Please join us at St. Joe’s on the evening of Wednesday, January 22, for a “Light in the Darkness” Holy Hour of Adoration, starting immediately after the 6:30 p.m. Mass. Let us turn to our “Light of the World” on this day of prayer and penance for the legal protection of unborn children. Reconciliation 6 p.m.; Mass 6:30 p.m.; Adoration 7 to 8 p.m. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" —John 8:12

St. Blaise was a 3rd century physician who became Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia. Because of the cure of the boy's throat when he boy was choking, St. Blaise is patron against troubles of the throat. St. Blaise is also the patron of veterinarians and against attacks of wild animals. Join us as we pray through the intercession of St. Blaise that God delivers us from throat ailments and from every other evil. Portage North parishes will have a General Blessing at the end of Mass on February 1st/2nd (trained Eucharistic Ministers will bless with candles after Mass).

The blessing of candles on Candlemas Day is a Christian tradition that honors the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. The candles are blessed to represent Christ's light and to illuminate people's hearts. Your are invited to bring your devotional candles to church on Sunday, February 2, to be blessed by our priest along with our parish candles. The candles are blessed to dispel darkness and to protect people from evil.

St. Joseph Cares is holding their next clothing collection the weeks of January 19 & 26. Please place donations in All-Purpose Room when you come to Mass. For drop-off other than during Mass times, please place in the St. Pauly Box @ Mantua Christian Center Church. Donations of clothing, shoes, accessories and bedding for all ages in good condition will be accepted (no pillows or furniture please). No Christmas or household items will be accepted at this time. Diapers & wipes accepted anytime in Narthex. The next Free Clothing & Diaper Giveaway will be Saturday, February 8, 9 a.m. until Noon, in a first floor classroom in St. Joseph Church’s School Building, 11045 St. Joseph Blvd., Mantua, OH 44255. This outreach ministry provides free clothing and diapers to families in need. Due to the increased need of the community, every family will be limited to one black garbage bag. Diapers/wipes will be distributed based on availability. You do not need to be a resident and no questions are asked.

All men 18 years of age and older are encouraged to attend the St. Joseph Men's Renewal Weekend, February 15-16 for an inspirational experience with other Christian men. Entitled "I Want You Brother", the event is held in the St. Joseph Parish's school building and begins at 8 a.m. Saturday and ends with Mass on Sunday afternoon. Take some time for yourself. Come enjoy fellowship, laughs, and good food. You will be fed in mind, body, and spirit. You're guaranteed to leave full. This renewal is absolutely FREE. Register at bit.ly/SJMR2025. Questions? Please contact Andrew (440-478-2902) or Ben (330-351-7602) for more details.

In 2025, were once again hosting a 300 Club fundraiser for St. Joseph Parish. We will have 300 tickets for sale at $100.00 each (you may pay $10/month). They will be sold starting in December, 2024, and running until November 1, 2025. We will have a fantastic dinner at St. Nicholas Banquet Center, 755 S. Cleveland Ave. (Suffield Twp.), Mogadore, Ohio 44260, on Saturday, October 18, 6 to 11 p.m., where you will have a one in 300 chance of walking away with $7,500.00. Join us for an evening of fun at this beautiful banquet center and delicious food. Tickets are available for purchase by contacting Debbie Kruis (330-221-0272) or Mary Ann Feddor (330-842-0505). Good luck!

It's that time of year... again! Eagle of the Cross is 27 years old in the Diocese of Youngstown! The Eagle of the Cross award is given annually to outstanding juniors and seniors in high school within the Diocese of Youngstown who show particular zeal in the improvement of their own parish ministry programs, high school ministry teams, or youth work regarding the faith within the Diocese.

On February 9th, we celebrate World Marriage Day! Let’s take time to pray for our spouses and each other to lift our marriages. Do something special for each other this weekend to show your gratitude for your spouse and their YES! Your goal in this Vocation of Marriage should be to get your spouse to heaven. Take time to ponder in your heart how you can do that, starting right now. Married couples will receive a blessing at the end of Masses on February 8/9 weekend.

Do you have an hour to help save a life? As a proud Premier Blood Partner with the Red Cross, we know that just that short amount of time donating blood can mean a lifetime to a patient battling illness or injury. Roll up a sleeve and join us in giving back to the community. St. Joseph’s will host a Blood Drive on Tuesday, February 18 , Noon to 6 p.m. Visit www.redcrossblood.org today to schedule your appointment to give to an upcoming blood drive!

If you wish to have your 2024 contribution statement from St. Joseph Church, please check your name on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex OR contact the Office of St. Joseph & St. Ambrose Parishes ASAP (330-274-2253 or [email protected]). Statements will be available beginning the last weekend of January.

The St. Joseph Mantua Knights of Columbus Council #3766 and the St. Ambrose Garrettsville Council #11801 hosted the 2025 Basketball Free Throw Contest for boys and girls ages 9 through 14 on Saturday, January 11, at the Crestwood Intermediate School gym. Twelve young people participated and contestants received a Certificate of Participation and each age/gender category winner receives a special prize. Winners now progress to the Regional competition that will be held at Garrettsville High School on February 22. Congratulations to all!

The advertisers that appear on our back page each week allow us to have the bulletin published at no cost to the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Ambrose! Won’t you help us fill our ad page? To learn more about advertising in our bulletin, please contact our ad representative, Victoria O’Donnell, at 413-815-1477 or [email protected].

The Lottery Raffle parish fundraiser follows the Ohio Lottery's 3-Digit evening drawing only. Each ticket is $5.00 and is good for the entire month (you may purchase the same number for multiple months). Only 1,000 tickets will be sold numbered #000 - #999 each month. Winning tickets are worth $50.00 (payouts mailed weekly). Proceeds to help with our church improvements and are currently being earmarked for our Parish Renovation Fund which finances future projects. For every five Lottery Raffle tickets you buy in any given month, you will get one random number given to you which is also good for that month. TICKETS MAY ONLY BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING Deb Kruis (330-221-0272) or Mary Ann Feddor (330-842-0505) via text or phone call. If you provide your name, address, phone number and ticket # you'd like to purchase, arrangements can be made to pull those for you.

The Sisterhood of St. Joseph is sponsoring a casino bus trip to Hollywood Casino in Washington, PA on Monday, February 17. The cost is $50. Participants will receive $20 in slot freeplay. The bus will depart St. Joseph parking lot at 9 a.m. and return approximately 6 p.m. Please contact Mary Ann Fedor to sign up, 330-842-0505.

An easy way to generate some funds for parish improvements was started in 2018 through recycling aluminum cans. Collect your clean cans in plastic bags, crushing if possible, and deposit in the designated box in it's NEW LOCATION near the dumpster on the northeast corner of the school building. Thank you for participating in this effort!

To be a registered member of a parish is to have a sense of belonging to a family. Registration is important when it comes to requesting the Sacraments or becoming involved in the life of the parish family. Please do not take for granted that you are registered just because you attend Mass here. Are you on our database? Do your receive envelopes? If not, you are most likely not registered as an active parishioner. Each family member, 21 years of age or older, should be registered separately (parents–encourage adult children to register if they still consider themselves members). If you’d like to become an active registered member of the parish, please contact the Office of St. Joseph & St. Ambrose (330-274-2253 or [email protected]). Also, if you move, change your phone number, would like to add your e-mail address, or have any other family changes, please let us know. We would like everyone at St. Joe’s to feel welcome as a part of our parish community family. Thank you for helping us keep up-to-date.

The Parish Community of St. Joseph is a very busy place with dozens of groups using the facilities year round. Please check with the Parish Office to confirm a date whenever you are planning a meeting, event, fundraiser, etc. Don’t assume that a space or date is available before you check the master calendar through the Parish Office staff (330-274-2253 or [email protected]). They should always know what is going on throughout the buildings and on the grounds not only for organizational purposes but also for safety and security concerns. We also take pride in accurately publicizing the many activities in the bulletin and on the parish website and Facebook pages. We appreciate your assistance in help to keep the parish running smoothly and efficiently by following good rules of communication:  clear, concise, complete, correct, and courteous.

Every week we send out a parish newsletter through Flocknote. If you are not receiving it via email or text and would like to, please contact the Office of St. Joseph & St. Ambrose Parishes (330-274-2253 or [email protected]) with your email address and/or cell number.

Email accounts continue to have issues with hackers that pop up every few months. Messages that look like they’re coming from our pastors have recently come through to several people. If you receive a suspicious email or text that looks like it’s from them, please do not respond and report it as phishing and/or mark it as spam, and then delete it. Please pay close attention to the email address or number it’s coming from (you’ll notice it’s not from their @youngstowndiocese.org emails). In fact, our priests won’t send out emails or texts making requests but rather will communicate with a phone call or in person. Thank you for helping to deter these fraudulent attacks. For information on how to recognize and avoid phishing scams, go to https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams.

Have you heard about Portage North Life Teen? Several options are available for programs for the four parishes of Portage North. The GOAL is to provide a safe and fun place for high school teens to find a solid Catholic community, get answers to their questions and most importantly, to experience and encounter Jesus in a real and personal way. Check it out!