Advent Activities
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The Christian's version of "New Year's Day" is the First Sunday of Advent, when we begin again the entire cycle of the year. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Even as the secular culture around us blares its songs of reindeer and tinsel, as if Christmas were already here, the Christian calendar sets aside four weeks of quiet preparation.
Advent has a two-fold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ's first coming to us is remembered; as a season when that remembrance directs our mind and heart to await Christ's second coming at the end of time. Advent thus is a period of devout and joyful expectation.
The Advent wreath is part of our long-standing Catholic tradition. At St. Joseph Catholic Church, we are inviting individuals or families to participate in lighting the Advent wreath at the beginning of Masses on the four weekends of Advent.
If you would like to help with this tradition, please sign-up in the Narthex or contact the Parish Office. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled Mass time. An usher will guide you through the steps in lighting the candles prior to the Mass.
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Celebrating Advent with Mary Morning of Reflection for Women
Advent is the Marian season of the Church Year. Take time to deepen your knowledge of Mary of Nazareth on Saturday, November 23, 9:00 a.m.-Noon in Parish Center.
When Pope Paul VI stated in 1973 that Mary of Nazareth is “truly our sister,” he opened the door to a new exploration of Mary in our times. He said we must look first to Sacred Scripture and to the cycle of Marian feast on the liturgical calendar. He also said that Advent is “the Season of Mary” in the church year.
Using Sacred Scripture, recent studies of Mary, and our own questions as modern women of faith, we will lovingly search to bring alive our relationship with Mary and even to find in her, “truly our sister.”Cost for this Advent Retreat is $10.00 per person (participants receive a special Marian DVD)
Coffee or tea & doughnuts will be served.
Presenter: Sr. Joyce Schreiber, SND
Please sign-up in the Narthex or contact the
Parish Office by Wednesday, November 20.
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Annual Giving Tree
This venture begins in late November is coordinated by St. Joseph parishioners Dan and Wendy Nuti. Portage County's Catholic Charities provides the names of families in our area for which your donation may be their only gift this Christmas. To help make this holy season a treasured memory for those in need, parishioners are encouraged to select a tag from the tree in the narthex, sign the sheet, purchase and wrap your gifts, and return them by designated day. Be sure the tag is clearly visible for distribution purposes.
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Christmas Cheer Cookie Project
If you know of anyone who could use a gift of homemade cookies for the holidays, we invite you to share their name for this special parish activity. Please submit them on the Narthex sign-up sheet by Sunday, December 8. Or you may contact Sr. Joyce or Jane Kennedy through the Parish Office (330-274-2253).
Donating Cookies
Each baker is asked to donate
5 dozen homemade cookies
weekend of December 14/15
Assembling Boxes
Monday, December 16
10:00 a.m. Parish Center
Making Deliveries
Week of December 16
Please sign-up in Narthex to participate
in the various aspects of this project. -
Advent Communal Penance Service
As we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas we want to be ready to accept his love and be able to do whatever he asks of us. In order to do so, the Church encourages the parish community to come together to hear the Word of God, to pray and to sing in a formal liturgy called the Rite of Penance (Penance Service). Gathered together we recognize our individual sinfulness and the harm it does to the whole community, and so, pray for one another as well as for ourselves. With song, prayer and scripture we ready ourselves for the opportunity for private confession and absolution. Please join us for the Advent Communal Penance Service on Thursday, December 12, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Patrick Church in Kent.
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