Annual Catholic Services Appeal Update
Report as of May 22, 2005
Required goal…………...….$10,520.00
Amount Pledged……………$11,061.00
Amount Paid…………………$7,271.00
Number of donors……………………59
At present, if everyone completes their pledges, we are $541.00 over our goal. So far 26 % of our parishioners have participated in this year’s campaign. Last year we exceeded our goal by $3,352 which was returned to the parish. The number of donors last year was 70. We hope for 100 percent participation this year, especially with our upcoming roof repairs. The CSA is a great fundraiser for the parish because of the money that is returned to us. Many thanks to all of our parishioners who have donated so far. Any more donations will come back to the parish for our many expenses.

WE STILL NEED USHERS!
Mike Singelyn is the interim captain of the ushers' club. Men and women who are able to usher at our regular Sunday Masses and the monthly German Mass are asked to call Mike at 313-885-5333 to volunteer their services.

Choral Mass schedule

The St. Joseph Cappella will sing at the 10:30 a.m. Latin liturgies on the following dates:

June 5 (Fr. Dorr's anniversary mass) - 3:00 p.m.

Encourage your friends and family to attend

News: May 29, 2005
CORPUS CHRISTI

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

1. Created a $20 million dollar fund from which the earnings are conveyed annually to the Holy Father for his charities. This fund has generated more than $27.8 million for the Pope’s good works.

2. Committed $8.8 million to the U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life educational campaign since 1990.

3. Bring the Pope to the world at least three times a year by providing the uplink cost for the televising of papal ceremonies, especially at Christmas and during Holy Week, and the downlink in poor mission countries.

These are just a few of the many Catholic charities that the Knights of Columbus are able to support.
Last year alone the Knights of Columbus donated more than $116 million to charitable causes. Somehow these works are accomplished with annual membership dues of only $40 dollars a year along with fund raising activities.

The Bishop Plagens Council of the Knights is centered here in our three-parish cluster and exists to help
our pastor in all the activities necessary for our cluster to survive. So far only two parishioners from Saint Joseph Church have joined this wonderful group of men, and in the next few weeks we hope to expand that number. Watch for upcoming membership recruitment.

News: May 22, 2005
TRINITY SUNDAY

Choir Hiatus
Our choirs are taking their summer break. The men's choir (Schola Sancti Josephi) has 16 members. The mixed-voice choir (St. Joseph Cappclla) has 12 members, 6 men and 6 women, and is always looking for new members. Choir rehearsals will resume in late August. The Cappella will sing at a special Mass on Sunday, June 5 at 3:00 pm to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood of Rev. Fr. Richard Dorr. Father Dorr and his sisters, Germaine and Rosemary have been lifetime members of Saint Joseph Church. There will be a brief reception in the Social Hall following that 3:00 pm Mass.

God bless our volunteers who answered the call and came out on May 7 and 14 to beautify the grounds, dig weeds, pick up countless bags of trash and plant over 100 flowers. Besides our own parishioners, our dedicated workers and supporters came from within our cluster and from the St. Joseph Alumni. Tom Neil, Tom Martilotti, Matthew McGuire, Bob Van den Bossche, Jack Dunn, Ginny Pulcer, Bruce Jonasz, Christine Gray. Patrick and Dorothy Degens, Mary Ann Solomon and Carole Varga. May 14 brought rain and fewer volunteers, but everyone stayed on and finished all that had to be done that day.

SUCCESS TO OUR GRADUATES!
The Parish family of Saint Joseph Church welcomes our graduates and their families today as they leave the hallowed halls of St. Jean Baptiste de LaSalle High School and embark on their future careers. Our prayer is that your school Patron, Saint Jean, together with Our Blessed Lady and Saint Joseph will watch over you and protect you every day of your lives.

News: May 15, 2005
PENTECOST

CONGRATULATIONS TO FATHER FARES
Rev. Father Lawrence Fares celebrated two important anniversaries this month. He has attained 81 years of life and 55 years in the priesthood. We thank God for his many years of service to the Church and to Saint Joseph's. Father Fares is a member of the Carmelite Order. His professed name is Lawrence but his baptismal name is Joseph. He came here when he reached senior priest status and offered his services to Saint Joseph Church because of his deep love of his Patron Saint and for this church in particular. Thank you Father, for the love and dedication you have shown to us in serving our parish.

WELCOME OUR NEW DEACON
A deacon has joined the staff of our cluster. His name is Bill Stimpson, and he comes to us from Precious Blood parish in Detroit. His bio will be posted on the site soon, so please keep an eye out for it.

T1S THE MONTH OF OUR MOTHER
The traditional May crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima took place after the noonday Mass and Novena on May 4, 2005. Parishioners are encouraged to reacquaint themselves with the beauty of this statue, especially the beautiful eyes of Our Lady. An excellent way to pay our respects to Our Blessed Mother during her special month of May is to pray the Rosary daily for peace. This was the specific request of our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II after 9/11.

News: May 8, 2005
ASCENSION

May is traditionally the month of the Blessed Mother when we honor her in a special way. Today is Mother's day when we honor our earthly mother. Let us pause to give thanks for both our natural and spiritual mothers.

Schedule Change This Month
The monthly Mass in German will be celebrated on May 15th, Pentecost Sunday. The 9:00 a.m. Mass on May 22 is the Graduation Mass for de LaSalle students.

Choir Director Ron Bemrich is leaving St. Joseph's for a new career in New York; the orchestral Mass on Pentecost Sunday will be his last day with us. Join the pastor and the choir in the hall after the 10:30 Mass on May 15 for a brief farewell to Ron. His contribution to our music program cannot be overstated, and he will be difficult, indeed, to replace. Most important, while we will all miss a wonderful friend, he will always be with us in our music-making.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS on Saturday, May 14th, to complete the annual spring cleanup and flower planting around the church property. We will meet at 10:00 a.m. Please bring any tools you think you will need. We have some rakes and shovels and several nail-sticks for picking up trash but additional tools including hand trowels etc. will be helpful. Lunch will be provided by a parishioner. Bring your favorite beverage. Our church lives or dies depending upon our volunteers. Flowers are needed. We would like to plant Marigolds and Ageratum along the perimeter of the iron fence on the May 14 garden day. Anyone who cares to donate flats for this or other plants on that day can call the business office or Patrick Degens at 586 463-6178 so we can estimate how many plants we will have on hand.

In the charity of your prayers, remember the sick

New stories in Patrick's History Corner.

More thoughts posted on the Meditations page.

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