HoneyBaked Hams! Get your HoneyBaked Hams Here!

St Joseph Youth Group is selling HoneyBaked hams you for your Christmas Gathering. This fundraiser will go to help students pay their way on retreats and also help pay for other retreat expenses! The 8 and 10 pound hams, the roasted and smoked turkey breast, and the Boneless 3 pound hams will make a delicious addition to any Christmas Feast! You can pre-order at Holy Grounds or the parish office. THANK YOU in advance for your generous support! Click for more information and ORDER FORM or call Aaron at 712-541-7327.

Advent Service Project

During the Season of Advent we are focusing on the coming of Jesus Christ into the world 2000 years ago, into our life at Mass, and the coming at the end of time. This Sunday’s readings focus on Preparing the way of the Lord. "A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" ~John 1:1-8. How do we prepare for the Lord in our life? One way is pray! I was just watching a short YouTube clip from Chris Stefanick on prayer. Watch it! Another way of preparing our heart is through community and service! This coming Wednesday, December 10 is an early out! I am going to be taking a group of high school students to Pasco to help with some yard work! In order to get in on this opportunity I need everyone how is going to fill out THIS FORM and bring it on Wednesday.  We will be leaving from the PAC at noon and will be done by 4pm. This is a great opportunity to serve others and have a great time with others. Remember you need at least 5 hours of service in the community and 30 hours total in order to be Confirmed.

Save the Date for a Retreat for Parents and Busy People!!!

Christmas Ham Fundraiser

Here is a quick parents update:                     Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m sorry I have not gotten this information out to you sooner but I just received word that we have the opportunity to do a great fundraiser.  We will be doing the HoneyBaked Hams and Turkeys sales for Christmas. We are taking this fundraiser over from the school who did it last year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Included in this packet is pre-order form, and info. sheet.

This Fundraiser will be an opportunity to help support students individual accounts as well as help support the overall cost of Retreats and other youth group activities. As you may or may not know the money paid for these activities only covers part of the costs the parish picks up the other part. The Money will remain in your account until August 31, 2015 and is good for any activities between now and then. These activities include Confirmation Retreat, Spring Break Service/Ski trip.

50% of profit will go to students accounts

50% will go to retreat fund for retreats and other overhead costs.  

The more you sell the more money goes into your account!

Volunteers needed:  I need help making announcements at all the Masses this weekend!  (Thanksgiving weekend)  If you are able to speak at a  Mass this weekend please let me know. I also need teens to help sell after all the Masses this weekend and the following!

The Ham and Turkeys are a bit pricey but they are delicious and will save you a great deal of time and energy preparing food for your Christmas gathering. You will also be bringing many smiles to the faces of those who eat the delicious Hams and Turkeys!  All order forms are due to me by Dec. 15th 3pm.

I will also need help to pick up all our order on December 22 in Spokane.  As well as help with the delivery process (order pick up) in the Dillon Hall on the 23rd of December.  Please let me know if you are able to help with either of these tasks.

Please help us to sell the delicious Honey Baked Hams and Turkeys.  Sell them at your Thanksgiving celebrations this week and at work. Please get your orders in soon to insure we have enough product!

          

A couple service ideas are coming up in over the next several months;

December 10th is a half day for most high school students I am currently working on lining up a service opportunity for that Wednesday. I will keep you posted.                  

January 10th babysitting, we are offering day care during parents retreat that day.

Finally for Confirmation Please remember to have completed service hours in as well as mass reflections in no later than December 15! I also need Confirmation sponsors by that date for Second Year!

If you have any questions please contact me;       Aaron Pohlen   712-541-7327

Service/Confirmation Opportunities

Hello everyone!

I am looking forward to great year!!!

Parents Meeting

I will have 2 separate meetings for parents of confirmation students. These meetings are not intended for the teens but for the parents. The parent meetings will be held October 16 at 7PM and October 18 at 9AM. Both meetings will be held in the St Joseph Annex Music Room (the little strip mall on 4th St). I want to minimize confusion so I am requiring at least one parent attend one of these meetings. I will be going over a lot of the same information with the teens during our first Confirm on October 19 at 3PM in the PAC youth room.

Service

Service is a large part of Confirmation and putting our faith into practice. There are several opportunities to get service hours this fall, whether you need them for Confirmation, school, or something else. I am hoping not to repeat last year, so please get your hours done early so I am not hunting you down two weeks before Confirmation and you have not completed any hours!

Yard Sale setup and take down:

We are setting up this weekend for the St Joseph Giant Yard Sale and we could use all hands on deck! Bring a friend and help out, we could use all the muscle we can muster! Then come join us for youth group at 5PM, in Dillion Hall! Yard Sale set up begins at 1PM, Sunday 21st. Clean up will start Saturday 27th, from 2:30 to 6PM! It is fun!

Yard Sale Flyer

Painting Party!

Catholic Charities is starting a baby boutique at St Joseph! They asked if we would be able to do some painting. I was hoping to get a painting party together Tuesday, September 23, at 5PM! Come join and get involved with this worth while project for the community.

Tootsie Roll Drive:

The K of C’s (Knights of Columbus) hold a Tootsie Roll Drive for individuals with special needs and the Special Olympics every fall! All you have to do is show up and hand out Tootsie Rolls to people walking into one of the three locations A.) Wal-Mart at Kennewick on 27th Avenue, B.) Yokes/ 27th Avenue, C.) Ranch & Home Columbia Center Blvd. Donations will go to help support the needs of the impaired. Let me know what time and what location you will be helping. Please do not forget to bring 2 or 3 friends to make a world of difference for the developmentally disabled!
Dates: Oct. 10-12, Fri.-Sunday
Shifts will be 10-noon, noon- 2PM, 2-4PM
We would like to have three or more volunteers per shift.

40 Days for Life;

40 Days for Life is a national event peacefully promoting the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. 40 Days for Life commits at least one person pray outside of Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics around the U.S. I am signing up for several hours through the 40 days. If you would like to join me in praying for the end to abortion and the respect of human life you are more than welcome to join me, or even sign up for an hour with your family or friends. You can also sign up here http://40daysforlife.com/local-campaigns/tri-cities/ to take a different time. If you want to join me in praying outside Planned Parenthood, you are more than welcome. I will be pray at Planned Parenthood Wednesday Oct 1st, 22nd, and 29th, from 4-5PM.

40 Days for Life Flyer

Early Release Wednesday’s:

What would everyone think of a possible group service activity once a month from between 11-3PM on early release Wednesdays? I have a couple sweet ideas for this time if there is interest.

It's That Time Of Year

It's That Time of Year Again!

Back To School! 

Get your year off to a great start

with a Middle School or High School retreat!

Both the Middle School and High School Retreats will be led by Reach Youth Ministry. Both Retreats will be focusing on different aspects of the life and virtue of St John Paul II.
Middle School Retreat Registrations can be Found HERE
High School Retreat Registration can be found HERE

The Diocesan Youth Convention 

The Diocesan Youth Convention is a great opportunity to realize that there is more to the Catholic Church than just English or Spanish, traditional or complementary music. The Church is much bigger than St Joseph in Kennewick. You will have the opportunity to hear the (ever beautiful) Jackie Francois and Bobby Angel.
DYC registration Forms can be found HERE

Both High School Retreat in October and the DYC in November help towards Confirmation Requirements!

Recording Service Hours

I did not require a specific confirmation service hour sheet this year. If you need service hours for school and can get me a copy of the sheet that will suffice. You could also use this sheet or a piece of paper.

Summer Trips And Vacation Bible School

Summer is a time for family, for traveling, and for the Lord! When I was in high school I calculated that I traveled 10,000 miles a summer for at least two of my summers and it is likely that I traveled that much the third summer. I grew so much on those trips around the country and into Mexico. I met many great people and got to know many people so much better. I had the opportunity to travel to Franciscan University of Steubenville on three occasions for the Steubenville youth conference, and since then I have been there twice as a chaperone. These trips gave me an opportunity to find great friends that I still see and talk with when I am come, over 8 years later. My trips to Steubenville have been some to the greatest highlights of my summer vacations. We will be going to Steubenville NW, at Gonzaga, in Spokane July 24-27 with a stop at Silverwood. As soon as registrations begin to come in I will start putting together fundraisers.

Here is the link for the Steubenville: FLYER, REGISTRATION, and PARENT INFORMATION.

I also did a lot of service trips traveling to St Paul, MN, St Louis, MO, Denver, CO, Atlanta, GA, and 2 trips to Texas and Mexico. These trips were great blessings for me as well they because gave me a unique opportunity to see the world. So many of the people we served still stick with me yet today. I met one elderly lady in Mexico who was in a wheel chair in a small single room, dirt floor house, not much bigger than most or our living rooms. We brought her a bag food. She was so grateful for our little act of kindness but she was not satisfied with a simple thank you, she had to give us something in return. She wanted to give us little pieces of gum, this gum was her only livelihood. She sold the gum on the street for food and whatever else she needed. She was the woman who gave her last pennies to us. We were the ones who gave of our surplus. While we will not be going to Mexico this summer I will be leading a group of eight to ten to Grants Pass, OR. When I was in OR. last year I helped with Joe's Camp and I met some great kids and had the opportunity to help the others as the hands and feet of God. This was an unbelievable experience with a lot of fun activities not to mention jet boats. Like our trip to Steubenville as soon as registrations begin to come I will begin putting together fundraisers.

The links for Joe's Camp FLYER, REGISTRATION FORMS and PACKING LIST

I did not have the opportunity participate in Totus Tuus when I was in school, but as a seminarian I had the opportunity to teach on a team. Totus Tuus is a Latin phrase meaning Totally Yours. Totus Tuus is a total Catholic Vacation Bible School and so much more. Every day the students will go to Mass. They will have opportunity for confession. There will also be time to be fun and silly. While Vacation Bible School only goes through 5 grade in most places the team will spend their evenings being missionaries to the middle and high school students, giving their testimonies and sharing why they are willing to give up a week of their summer to be in Kennewick, WA. I have spoken to the team and they are great and are all young adults who are truly on fire for God and want to share that love with us. The team is going to be flying to St Joe's from Denver to spend the week with our youth and take a week out of their summer for us. I encourage you to sign up your children and teens. As one of the Totus Tuus Missionaries said you get the youth there the first day and they will want to come back. Totus Tuus will be at St Joe’s the week of July 13-18.

Here are the link for Totus Tuus: FLYER, PARENTS INFO, and REGISTRATION.

All registrations can also be picked up in the office, the back of St Joseph Church, and at all youth activities.

Yard Sale Volunteers needed

The St Joe's Parish Yard Sale Is HERE! That means that there are lots of service opportunities coming up during the week after spring break, April 6 through 12. Click here for more information and to sign up for a time! Give Teresa Thomas or me a call if you have questions.

High School "Heroes" Lock-in this Friday and Saturday

Hey Ya'll,
We will be having a look-in this Friday from 9pm to 7am Saturday. I know it is late notice and that there are things going on this weekend, but if you can come, you totally should be there. The theme for the lock-in is going to be "heroes". We will be food, movies, fun, and games. You can receive confirmation points also for coming. Bring a friend, it will be a blast the cost will be $10. Hope to see ya there. Click Here for a permission form.

Blank Trip Forms

Here is a blank registration form for the times that you lose the form I gave you at youth group or you just want an electronic version. I have attached the liability release and trip forms in Word Format as well as PDF Format. I hope you enjoy the next activity in which you participate.

No Confirmation or Youth Group tonight. Stay safe!