Church of St. Joseph of Hopkins

May 4, 2008 Update

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:27:51 +0000

Using a Dual Approach
The best way to conduct a church building project is to assess the ministerial needs of the congregation, make building designs that match those needs and then pray that the money will come to pay for that project. Another way is to project how much money you can raise, and then decide how to spend it. The Facilities Committee is doing BOTH approaches simultaneously. We have assessed the needs of our aging buildings and have made plans to upgrade them in such a way that our ministries can thrive, both today and in the future. But we also will be conducting a “Feasibility Study” to determine the amount of financial support we can anticipate. Even Jesus mentions this common-sense fact: “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down to calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” — Luke 14:28

Please continue to use the Prayer Cards we distributed, so that our building project will meet with success. Extra Prayer Cards are still available at the Church entrances. Thank You!

The Ascension

admin — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:38:14 +0000

The Ascension - “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
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April 20, 2008 Update

admin — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:25:01 +0000

Approval by the Archdiocese
St. Joseph Parish cannot spend any money for major renovation projects unless we first get approval from the Archdiocesan Director of Administration and Finance. Their task is to make sure parishes make sound, realistic plans within their financial means. They will take a close look at our “giving history” and operating budget, so they can forecast the project size they think we can afford.

The Facilities Committee appreciates all the prayer support you are giving this process. Please add this concern to your list of intentions. The success of this endeavor depends on the generosity of us all!

April 6, 2008 Update

admin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:21:54 +0000

Thank You for Your Prayers!
We want to thank Fr. Jerry Dvorak, the head of our Prayer Committee, for commissioning the writing of the Prayer for the Facilities Committee Renovation Project, and for incorporating that prayer into the Sunday Masses, plus the printing of the Prayer Card for each of us to use at home for our daily prayers. [More Prayer Cards can be found at the Church Entrances — help yourself!]

The Facilities Committee drawings will continue to be on display in the Social Hall for you to study. We appreciate your continued prayer support, plus any comments or feedback you can give us.

The Resurrection

admin — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:58:29 +0000

The Resurrection - Christ is Risen! Alleluja! Indeed, He is Risen! Alleluja! Christ is risen from the dead! Dying, he conquered death; To the dead, he has given life. In the Gospels Matthew 28 Mark 16 Luke 24 John 20 Further Reading Urbi et Orbi, Message of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI - Easter 2008 Urbi et Orbi, Message of His Holiness, [...]

Transforming Wounds

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:09:20 +0000

TRANSFORMING WOUNDS

Jesus displays his wounds,
breathes the Spirit
and the disciples become forgivers. John 20:20-23

To become a forgiving disciple
means to become like Jesus.
For that reason
he shares his Spirit
and shares his wounds.

To be a forgiver
the disciple must know the pains of wounds,
the wounds that come from hatred, rejection,
confrontation, conflict in life’s encounters.

The forgiver must know
what it is to be wounded
before substantial forgiveness can be offered.

The forgiver must also experience
the breath of the Spirit
that fills heart and mind
to be able to utter words
that carry holy forgiveness.

As long as the disciple stays in hiding
in an effort to be free of wounds and danger
the disciple will not be a forgiver,
will not breathe the Spirit,
will have no wounds to display.

O Jesus forgive me
for the times I have preferred to hide
rather than risk my hide for others.

By your grace I will accept wounds
if only I can breathe the Spirit
to bring healing and forgiveness to others.

- Fr. Gerald Keefe

March 16, 2008 Update

admin — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:17:59 +0000

Catholic Finance Corporation is an independent corporation created by the Archdiocese in 2000. Their consultants gave us a 10-page flowchart outlining the Archdiocese step-by-step processes required before our renovation project can begin. According to their plan, the Facilities Committee would become what they call the Building Committee. Future committees or sub-committees will follow and will include: Design Committee, Building Finance Committee, Development (Fund Raiser) Committee, and Communications Committee. We would like to add one more - a Prayer Committee. We are asking everyone to be on this Prayer Committee. There are no meetings and no dues. We simply ask that you pray every day for the success of our renovation project. Whether at Mass, Adoration, First Friday Nocturnal Adoration, or any other prayer opportunity, we Thank You for those prayers!

2008 Parish Appreciation

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:29:58 +0000

After Masses on March 1^st and 2^nd we celebrated the Czech and Irish cultures of the founding parishes of the Church of St. Joseph. With fun, fellowship and traditional food and drink from these two countries, we learned more about the history of the Church of St. Joseph, and the worldwide diversity of our current parishioners!

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The Agony in the Garden

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:23:43 +0000

The Agony in the Garden: Jesus’ soul is sorrowful even to death, praying in agony while his disciples sleep.
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March 2, 2008 Update

admin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:14:38 +0000

To Renovate or Build New?
This question about the convent building has faced the Facilities Committee for a long time. The more information we collect, the more obvious it becomes that we will get much more “building for our buck” if we renovate. The $2.5 million sketch we showed at November’s All Parish Meeting was a top-of-the- line, Grade-A plan. For the same amount of money, we could get an average, so-so new building. But because $2.5 million is still a LOT of money, we are exploring the possibility of trimming down a few features from the Renovation Plan, in hopes that we can have a Plan B on hand, in case the Archdiocese recommends a more scaled-down project. We continue to ask for your prayers as a comprehensive plan for our facilities is hammered out.