St. Joseph Catholic Church

Dear Friends,

In light of Governor Hogan's Stay at Home order and guidance from the Archdiocese of Washington, the Church and Rectory Offices are Closed, until further notice, effective March 31st.  Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer Private Prayer or Confessions in the Church at this time.   We hope and pray that this closure will be brief, and we will update you as quickly as we can as things change.   And although we cannot be physically together at this time, we stayed united in prayer with one another, as a community of faith united in the great truth of Christ's presence with us, always!  Please pray for your fellow parishioners, especially those who are most vulnerable at this time. All updates regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic and how it affects our parish can be found here: COVID-19 Updates. And can also be found under the "Home" Tab. 

At this time our Food Pantry remains open on Saturdays from 8:30am-10:00am for families in need.    We ask that all participants remain behind the curb in front of the Church for assistance.   The Food Pantry is also in need of non-perishable items, especially  canned vegetables, canned fruit, peanut butter, jelly, canned meat, rice, dried beans, and ketchup.  Please contact Fr. Andrew to arrange to drop off your food donations and thank you for your generosity!  
 

Updated Email Information

Our parish email system recently went offline, and therefore I have been unable to receive and/or send an email from my parish address, frandrew@stjos.org.  Please reach out to me at an alternative address:  WakefieldA@adw.org  

Friends, I also invite you to read and reflect upon a beautiful meditation our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has just given us in his extraordinary Urbi et orbi address:  "“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”? Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we flounder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars. Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives. Let us hand over our fears to him so that he can conquer them. Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies."--Pope Francis, Urbi et orbi meditation, 3/27/2020.  

See the full address  

Flocknote Sign Up for "Zoom" Parish Mass Invitations

At this time, we offering Parish Masses via Zoom!   Sign up for Flocknote to receive invitations each week for our 10am Sunday, 8am  Tuesday, and 8am Thursday "Zoom" Parish Masses. 
Please join us!

Flocknote is an increasingly popular communications tool, used by parishes across the Archdiocese of Washington, which allows you to 'opt-in' to receive parish communications either via email, text message, or both!   All you need is the ability to receive text messages and/or have an email address. 

To sign up for this free communications service, please text Beltsville to 84576, or sign up on the link below.   

During these extraordinary times, we are particularly grateful to all the teachers, staff, and administrators of St. Joseph's Regional Catholic School, a National Blue Ribbon School for Academic Excellence!   Our team is working extremely hard to ensure our students continue to learn and grow as young disciples of Christ!   We are currently accepting applications for the 2020-2021 school year, and we encourage you to consider St. Joseph's Regional School!   

For more information, please visit our school website:

stjosrcs.org

And as this is Teacher Appreciation Week, please join us in thanking and praying for all those who work to make St. Joseph's Regional School such a special place!   

You can also support our school every time you shop online at Amazon, through the AmazonSmile program.  Use the following link for your Amazon shopping and support St. Joseph's Regional Catholic School!   
Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/52-0735883 

Fr. Andrew and Fr. Wimmer Homilies  

THANK YOU to our many parishioners who have continued to support the Parish Offertory and Mortgage by mailing their contributions to the Rectory Office!   We encourage you to continue to mail in your contributions, as even though public Masses have been suspended, bills and payroll obligations continue.  We have established a new online giving portal for your convenience through which you can contribute to the Offertory, Church Mortage, Easter, and other Holy Week offerings.  Please click the link below for this secure and easy way to support your parish!  Thank you for your continued generosity.  You can also arrange for a direct contribution to the Parish through your own checking account.

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