A message from the administrator

January 29, 2006

Dear Parishioners & Friends of Saint Joseph Church,

The Season of Christmas has now passed and another new year lies before our 150-year-old parish of St. Joseph. Things are looking up for us. I'm sure the cardinal's celebration of Mass here last October did wonders in building enthusiasm and interest among many in building up our parish community and restoring our historic church. And now with the luxury of an assistant pastor so much more can and will be done for our parish.

I am writing today to inform you of a new plan of action that will go into effect in our St. Joseph Parish as of February 1st. I have decided to place Fr. Ward in charge of the day-to-day administrative duties of the parish. He will also tend to virtually all of the sacramental and liturgical activity of the parish. I will on occasion offer Mass at St. Joseph if Father goes on vacation or at least I will be present for the extremely solemn events in the parish such as Holy Thursday or the Easter vigil, but the rest -- all Sunday Masses, all baptisms, all confessions, all funerals and most weddings -- will be under Fr. Paul's pastoral care.

The purpose of this is NOT to abandon St. Joseph's but rather to prepare Fr. Paul as quickly as possible to assume the duties of a pastor, since this is certainly his destiny. Mostly likely he will not have the luxury of six years as an assistant before being called to pastor a parish of his own. Please be aware that the priest shortage in our archdiocese is constantly increasing. Our neighbors at Holy Family Parish lost their pastor to death this last year at age 91. We are all very lucky to be in this good and solid cluster which makes each parish's continued survival possible.

I hope you will all approve of this plan of action. I feel it will work out just fine and that it will prove very helpful and educational for Fr. Ward. So...please see Fr. Ward first with all your requests and needs. He is very capable of handling most expectations of the parish and I will in most cases bow to his judgment. Please be assured that the finances of the parish are being kept at my desk, so to speak. Fr. Paul will be introduced to the financial aspect of a parish, but I will continue to work on this important sector of parish life.

In the long run I think St. Joseph's parishioners will receive even more services than they have over the last year and that this situation will help the parish continue to stabilize and grow. May God bless each one of you.

Reverend Mark A. Borkowski
Parochial Administrator

FrmarkB@aol.com