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On A Pebble, The True Meaning Of Christmas

• Written by St. Joseph's Parish

Hundreds of beautifully hand-painted pebbles with images of the baby Jesus have been scattered around a coastal town by a man who wants to remind hectic shoppers of the true meaning of Christmas.

The tiny stones found in Newquay, Cornwall, feature Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, and have been delighting busy Christmas shoppers, who have found them on bollards, in phone boxes, at cash points, and on window ledges.

Each stone has been painstakingly painted by a local artist who wishes to remain anonymous.  

He said he came up with the idea a few months ago and simply wanted to bring joy and the real message of Christmas to people.

Since he started in September the artist has spent nearly 90 hours painting around 300 pebbles which he scatters around the town on certain days.  

 

Read More At Mail Online...

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Senior's Young @ Heart Group

• Written by St. Joseph's Parish

 Senior's Young @ Heart Group who visited the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse in October 2008. The Seniors meet once a month September through June for lunch and a program of some type. We usually take a field trip in the fall when the autumn colors are at their peak and in 2008 we decided to visit the Shrine.

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Human, Spiritual, and Social Development Committee

• Written by Char and Larry Hargis

The Human, Spiritual, and Social Development Committee is a little known but very active group at St. Joseph's church. The group is comprised of 9 parishioners who meet on an 'as needed' basis to plan, organize, and implement the various seasonal outings,family events, and spiritual enrichment programs that you may have attended or participated in over the past few years. The group is headed by Father John Steiner, our pastor. Current members of the committee are Kathy and Tony Smetana, Tom and Denise Gearing, Phil and Fritz Arndt, Larry and Char Hargis, Shirley Lunde, and Jean Lee. Programs and events organized by the committee over the past few years have been the Pancake Breakfast (geared as a fundraising event), the Spring Social, the Church Picnic, Spaghetti Dinner (fundraising event), Family Night at the Movies (at Falls Cinema) and Family Movie Night (held in the Smetana's back yard on a beautiful pre-autumn evening). Scripture study programs were held in the past and most recently, the Committee worked in conjunction with the CCD staff in sponsoring diocesan speakers for the CCD parent's faith enrichment programs. On one particular Wednesday CCD evening a dinner was prepared and served to the CCD children and their parents by the Committee prior to the diocesan speaker's presentation. This event was a welcome break for the parents as they did not have to worry about cooking supper that evening. The Human, Spiritual, and Social Development Committee is a faith-filled, hard-working, and fun-loving group. Our goal is to help nourish and augment parish faith and family life. The best part of belonging to the committee is having fun while working together and knowing that we are doing God's will.

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Our Creed

• Written by Katie Edwards

 

Do your children know how to say the Apostle’s Creed?  My seventh graders do not know.  Why do I insist? First of all, it states our beliefs in a nut shell.  It also begins the rosary.  Many students are more familiar with the longer Nicene Creed said after the homily. 

 

APOSTLES CREED

     I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into hell.  The third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

 

   The Nicene Creed was written during the 4^th century AD in an attempt to unify the Christian Church under Emperor Constantine.  The Apostles Creed was formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism.  (It is the belief that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god). Gnosticism appeared shortly after the rise of Christianity.  There is a 5^th century legend that each of the apostles dictated part of the Apostles Creed after Pentecost.

 

Read more: Our Creed

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CatholicVote.com

• Written by St. Joseph's Parish