Christian Services

Christian Service

At St Joseph Church we have several Christian Ministries. Listed below are some of the ministries we provide and a brief synopsis of each.

Funeral Luncheons: For registered, active members of the parish, one of the nicest and most appreciated services would be our Funeral Luncheons. At the most difficult time in a family’s life, this service helps ease part of the burden. We have 5 teams made up of volunteers who set up, prepare, and serve a hot lunch following the funeral service in our parish hall.

Operation Layette: October is Respect Life Month. Our parish collects baby items for new mothers who need assistance. Collections of diapers, clothing, blankets, bottles, etc are donated by the people of our parish and then the Council of Catholic Women, pick up these donations and make complete layettes for the new moms and their newborn babies.

Soup Kitchen: Once a month we go to All Saints Church's Soup Kitchen in Detroit. Several volunteers meet at the parish hall (third Wednesday of the month) at 8:30 am. and travel to All Saints to cook and serve a hot lunch to those hungry in the area. Desserts are also baked and dropped off to the hall Tuesday evening between 6 & 7 pm. It takes several volunteers to keep this important Christian Service going.

ChristNet: Each year during the week of Thanksgiving, our parish sponsors ChristNet. ChristNet is a program that seeks to help men, women and children who are homeless and need food and shelter. For one whole week, we supply volunteers who assist these humbled people to have a hot meal, cooked and served, a hot shower and a place to lay their heads at night. Our parish hall is where we house and feed these individuals. In the morning they are served breakfast and given a bag lunch to carry them through the day. On Thanksgiving Day, our ChristNet guests are invited to partake in the mass, and stay in the hall all day, where they are able to watch television, play card and board games, and eat a wonderful home cooked Thanksgiving Day meal with all the trimmings, alongside our volunteers and other members of the parish who are lonely and have no place to go on that day.

Christmas Mitten Tree: Every year at Christmas, our parish participates in the Christmas Mitten Tree Program. This ministry helps children from Catholic Social Services and young women from Vista Maria. Large cut-out mittens with the child’s name and gift requests are hung from our Christmas Trees and members of our congregation take these mittens home and purchase the much needed items. All gifts are returned to the church and volunteers from our parish deliver these gifts to Catholic Social Services & Vista Maria.

Red Cross Blood Drive: Once a year, our parish holds a parish wide Blood Drive. We generally get around 35-40 pints of blood and we are truly thankful to those individuals who are willing and able to donate their life saving and precious blood.

Food Collection: Each week during the Offertory of the Mass, our youngest members bring forward a non perishable food item and place it in a basket that is located on the Altar. This helps our youngest ones to learn at an early age, that it is in giving, that we receive. All members are encouraged to bring in items and place them in the white box located at the main entrance of the church. Monetary donations are always welcome. The food is donated to various organizations and their food pantry's. The money collected helps to purchase food vouchers for those who are in great need, especially over the Christmas Season.