Programs & Events

Get Involved!

St Joseph’s Catholic Church encourages and needs members to get involved. There are many opportunities for service and fellowship. If you would like to get connected to one of these ministries or social groups, please contact the parish office or use our online form.

Christian Faith Formation

Have an encounter with Jesus Christ

In 2020, Bishop Edward Rice said, we, as a diocese, have a shared vision, “to live our faith joyfully, as intentional disciples, leading everyone to a full life Jesus Christ.” Within this vision, he references three priorities:

Growth in holiness
Forming intentional disciples
Be sent out to witness.

Bishop Rice also spoke of evangelization by stating that “every parish activity should be facilitating an encounter with Jesus Christ”. All of St. Joseph’s education and formation programs are designed to assist our parishioners as they deepen their encounter with Jesus Christ.

Small groups of St. Joseph parishioners meet for six weekly sessions in the fall and six weekly sessions in the spring, following a tradition of fellowship that is thirty years old. These small groups gather for

While each group can develop its own style, in recent years most groups enjoyed the following “rhythm” that has proven successful:

We focus the sessions on one of the programs on Formed.org (about 15 to 20 minutes in length).
Following the presentation, the “life” of the small group develops as participants share their faith with one another. Questions are developed in advance that promote this kind of faith sharing.

About Formed.org: The parish purchases an annual subscription to a Catholic streaming service called Formed.org. This license allows any parishioner to access this wide array of videos and ebooks from their homes. Simply go to Formed.org, click on “sign up” and “As a parishioner”. Then type in “St. Joseph Springfield Mo”.

Youth Ministry

Each year the parish recruits a team of parents and volunteers to coordinate youth programs. Our goal is to involve our youth in all parish activities. More specifically, we envision a program that integrates:

Educational programs
Involvement in liturgy and retreats
Service projects
Social activities

Parish School of Religion (Sunday School)

Classes for grades 1st through 8th meet Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 10:15 am.

The curriculum leads our youth to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and discusses various themes of Catholic belief and practice in a manner appropriate for the developmental level of the students.

We are proud to also offer the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 1 for children age 3 through 1st grade on Sunday morning 9-10:20 am at St Joseph.

For more information please click the article in our News section below.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Liturgy Assistance

There are lots of opportunities for you to help celebrate the Mass.

Lector: Assist with reading the Mass readings and carry the Book of the Gospels into Mass when a deacon is not present. Teenagers and adults are welcome to volunteer, as long as they can speak clearly.

Altar Server: Assist the priest and or deacon during Mass by carrying the cross and candles during the entrance procession, helping to prepare the Altar, holding the prayer book for the priest, and a number of other duties. Anyone in the 4^th grade or older is welcome to attend training.

Eucharistic Minister: Administer communion during Mass and may also take communion to the homebound. Must be a confirmed Catholic and a member of St. Joseph’s parish.

Usher or Greeter: Individuals meet and greet those who enter the church for Mass. Assist newcomers and visitors with information. Assist with seating people and taking up the collection. Must be friendly and courteous. Teenagers through adults may volunteer.

Cantor/Song Leader: Lead congregation in singing. Sing the responsorial Psalm and various Mass parts.

Choir Member: Sing with other vocalists at special occasion Masses.

Instrumentalist: Accompany the cantor at Mass.

Liturgy Committee: The pastor works with this committee in planning the calendar of Masses for the parish, organized around the Roman Catholic Liturgical calendar. We plan and provide the liturgical environment such as decorating with flowers, banners, and seasonal items. Liturgy education is a part of each meeting. There are six meetings a year on weekday afternoons.

Decorating: Assist with decorating the church during special events and changes of liturgical seasons.

Administrative

There are opportunities to assist the office staff of St. Joseph Church.

Office Assistance: Answer the telephone, assist with mailings, bulletin stuffing, etc.

Money Counting: Assist with counting the Sunday collection.

Event Coordination: Assist the staff with coordination of special events, such as the Christmas giving tree, Thanksgiving & Christmas food baskets, parish picnic, and other parish-wide social events.

Marketing/Public Relations: Assist with print, web, and social media marketing.

Photography: Assist with photography of church grounds and special events.

Technology: Assist with computer and web-related needs.

Repair & Maintenance: This crew meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7 pm. Their “work day” is the 3rd Saturday of the month.

Finance Council: Members are appointed by the pastor to assist with the planning and administration of the parish finances.

Pastoral Council: Members of this council are nominated by the current council and elected by the congregation of the parish to serve in the planning and administration of the parish as a whole.

Prayer

Eucharistic Adoration: Spend time adoring the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer Hotline: An email/phone tree for prayer needs of the parish and its members.

Rosary Leader: Assist with leading group rosaries before Masses, on special occasions, and on a regular basis.

Oblates of St. Benedict: Individuals who have made a formal private promise to follow the Rule of St Benedict in their private lives.

Companions of Mary: Individuals who meet regularly to learn and devote themselves more deeply to the Blessed Mother through prayer and relationship.

Outreach

A call to serve others

Pope Benedict, in his encyclical God is Love (2005), explained the connection between our faith as Christians and our call to serve others: “The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word.”

The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God, celebrating the sacraments, and exercising the ministry of charity. These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her being. (Deus Caritas Est)

In his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel (2013) Pope Francis addresses a similar theme.

Loving others is a spiritual force drawing us to union with God; indeed, one who does not love others “walks in the darkness” (Jn 2:11), “remains in death” ( Jn 3:14 and “does not know God” (I John 4:8)…. When we live out a spirituality of drawing nearer to others and seeking their welfare, our hearts are opened wide to the Lord’s greatest and most beautiful gifts. (#272)

The geographical boundaries for St. Joseph’s parish are roughly from Chestnut north to the Greene County line, and from Boonville west to the Greene County line. While many of our parishioners live in other parts of the city, the boundaries specify in a special way the people we are called to serve.

The Parish Outreach Committee meets quarterly to address our progress in implementing these strategies. In January of 2021 the St. Joseph Parish Outreach Committee adopted the following strategies:

To develop a stronger relationship with community organizations serving this area,
to identify strategies by which parishioners can come to know (encounter) our neighbors.
To develop an annual plan for communicating the principles of Catholic social teaching, and
to identify ways that our parishioners can advocate on political issues important to those most in need.

Prison Ministry

Deacon Matt Fletcher coordinates a team of volunteers who serve those incarcerated in the Greene County Jail and the Federal Medical Center.

Food Pantry

Our parish food pantry is open on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Individual Assistance

The parish receives numerous requests for assistance. Because of the generosity of our parishioners, we try to help as we can. We address individuals “who slip through the cracks.” Springfield has numerous agencies that provide a wide array of services to those in need. Wherever possible, we refer requests to these agencies. Our parish focuses its attention on unique needs not covered by existing programs.

Bereavement Committee

This group, coordinated by Deacon Matt Fletcher, reaches out to those who have recently experienced a loss.

BeFriender Ministry

This is an eight-week training series that focuses on communication skills. This program is typically held in the summer. The goal is to enable our parishioners to “encounter” our neighbors in a non-judgmental manner. For those who are struggling, often the most appreciated gift we can give them is a listening presence. BeFriender Ministry is a non-denominational program, initially organized in the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Parishioner Don Emge is a certified BeFriender trainer.

Homebound Ministry: Visiting, calling, letter writing to the homebound.

Communion to the Sick: Bringing Holy Communion to the sick members of our parish

Grief Ministry: Visiting and calling those who have suffered a loss.

Cooking & Serving: Assisting with meal prep/serving for sick, funerals, special events.

Nursery/Childcare: Assist with childcare related needs during Mass & special events.

Card/Letter Writing: Assist with providing companionship to those in need.

Fellowship Groups

50+ Group
Families
Youth
Women
Men
Maintenance
Skilled Work: plumbing, painting, electrical, carpentry
Grounds: lawn care, snow removal
Gardening: watering, weeding & planting
Cleaning: general cleaning of church, office, hall
Church Laundry: including the washing of purificators. Learn more
Quilters Group: meet in the parish hall library on Tuesdays from 1 pm to 3 pm

Meet Our Staff

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is a community of Christians operated by a large number of volunteers and a small, dedicated staff.

Staff