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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

 

Since before the cornerstone of St. Joseph Church was laid on August 22, 1915, the parishioners of St. Joseph, have been generous stewards of our Catholic faith.  They shared their time, talent and treasure to build our church and school.  Later generations continued to nurture the parish.  This stewardship by prior generations involved commitment and sacrifice.  Those parishioners built the places where we assemble to worship and learn about God.  They built for the future, for us.  As we benefit from their support, I ask you to support our current and future parishioners.

 

The outlook for St. Joseph Parish is bright.  We know that as parishes are linked or merged, St. Joseph will survive.  However, it will serve a larger, more diverse population.  We are the current stewards of St. Joseph.  As such, we must evaluate our facilities to determine the most cost-effective way to maintain them while planning for future needs.  Then we need to act upon that plan.  We also need to steward faith formation for all parishioners through enhanced education programs.  The Diocese of Green Bay has also developed a plan to enhance services of the current and future church.  Of course accomplishing these goals requires money, commitment and sacrifice. 

 

“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” (1 Peter 4:10).

 

The Advancing the Mission campaign will allow us to achieve our goals without using our annual ministry/general fund budget. We need those funds to support the current ministries.   Advancing the

Mission donations will help St. Joseph now and prepare the parish for an exciting future.

 

"There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas. He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet." (Acts 4:36-37)

 

Our Advancing the Mission campaign needs the support and participation of all parishioners.  It is much too large to depend on only a few.  Of course not everyone has a field to sell.  Equal participation is impossible, but equal and reasonable sacrifice is not.  You will not be told what you should give, and no one will pressure you to give.  I simply ask you to pray the following:  “God, for the next three years, what commitment do You want me to make in order to allow these proposed plans to become a reality?”

 

"For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have." (2 Corinthians 8:12) 

 

May we all prayerfully seize the challenge and respond with the level of faithfulness of those who preceded us.

 

In God’s Love,

 

Fr. Don Everts