O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord!

The priests and staff of St. Joseph Parish wish you and your family a Happy and Blessed Christmas. We hope you will join us for one of our celebrations of the birth of our Lord.

Masses for Christmas Eve
Monday, December 24
5:00 pm (upper and lower church and school gym), 
7:00 pm, 10:00 pm

Masses for Christmas Day
Tuesday, December 25
7:00 am, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 
12:30 pm (upper and lower church)

TARGET High School Youth Group December Events

TARGET is the high school youth group at St. Joseph Parish. 

All of our events are open to students in high school.  

Follow us on Twitter @TARGETyg  or on Facebook: TARGET YG

Sunday, December 9th- Sunday Night Meeting from 7-9pm in the Lower School Gym


December 14th, 15th, and 16th- TARGET Tree Sale: We need volunteers for our Christmas Tree and Wreath Sale on Friday (5-9pm), Saturday (9-6pm), and Sunday (after each Mass).  This is a great way to receive community service hours and get into the holiday spirit. You can sign-up for a shift at TARGET events or by emailing Anthony Armando - target@sjcnj.org

Sign up for a Shift or 2

Friday 

5:00-8:30pm

Saturday 

8:30am-12pm

11:30am-3pm

3pm-6:30pm

Sunday

8am-10:30am

10:30am-1:30pm

Sunday, December 23- New York City Trip: Our annual trip into New York City to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the Christmas season. We will begin with Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then go to see the Tree at Rockefeller Center. We will also make stops at FAO Schwartz and the Toys R Us in Times Square. Permission Slips are available at all TARGET events or by clicking here

Classes for Sunday, November 4, 2012 are Cancelled

Classes for Sunday, November 4th are cancelled.
There are No Classes on Tuesday, November 6th or Wednesday, November 7.

Classes will resume beginning the week of Sunday, November 11, 2012.

Grade 4 Reconciliation Service Cancelled

Due to the impending storm, the Grade 4 Reconciliation Service is cancelled. We will let you know when it will be rescheduled.

If schools are closed on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 then Religious Education classes will also be cancelled.
Please be safe. God Bless.

CONFIRMATION 2013 PROGRAM DATES

CONFIRMATION PARENT AND CANDIDATE MEETING -

Monday, October 22, 2012 at 7:00pm

MASS OF BLESSING OF CANDIDATES – Sunday, December 2 at 3:00 pm.

PREPARATION SESSIONS - SUNDAY - 8:15 AM - 10:15 AM Lower School GYM followed by 10:30 am Mass

January 6

January 13 

January 27

February 3

February 10

March 3

March 17

March 24

RETREAT – Alphabetically assigned to one of the following retreats 

 January 18-20, February 15-17, March 8-10 

MEETING WITH PRIEST – After your retreat weekend

• Monday, January 28 for the January 18-20 retreat, 
• Monday, March 4 for the February 15-17 retreat and 
• Monday, March 18 for the March 8-10 retreat. 

Meetings will be between 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM.  You will sign up for your time at the closing Mass of your retreat.

Classes Begin the Week of September 16

Grades K to 6            

Sunday Session

 September 16 from 9:45AM to 11: 10AM

Tuesday Session

 September 18 from   3:45PM to  5:10PM

 Grades 7 and 8

  Wednesday Session--- September 19  

    Afternoon Session from 4:45PM to 6:10PM

    Evening Session     from 6:30PM to 7:55PM

  

Catechist Meeting Scheduled

New and Returning Catechists and Office Assistants

Religious Ed Volunteer Staff Meeting – Grades K-6

Wednesday - September 12 at 7:00pm

in the Upper School Cafeteria

With over 900 students enrolled in our program, there is a lot to prepare.  All of us here are so grateful to you for saying “yes” to Christ’s call to “Go make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”.  You are the heart and soul of our program and the main reason it has been so successful for all of these years.  As a staff, we hope to provide you with all the necessary tools and support to help you grow as a Catholic, so that you may help your students grow in knowledge and faith.

If you are unable to attend this meeting, please call our office 201-261-1144.

Classes are Forming

We hope that you are having a restful and relaxing summer. As August approaches, signs of Back to School are everywhere. At 300 Elm Street, we are preparing for the start of the Religious Education year, which will begin with Catechetical Sunday on September 16, 2012.
If you have not yet registered for Religious Ed classes, we ask that you please do so by August 25, so that we can guarantee that you will get the day and class that you have requested. Classes are formed
on a first come basis. If you need a new Family Information or Student Information Registration form, you can download them below.  If your family is currently experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the office at 201-261-1144 to arrange for payments.

Please print and return both forms
Family Information Registration Form
Student Information Form

Our New Sunday Mass schedule begins this Sunday, July 1, 2012

New Mass Schedule 

Saturday 5 pm

Sunday 7 am, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 pm

From the Sunday, June 10 Bulletin:
Special Announcement from the Pastoral Council
RE: SCHEDULING OUR SUNDAY MASSES PART FIVE

We will change our Sunday Mass schedule July 1. For over a month, we have shared the different reasons and rationale for these changes here in the bulletin in weekly installments. Today, we thought it might be helpful to review the main reasons behind the changes.

• Decreased congestion between Masses – by allowing for two hours between each Mass we create a smooth arrival and exit both at the doors of the church and in the streets and parking lots
• Increased opportunity for hospitality – Monthly coffees and parish socials will be possible now that there is more time between our Masses. Parishioners can socialize after Mass and still leave before people arrive for the next Mass
• Safer driving and parking during winter months –Snow piles up, decreasing parking spots and the roadways narrow, leading to traffic and driving challenges with our current schedule. In the new schedule, parishioners will not be competing for limited parking spots in the winter and roads around the church will be less congested.
• Baptisms – With our current schedule, we generally only celebrate Baptisms at the Noon Mass. Now we will be able to celebrate them at the 10:30 am and 12:30 pm Masses due to the increased time between these services.
• Religious Education & Liturgy of the Word with Children – Our Mass with the Liturgy of the Word with Children will slide back by a half-hour to 8:30 am and our Religious Education Program will begin at 9:45 am and end at 11:10 am. This schedule will allow parents to drop off and pick up their kids without running into other parishioners who would be arriving or leaving one of the Masses.
• More prayerful celebration of Sacraments – As we recently experienced during First Holy Communions, there were serious congestion issues with both parking and the flow of parishioners arriving and exiting the church. With a longer gap between Masses, we won’t have folks trying to exit the Mass and take photos running into those arriving for the next Mass.

Registration for the 2012-13 Religious Education Term

You should have received a packet in the mail containing:

• Cover letter highlighting changes for 2012-13
• Family Information Page
• Student Information Page(s)
• Volunteer Sign-up form
• Information about a special summer music program at St. Joseph Church

Please be sure to check over all the information on the Family Information and Student Information pages. Please prayerfully consider volunteering as a Catechist or Co-Catechist, our program depends on the generosity of our volunteers. If you did not receive a packet in the mail please call the Religious Education Office.

 Retreat Nights Help 7th and 8th Graders Experience Prayer and Listen to God 

Tracey Vieira speaks to the 7th Graders about prayer during their retreat night on March 16.

Lent is a time for prayer and refocusing our lives to hear God's voice speaking to us. The 7th and 8th graders of the Religious Education Program had this opportunity during their retreat nights that were led by Ms. Tracey Vieira, High School Youth Minister at Our Lady of Peace Parish in New Providence, NJ and members of our high school peer leadership team.

Students at the Knotty Net

On Friday, March 16, the 7th graders experienced prayer in a variety of ways. In small groups, they took turns at different prayer stations where they were challenged to try some new ways to pray. At the Prayer Chain Station, they wrote names of people that they know, who are in need of God's help. They then linked their prayers together to form one large chain. At the Knotty Net, students took small pieces of fabric and tied them to a fishing net. This symbolizes the knots or struggles in our lives and that Jesus is there to catch them all for us.

Adding a link to the prayer chain

The 8th graders spent their retreat on Friday, March 30 thinking about how we encounter God's message in our lives. They listened to popular songs from artists such as One Direction, Rihanna, and Carrie Underwood. Each small group was asked to discuss the message in each song and talk about whether or not it was one that God would want us to hear. Tracey then spoke about the message the world wants us to hear and the one God wants us to hear and how we can go about discerning which we should be putting on our Ipods and into our lives.

Erin prays the Our Father and talks to God during a prayer skit

Both retreat night also put the focus on the Our Father and how when we look more closely at the words it truly can change our lives.  Two members of our high school peer ministry team, Erin and Mike acted out a skit that helped everyone better understand the words of the Our Father. 

To end their nights on prayer, the 7th and 8th graders both had the opportunity to sit in silence and take time for personal prayer in Mary's Chapel in the Lower Church. This gave them the chance to listen to God in the quietness of their hearts. The 7th graders were led through a guided meditation where they were able to encounter Jesus and share their lives with Him. The nights were a great way for the students to experience prayer and share their faith outside the classroom.

 The Confirmation Candidates Build the Church

During the third Confirmation preparation session the candidates "built the Church." The objective of this activity was to see that the main mission of the apostles was to build the Church and protect the sacred deposit of faith. As a way of building up their own Church, the candidates were given a cup.  The cups were different sizes and colors, symbolizing the Universality of the Church. Next, they shared the difficulties the apostles went through to build the Church in the early years, at risk of their own lives.  Then each candidate was asked to write on the cup the name of a person that he or she would like to become a more active part of the Church.  After the names were on the cups, the candidates were asked to pray for that person.  Then the building began.  Each small group built a Church and then all 10 groups took their churches to the center of the gym to form the larger Church.  Mission accomplished - it was a struggle to keep the cups stacked if they did not build a strong foundation.  The Confirmation candidates will protect the sacred deposit of faith.

Confirmation Retreat Weekends

January 13-15 Retreat Weekend

The Confirmation program began its Sunday morning sessions on January 8th, 2012. This year we have 132 candidates who are preparing to receive the the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  We also had two of our three Confirmation Retreat weekends during the month of January. 45 candidates attended the retreat on the weekend of January 13-15 and 37 candidates attended the retreat on the weekend of January 27-29. 

At each of the closing liturgies, the candidates had the opportunity to stand up and share how they experienced the love of Jesus during the weekend. It was evident that through sharing their faith with each other and the peer leaders was an important part of experiencing the love of Jesus. Many also shared that through times of prayer and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation they able to truly feel Christ's love. 

With one more weekend to go, we are all excited to see how the Holy Spirit will work through each of the candidates and high school peer leadership team.

January 27-29 Retreat Weekend

Members of the Peer Leadership Team

Advent 2011

Advent was a wonderful time for our Religious Education Program. Our Tuesday classes, were treated to poetry, Christmas hymns, and a re-enactment of the Christmas Story. Mrs. Spano's 1st Grade class brought the Nativity to life as we witnessed the events of the birth of Jesus.  Mrs. Hay's 3rd Grade class provided music for us as they sang Silent Night and Come All Ye Faithful. Mrs. Babino's and Ms. Schrader's 2nd Grade class recited poetry about the true meaning of Christmas.
In the Upper Church, the 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade students were able to listen to scripture and sing Christmas hymns that allowed all in attendance to truly focus and reflect on the birth of our Savior.