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. 

Fran Strainer 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 Fran 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.   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.

St. Joseph Parish has received final approval from the Diocese of Harrisburg and local township authorities to construct a $2 million multi-purpose building addition. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this August with completion scheduled for March, 2017. The expansion will benefit most everyone in the parish with sorely needed space for the School of Religious Instruction (SRI) in the evenings, the elementary/middle school during the day, the year round Boy, Girl, and Cub scouting programs in the evenings, and additional meeting space for all other parish organizations.  The additional multi-purpose rooms will also increase the availability of the parish social hall for use by larger groups, especially on weekday evenings and weekends.

The new building will be west of and connected to the present Parish Center. It will consist of 8 large rooms, additional office and storage space, new restrooms, and an expansion of the present kitchen to meet our parish needs.

A building fund campaign, “Faith, Family, Future” has been organized to fund the building project. A floor plan and rendering of the new building appear below.

40 Days for Life 728 Beaver St. York commences on Wed. Sept. 28th and is a prayerful, peaceful, nonjudgmental effort to bring awareness of the abortion crisis in our country. There are 1.2 million babies aborted annually in the US (37,000 in Pa).  The York campaign consists of prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil outside the Planned Parenthood office.  Our goal is to convert all hearts to life, to inform women of alternatives to abortion available to them and their babies, and to heal the emotional pain felt by both women and men as a result of abortion.  For more info and vigil hours go to 40daysforlife.com/York or call Tom and Pattie Evans, campaign directors, at 717-235-8833.  You may pray Monday-Friday.  The Hanover area has been asked to cover all hours on Thursdays, that is, Noon-7pm.  Someone will always be with you on Thursdays.  Would you be able to help this campaign?  Thank you. 

Beginning Friday September 30, 2016 SAIC (Singles Alive in Christ) will begin a five-part series on THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary D. Chapman. According to Gary, "Love is the fundamental building block of all human relationships. It will greatly impact our values and morals. Love is the important ingredient in one’s search for meaning". We will be discussing many topics related to love so please come out and join us. Other dates the series will be offered are Fridays October 14, October 28, November 11 and December 9. All sessions are held in the Bishop Daley Library from 6:30-8PM. Please call Tanya with any questions at 717-634-7826.

The 2nd annual Biathlon Built for 2 and Mason Brady 5k will be held Saturday, Oct. 1st, starting at 9am at Codorus State Park. Registration and sponsorship information is available on the website at http://biathlonbuiltfor2.weebly.com or by contacting Rodney or Denise Markle at 717-633-7158. Proceeds will be split between the Mason Brady Scholarship Fund and Kurt Riser Medical Fund.

On October 6th from 6:30-8:30 there will be a talk on human trafficking at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Littlestown, PA (29 South Queen Street) in the parish hall. Let your family, friends, and neighbors know! Our speaker, Dee Martin, will give an overview of human trafficking and will conduct a very powerful "Walk in her shoes" exercise. You will learn the indicators of human trafficking and actions to take if suspicious. Free, but a good will offering for the speaker will be accepted. Please register by calling or texting Julie Abell 717-321-4664.

Coffee and Donuts will be served the following Sundays after Mass:  September 18, October 16, November 20 and December 18.

The Bittersweet Season - The Secretariat for Catholic Life & Evangelization presents on Saturday October 22, 2016 Forever in Our Hearts Ministry is offering a grief workshop for families that have lost a child due to miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion or infant death. Please join together as we prepare for the upcoming challenging season. The program will feature Leslie Delp, Founder of Olivia’s House and Bereavement Specialist and is being held at the Cardinal Keeler Center 4800 Union Deposit Road, Harrisburg from 9AM-12Noon. No registration is required.

St. Joseph will be holding a coat drive during the month of October--please bring all new and used coats to the boxes provided in the back of church.   Donations given to:  Adams and York County Rescue Missions.

Knights of Columbus Hanover Council 871 is holding a Raffle of a Custom Motorcycle Rocker. Proceeds from the raffle to benefit playground equipment at the new St. Joseph's School now under construction. Tickets are available at the Parish Office. Tickets are $2.00 @ or 3 for $5.00.   The drawing will be held on November 12, 2016 at the Parish Christmas Bazaar.