Thank you for visiting the St. Joseph Catholic Church website!

Here at St. Joseph Church, we promote stewardship by encouraging parishioners to acknowledge that everything we have is a gift from God.  We provide opportunities through our many ministries to express our gratitude to Him by using our marvelous gifts of time, talent and financial resources to be true disciples of Jesus Christ.  This message is conveyed in the parish Vision Statement:

To develop a parish whose culture enables each person to embrace the Biblical Mandate:  "Not  to be served but to serve"  (Mark: 10:45), to love the Lord with all his/her heart, soul and being and to love others in truth, justice, and charity.

St. Joseph is a diverse parish of Catholics who are united in their Catholic beliefs.  Our desire is that all parishioners, as members of the body of Christ, will feel personally connected to the parish, thereby growing in love of God and each other.  If you are a member of the parish but have not been attending Mass, please know that you are missed and we encourage you to join us in the celebration of the Eucharist as well as other activities.

Advocacy for People with Disabilities

The Diocese of Harrisburg is committed to working toward full participation of people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of the life of the Church.  The Diocesan Office of Ministry for People with Disabilities initiated the Parish Advocacy Program in 2007 to enable parishes to better respond to the gifts and needs of their parishioners with disabilities. 

Chris Ransier has been appointed by Monsignor Lyons to serve as our Parish Advocate.  A Parish Advocate works with the pastor and also the Office of Ministry with People with Disabilities in the diocese.   This person strives to assist parishioners with disabilities to become full participants in the life of the church – spiritually, physically and socially. 

 If you or someone you know is limited in participation at St. Joseph Parish and this could be improved by special accommodations please let Chris know how we might work with you to remove roadblocks to full inclusion in our parish life.  She can be reached by calling the Parish Office at 637-5236 or at kwrcmr@comcast.net.  Please leave your name, contact information and the most convenient time for a call back.  

St. Joseph Parish has enlisted Parish Giving to provide its members with the opportunity to use Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) as an alternative method for giving. The Program is free of charge for parishioners.

Click on Parish Giving logo above to register for the program.

Parish Giving allows participants to donate a recurring contribution that is automatically transferred from your checking or savings account, or even credit card, on a monthly basis, and you select your own billing date. This Program can be utilized for your Sunday contributions, as well as any Holy Day Collection and all diocesan collections.

The use of EFT is not only time saving and convenient for you, but also allows our Parish to realize a more consistent level of support. By signing up for Parish Giving, you will know that you are doing your part to support the Parish even at times you are not able to be physically present to celebrate with the Parish Community.

Msgr. Lyons Blessing the Ultrasound Machine at Tender Care in Hanover. The Hanover Knights of Columbus raised the funds for this equipment

Costco's Volunteers:  Volunteer drivers are still needed to travel on Sunday mornings to Costco's in Harrisburg to pick up the bakery goods that are then distributed to the needy of St. Joseph's parish.  Please consider volunteering for this important ministry -- it can be monthly, bi-monthly, once every three months, etc.  Contact Deacon Tom for information (637-5236).

 Adult in home bible study is starting up again.  This bible study will cover Jonah/Ruth “Love Crosses Boundaries.” The group will meet for six weeks.  You have your choice of either Mondays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Tuesdays from 6:30 – 8:00 PM or Thursdays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM.  The sessions will start the week of March 15^th and end the week of April 26^th.  Sign-up for the bible study is taking place after Mass on the weekends of February 14 – 15 and 21 – 22.   The cost of materials is $8.00 per person.  For more information call or e-mail Bob & Chris Ullmann at 634-2059 or rullmann6@centurylink.net

A sign up form is listed below:

Order forms for 150 Anniversary St Joseph Crocks, select the link below.

After all Christmas Masses at St. Joseph Church, attendees received a gift from the parish, a book titled “The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic” by Matthew Kelly.   The book is about taking the next small step towards becoming a Dynamic Catholic.  St. Joseph Parish wants to help you take those steps.  As a follow up to the gift, the parish will be holding book discussion sessions every Thursday evening from January 15^th through February 12^th.  Please plan to attend these discussion sessions starting Thursday,

January 15th at 6:30 PM in the Msgr. Gribbin parish center.  A FREE DINNER will be served at this first session.  Additional sessions will be held on the Thursday evenings of January 22nd and 29th as well as

February 5th and 12th at 7:00 PM.  If you wish to attend the January 15th session, please call the parish office at 637-5236 or send an e-mail to mawparish@gmail.com by Monday, January 12th to register.

You are welcome to invite (and must register) friends and family members to attend with you

Our prayers are with you in making the decision to attend.

Msgr. James M. Lyons

Pastor

Two busloads of St. Joseph Parish members travelled to the PennsylvaniaStateMuseum in  Harrisburg on Saturday June 14, 2014, for a special viewing of the fourteen Stations of the Cross paintings which previously hung in their original parish church on Baltimore Street in Hanover. The paintings are not normally on display, but the Museum set up a special one-day viewing exclusively for St. Joseph parishioners and friends as part of their year long 150^th Anniversary observance. Anniversary Chairman Dan Ernst coordinated the event with Museum Director David Dunn.

            Prior to the Museum visit, the pilgrimage group attended Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral celebrated by the new Harrisburg Diocese Bishop, Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer. Bishop Gainer then accompanied the group to the StateMuseum for the special viewing.

             The beautiful, inspirational, and life-like 4x6 feet Stations of the Cross were painted by Lorenzo Scattaglia from 1877-1880. Mr. Scattaglia was a renowned Italian-born artist who then lived in Philadelphia.

            In 1963, the old church on Baltimore Street was condemned by the State as unsafe and razed. The Stations were saved and stored in the basement of the St. Joseph Rectory along with many of the stained glass windows and other artifacts since reused in the new church on Grandview Road. In 1977, in view of their deteriorating condition, the station paintings were donated to the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg with the understanding that the Museum would pay to have them restored and preserved. They have been housed at the Museum ever since.

The eastern entrance of the St. Joseph Cemetery was recently renovated with a new arch, wall and gates.  The project began in 2012 when Adrian “Abe” Aumen, St. Joseph parishioner, visited the cemetery to repair damage to his grandparents’ tombstone and noticed the deterioration of the old entrance.   Abe brought this to the attention of the parish staff but learned that funds were not available at the time.  Earlier this year, Abe did research with local contractors and manufacturers to determine what materials were available and, giving thought to John 16:24 “Ask and you shall receive”, asked if they would consider donating them to the parish.  Six different local companies donated their time, talent and materials to make the project a huge success.  Various local organizations, including the Knights of Columbus and Holy Name Society, along with several businesses and individual parishioners contributed financially to cover other costs.  Our thanks go to Mr. Aumen, the generous companies, the supportive organizations and individuals for creating the new and beautiful cemetery entrance.