WELCOME TO OUR PARISHES
BAPTISM
The first and third and fifth Sundays of each month are reserved for baptism. Parents must be active in our parish and attend the required Baptismal Preparation Class. (See below) This class is a part of our parish co-op programming and is offered every month at one of our area churches.
NOTE: If you have been asked to be a Godparent at a Baptism taking place at a church other than St. Joseph or Nativity, we can only issue letters of recommendation to act as a sponsor (Godparent), to registered and participating parishioners.
Pre-Baptism Classes
These classes are a requirement for the parents preparing for the Baptism of their children. Classes rotate at St. Peter, (Lorain) St. Joseph (Amherst) and St. Vincent DePaul (Elyria) churches. The Baptism takes place at St. Joseph or Nativity Church.
Contact St. Joseph Parish Offices at 440-988-2848 to register or for more details.
Ministry Leader: Laura Lamb
FIRST RECONCILIATION and COMMUNION
Additional Information
St. Joseph Parish & Nativity of the BVM Parish is pleased to announce a new program from Dynamic Catholic called Blessed, that we are using once again to prepare your children (2nd graders) for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion.
Blessed is an animated series that engages your children and helps them understand the importance of these two important first sacraments in their lives.
Parent participation in the process is required and for the 2022-23 academic year are expected to attend the parent sessions for both First Reconciliation and First Communion. You are the first teachers of your children and these sessions are meant to help you teach your child about these very important sacraments. Our role at the parish is to support you in this mission and we do that by using this engaging program.
Visit: https://dynamiccatholic.com/blessed for more information on this program and to sign up for the parent component.
For First Communion we also use Blessed from Dynamic Catholic. Again, your participation in this process is critical.
Parent participation in the process is required and all parents for the 2022-23 academic year are expected to attend the parent sessions for both First Reconciliation and First Communion. You are the first teachers of your children and these sessions are meant to help you teach your child about these very important sacraments. Our role at the parish is to support you in this mission and we do that by using this engaging program.
CONFIRMATION
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Our Confirmation program for 2022-23 has been revised. Please direct any and all Confirmation Questions to the St. Joseph Parish office at 440-988-2848 ext. 201
Our parishes will celebrate Confirmation on TBA.
MATRIMONY (Pre-Cana)
Marriages:
Diocesan policy requires a six-month period of preparation before marriage. A couple is to contact one of our priests or deacons to arrange for a particular date and program of preparation before any date will be finalized. Attendance at one of the pre-marriage preparation programs and a compatibility evaluation are required. Please call the Parish Office for further information.
Pre-Marriage Preparation: After consulting the priest or deacon assisting you in getting married, a couple will choose from several programs. The Diocesan Web Site lists information for most of these: www.dioceseofcleveland.org under Ministries, Marriage & Family.
Contact the Parish Office at 440-988-2848
ANOINTING of the SICK
The sacrament of anointing of the sick began as a ritual of healing. Over time the emphasis shifted to the forgiveness of sins on the deathbed, when such forgiveness would be the final preparation for heaven. The Second Vatican Council returned the original meaning to the sacrament by emphasizing that it is not only for those who are at the point of death, but for anyone who is seriously ill, including mental or spiritual illness. It also helped move the Anointing away from a private service and back toward a community-based one.
Today we are all aware that tensions, fear and anxiety about the future affect not only our mind but our body as well. These illnesses can be serious. They can move us to ask for the healing touch of Christ in the Sacrament of Anointing. Persons with the disease of alcoholism or persons suffering from other addictions can be anointed. So can those who suffer from various mental disorders. The anxiety before exploratory surgery to determine if cancer is present is a situation in which Christ’s power can be invoked in the sacrament.
In these cases the person does not have to wait until the illness is so grave that he or she is in the hospital or institutionalized to celebrate the sacrament. Sacraments, after all, are community celebrations. It is preferable to celebrate them in the context of family and parish even before going to the hospital. The sick person has a better opportunity to appreciate the prayers and symbols of the rite when in her or his customary worshiping community.
At St. Joseph Parish we have an Anointing Service once per year, usually in mid-October. Here in the context of the Eucharist, all who are ill physically or spiritually, are invited to attend the Service and celebrate as community, the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
Throughout the year, if you are faced with severe illness or impending serious surgery, you are encouraged to contact the Parish Office to arrange to receive the sacrament.
If hospitalized, please notify the Parish Office to request visitation. Under the new HIPPA confidentiality law, hospitals are no longer permitted to notify parishes of parishioner’s presence in the hospital. Be sure to alert the intake persons that you are Catholic and the Pastoral Care office will see that a chaplain stops by to see you in the hospital.
To arrange to be anointed while ill at home, or in advance of serious surgery, please call the Parish Office at 440-988-2848.
HOLY ORDERS
Humble yourself and you will find favor with God. Are you being called to be a priest or deacon, brother or sister? Humbly ask the Lord.
(Luke 14: 1, 7-14)
Interested in either the Priesthood, Diaconate, Sisterhood or Religious Life? Please consider serving the Church as a priest, deacon, religious sister or brother. For more information contact a member of St. Joseph Staff, you may also visit the Cleveland Catholic Vocations website.