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.