Dear Parishioners,

We have a number of things occurring this week. Pasties continue on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Wednesday from 6:15-7:30 PM we have our Encounter Night which is an event open to all parishioners. The event is a night to encounter Jesus. We have adoration in the church, prayer teams available, praise and worship music, confessions, and a testimony as part of the evening. Come and experience Jesus.

This Thursday we have 2 events. There is the first 55+ event at 5:30 PM at St. Joseph. It will be a dinner and social event in the SJ social hall. If you want to see more events similar to this event, please come and share ideas. We are still trying to gauge people’s interest in a 55+ group. This event will guide further conversation and development of this type of event.

We also have our first Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) this Thursday 6:30-8 PM at SJ in the parish office building room 5. This event is for anyone who is interested in becoming Catholic or learning more about the Catholic faith. If you are already Catholic, you can come too if you want to learn. This first evening is our kick off, so it will be a chance to share what the process looks like and begin together this journey of learning the faith. If you know someone who would be interested let us know, or better yet invite them and come with them to the first night! 

If anyone is interested, the Brainerd Catholic parishes are sponsoring an event next Wednesday the 29th at the Gichiziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd. It will be a talk given by a woman who will share about how to support and love people who are living the LGBTQ lifestyle. Kim Zember herself was there, and then left the lifestyle and got married (to a man), and has a family. She will speak from her own experience and try to help give insight in how to help loved ones who are in the position. You can buy tickets on the Brainerd Catholic website under their events section. I plan to go with my ‘Group’ because it is ‘Group Night’. We plan to go to the talk and meet afterwards to discuss. The doors open at 6 PM and there is a social, before the talk which starts at 7-8:30 PM. This may be an event that could help you or a family member. It may also just be a way to try to understand how to help others who struggle with LGBTQ issues either because they experience those tendencies or because they care a lot about someone who does. 

We will not have daily Mass at St. Joseph on Friday (24th).

You may have noticed the windows at SJ are clear now… they took the stained glass out to get it ready for the new church. Speaking of the new Church, things are coming along nicely. The parking lot is paved, and the building is beginning to take shape. Please continue to pray that the project will unfold as planned and that all who work on it are safe. Thanks for your continued support of the project.

Please keep Dcn. Roger and his wife Delores in your prayers. Roger was diagnosed with cancer recently. He will be undergoing treatment. As you probably know, Roger has continued to assist and help at the parish long after the retirement age. He and Delores have been very generous to our parishes. 

In Christ,

Fr. Eli