February 5, 2010
Dubois County: A testament to christian love
By MIKE HAGERDON (CRE, St. Joseph Church, Jasper)
Dubois County has experienced one of the most significant contractions in the wood industry in memory. It has resulted in both unemployed and under employed and the need has continued to grow. St. Joseph Church in Jasper has been a cornerstone of the community. For years the parish has been a faithful and consistent supporter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. A regular collection is taken to aid the society. The president of our parish St. Vincent de Paul reports funded requests have grown by nearly 300 percent in the past two years. Funding for this ministry is also derived from the operation of the St. Vin-cent de Paul retail store in Jasper.
Catholic Charities and their related ministries continue to have the support of St. Joseph parish in several ways, the most significant is dedicated space provided for their area office plus use of the parish when requested.
The Hispanic ministry and their outreach have also been welcomed by St. Joseph’s. The church is used for a weekly bilingual Mass plus the use of the parish center provides rooms for educational and social opportunities.
The youth of St. Joseph joined with youth from Holy Family and Precious Blood to collect food and money for the area Food Bank plus Right to Life. They based their collection on Matthew 25. It became a parish wide collection for all three parishes that culminated on April 1, 2009, when the students met at St. Joseph’s Activity Center and loaded thousands of food items into a delivery truck provided by Boeckman’s Furniture for delivery to the Food Bank. They also provided a “Tree for Life” spouting cash and checks plus diapers and baby supplies for Matrix Right to Life. The leadership of our youth was an example to the community. The combined parishes will be doing this again in the Spring of 2010.
A major step taken to assist those in need was the formation of the Dubois County Community Meal. St. Joseph Church, lead by the Holy Spirit, helped form a core group that quickly grew into an ecumenical ministry in the form of a soup kitchen. They served their first meal on May 9, 2009. St. Joseph has supported this ministry in numerous ways and has added a second collection every month to help fund the ongoing needs. Several area churches are active in making this community program a testament to Christian Love. In the month of December they humbly provided over 2,200 meals.