Saint Joseph Catholic Church - South Bend, IN

Happening now at Saint Joseph...

Cultivate Come & See Evening

On Wednesday, September 18, 6-8pm, Saint Joseph parishioners are invited to Cultivate Food Rescue to learn more about their mission to feed the hungry in our community. Meet the Cultivate staff, tour the buildings, and help pack food!Cultivate has a vision of "No Neighbor Hungry, No Food Wasted." They work to reduce hunger and food waste in northern Indiana by recovering excess, quality food and redistributing it to school children, food pantries, shelters and more. Volunteer opportunities are available six days a week, morning, afternoon, and evening. Learn more at cultivatefoodrescue.com. All those interested are asked to preregister here.

"For the Kids" Golf Benefit

The 30th Annual "For the Kids" Golf Benefit will take place Friday, October 11, 10am-2pm, at Elbel Golf Course. The benefit supports the SJGS Excellence Fund, which provides tuition assistance and other essential needs to support the mission of Saint Joseph Grade School. Come join the fun with other parishioners and supporters of our parish school!

Register and view more information about how you, your family, or your business can support the benefit at stjoeparish.com/forthekids.

Church Directory Photography

Say cheese! Photography sessions for our new Saint Joseph Church directory are underway! A lot has changed since our last directory in 2018 – families have grown in number, children have grown up, and new members have joined our parish. It’s time to capture and celebrate these changes with our parish family! Every photographed household will receive a complimentary 8x10 portrait and directory. Additional portraits will be available for purchase. Sign up for a one-hour appointment at ucdir.com and use church code: in1939 and password: photos.

Remaining appointments are September 10-14 and October 1-2. Weekdays sessions take place 2:00-8:30pm and Saturdays are 10:00-4:00pm. Photos will be taken in the Ackles Parish Center (711 E. Colfax Ave.). Park on the east side and enter through sliding door #5.

Altar Server Training

Fr. Matt will lead Altar Server training for all new Altar Servers (5th grade and older) on Monday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 25, from 3:00-4:30pm, as well as Sunday, September 29, from 11:00am-12:30pm. Servers must attend one session. Please sign up here. Contact Fr. Matt or Theresa Slott with questions.

Loving God, we know that there are many ways to serve You and Your people. We ask for Your Holy Spirit to come upon [name of child] to help him/her discern the ministry of altar server. If it be for Your glory, dispose his/her mind and heart to this important ministry and use his/her gifts to help the Saint Joseph community pray the Mass well. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

"Walk with One" Campaign

We are all called to evangelize, and thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are well-equipped for this mission. It may not mean spreading the Gospel in a foreign land or going door-to-door with the Good News—and it may require overcoming some fears—but the Lord is asking each of us to step out of our comfort zone and evangelize one-on-one.

There is someone in your life right now whom Jesus longs to call to himself. He wants to spark a relationship with them and bless them with his sacraments. In this Year of Mission, Catholics across the U.S. are saying “yes” to a special form of heart-to-heart accompaniment called the Walk With One initiative. This is your opportunity to be God’s instrument in the life of another person. Imagine how our families, neighborhoods, and country will be transformed if every active Catholic answers this call!

Find out more information here.

Children's Faith Formation Registration

Online registration is open for the 2024-25 1st through 7th grade Children's Faith Formation program. Classes are scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 15, and will meet in the Ackles Parish Center. We will meet weekly on Sundays from 11:15am to 12:30pm from September to May. For more information, contact Sean Driscoll at sdriscoll@stjoeparish.com.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: All children ages 3 through Kindergarten are invited to participate in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) program, a Montessori-based approach to the religious formation of young children. We will be offering two sessions this year – one on Monday mornings 9:30-10:45am and one on Monday afternoons 3:45-5:00pm. Register your children here. Sessions will begin Monday, September 9, and will meet weekly until mid-May.

Yard Nativity Kits for Sale

Saint Joseph Parish is partnering with the Catholic Business Exchange out of Indianapolis to offer yard Nativity Kits for our parishioners. Purchase a kit for yourself or give as a gift!

Orders are due by October 5! Price per kit is $110, with a portion of proceeds coming back to St. Joe to support the good work of the ongoing outreach ministries of our parish.

The kits will be delivered to the parish near Thanksgiving (more details at a later date regarding distribution). For questions, feel free to reach out to Tim Cleaver at tcleaver@stjoeparish.com.

Eucharistic Adoration

Thank you to everyone who has been committed to making the beautiful ministry of Eucharistic Adoration available in the church on Thursdays from 7:30am to 9:00pm.

As we now journey together through this Year of Eucharistic Mission, we are called to renew our mission to carry the Presence of Christ forth into our families, our community, and our world. We find the strength to do this in the beautiful gift of the Eucharist, and so now more than ever we invite you to consider entering into the ministry of serving as an Adoration Apostle for this academic year. The signup may be found here: St. Joe Adoration Apostle. We encourage everyone to prayerfully discern being an Apostle for one of our 30- or 60-minute time blocks, but if you would like to just be on our substitute list then please complete this substitute form. If you have any questions or concerns, please email adoration@stjoeparish.com.