (formerly ConnectNow Giving). This is a convenient and safe way to make a one-time or recurring donation. It replaces the WeShare Online Giving that we previously used. ParishSOFT Giving is part of our parish database. It is less expensive for the parish and contributions are automatically entered into the database (rather than the secretary printing out a report and manually entering them). Getting started is easy! - just click on the ParishSOFT Giving button (on the right hand column under Links). To learn more about this convenient way to donate to St. Joseph Church, please visit our ParishSOFT Giving webpage.