Ministries and Apostolates

Our love of others is a fruit of our faith and confidence in God’s love for us. At St. Joseph Catholic Church we have more than 35 ministries and apostolates by which we serve.

For Spanish Ministry contacts, please see the Pastoral Hispano section.

The most important thing we do at St. Joseph is to gather together to worship in Sunday Liturgy. When we share the Eucharist, we become more and more the one we remember, the one we praise and thank, and the one whose Body and Blood we eat and drink. In short, we become the Body of Christ.

We help facilitate the celebration of the liturgy by providing Altar Servers to assist the celebrant, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for distributing the Eucharist, Ushers for seating the congregation and collecting the offertory, Lectors to proclaim the Scriptures, Greeters to welcome those who come to Mass, and Music to enhance the worship experience.

For Spanish Ministry contacts, please see the Pastoral Hispanio section

Liturgical Inquiry

Altar Servers

Altar Society

This is a special group that often works in concert with the Art and Environment ministry. Four teams alternate each week to collect and wash altar linens,and straighten and dust the sanctuary and the chapel. A team will volunteer for three hours each month. They do not vacuum, wash windows or do heavy cleaning. Three times a year there is a workday and all members are invited to assist.

For more information on this ministry, please contact Chairperson, Mary Ambrose via our Liturgical Inquiry Form.

En espanol, contacto: Lidia Tejada

Arts and Environment

Extraordinary Ministers

Flower Donations

Lectors

Music and Choirs

Our Music Ministry is comprised of various choirs that serve at each of our Masses. For information on any of our choirs, contact us via our Liturgical Inquiry Form or individual coordinators.

5:30 PM Vigil Choir and 8:00 AM Choir

From the quartet that comprised this group in the early 2000s, this choir has grown considerably to its current ensemble of singers and instrumentalists and different members sing at the 5:30 PM Saturday, 8 AM Sunday Masses. They provide a mix of traditional and contemporary music that are selected to enhances the understanding and appreciation of the biblical readings for the week. The choir is accompanied by the organ. Anyone with the slightest interest in music and strong enthusiasm to sing is invited to join this choir family!

Those who sing at 8 AM practice on Mondays at 6 PM in Room 251.

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11:00 AM
Coordinator: Mark Wenthe

The choir for the 11:00 AM Mass leads the congregation in singing and encourages all parishioners to participate. It does this through primarily traditional church music of composers from the classics to modern, from Gregorian chant to folk music, blending men’s and women’s voices in harmony or unison. The choir is accompanied by the organ. The choir is open to all. One does not have to have a trained singing voice or be able to read music. A love of singing is the only requirement.

They practice on Thursdays at 6 PM and also 9:30 am prior to mass.

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7:30 Spanish Vigil Choir
Coordinator: Jorge Galdamez

This Spanish Choir combines music and instruments from Central and South American cultures for our 7:30 PM Saturday Mass in Spanish. It is accompanied by guitar, piano, and percussion instruments.

They practice on Saturday at 6 PM in Room 226.
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2:00 PM Spanish Choir
Coordinator: Vitelio Tejada

This choir provides music for our 2:00 PM Mass in Spanish. They practice on Sundays at 12:30 PM in Room 226.
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Praise Band Choir
Coordinator: Hillary Davis

The Praise Band shares their ministry primarily in Christian contemporary music. The ensemble is comprised of members of high school juniors or seniors, UGA students and other members of the parish family. On any given Sunday, the 5:00 pm Eucharistic celebration may be supplemented with vocals, guitar, piano, and drums.

The Praise Band practices on Sunday at 4:30 PM. We are always open to new members with a heartfelt desire to make a joyful noise unto the Lord!
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Ushers and Greeters

Funeral Planning

The life of a Catholic makes no sense unless it is a life of constant spiritual growth. To cease to grow in our spiritual lives is to become indifferent to God, deaf to Christ’s constant loving call to us.

These ministries give us the opportunity to not only serve the Lord but to also grow our faith beyond our Confirmation into the Church.

For Spanish Ministry contacts, please see the Pastoral Hispano section

Spiritual Inquiry

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Bible Study Groups

Women's Evening of Reflection

Consecration to Mary

Sick and Homebound

Disciples of Jesus and Mary

Rosary Opportunities

The parish community has a special role in promoting participation in the life, mission, and work of the faith community.

The parish is where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. Not only are they where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, but where believers join in fellowship. An extension of our own homes, our Parish is the heart of our Catholic community. Parish life enables God’s people to meet Jesus in word, sacrament and in each other.

Check out our Photo Albums to see some of the fun things we do at St. Josephs!

For Spanish Ministry contacts, please see the Pastoral Hispano section

Parish Life Inquiry

Athens Catholic Radio

Columbiettes

Craft Guild

Gift Shop

Knights of Columbus

Welcome Committee

Young at Heart

Feasts 4 Families

Friday FEST

Our social teaching is based on and inseparable from our understanding that every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family. Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to a life consistent with that dignity. Human dignity comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment.

Through our various apostolates, we seek to address the many issues that confront us…poverty, hunger, housing, homelessness, imprisonment and immigration– educate and advocate for the least among us. We also assist with local Habitat for Humanity’s home builds.

For Spanish Ministry contacts, please see the Pastoral Hispano section.

Click here for information from the Bishops of the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Justice and Peace.

Community Care Inquiry Form

Local Assistance

Family Promise of Athens

Religious Freedom

Our religious freedom as Americans is guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”

The Religious Freedom Committee of St. Joseph’s parish aims to guard and protect the religious freedom that we enjoy as citizens of the United States. We inform our parish of issues that threaten religious freedom and recommend courses of action to combat these threats. We are not a partisan group, and we confront these issues wherever they may exist. We pray a rosary for our country each Saturday at 9:30 AM in our Mary Garden (weather permitting)

For more information, please contact Marty Lendenham via our Community Care Inquiry Form.

WHO WE ARE:

This committee was formed on July Fourth, 2013, to take action against the attack on religious freedom that was included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. This act defined a religious organization in a way that included only the worship facility and excluded many of our charitable organizations as well as our educational institutions. Yet Holy Scripture tells us in the Epistle of St. James that worship is only the beginning of the true definition. “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves . . . Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. ” Our American bishops have called for our support for religious freedom, and we are acting in response to their call. It is important to note that leaders of other religions have joined the Catholic Church in protesting these provisions of the ACA. Among those testifying before Congress and speaking out against the violation of the First Amendment were Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist and Jewish leaders.

WHAT WE DO:

We continue to inform parishioners of the ongoing challenges to religious freedoms at home and abroad and encourage and support responses that reflect our Catholic faith including the important responsibility of voting our well-developed Catholic consciences.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

STAY INFORMED!

Heritage Foundation

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

Faithful Citizenship

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS!

Write our US Senators at:

Office of Senator (Name)

United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Write our US Representatives at:

Office of Representative (Name)

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Call the US Capitol Switchboard at:(202) 224-3121

CALL TO PRAYER:

Join parishioners after the 8:30 Saturday Mass to pray the rosary for the intention of Religious Freedom. We meet in church or weather permitting, at the Mary Garden.

The power of the Rosary can be traced back to the Battle of Lepanto. This military triumph is also a Marian feast and underscores our image of the Blessed Virgin prefigured in the Canticles of Canticles: “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?”

CURRENT FOCUS:

PREPARE

to vote in the elections

VISIT ONLINE

the Georgia My Voter Page to find the following voting information:

…Voter registration status…Mail-In application and ballot status Poll location…Early voting locations…Elected Officials…Registration information on file with the county office… Sample ballot for the upcoming election…Provisional Ballot status…

as well as to Register to Vote or CALL 706-769-3958

NOTE:

2024 election dates

Presidential primary: March 12, registration deadline Feb. 12, early voting from Feb. 19 – March 8.
State primary and non-partisan election: May 21, registration deadline April 22, advance voting period from April 29 – May 17.
General election: Nov. 5, registration deadline Oct. 7, advance voting period Oct. 14 – Nov. 1.

Ministries and Apostolates

Liturgical Ministries

Spiritual Opportunities

Parish Life Organizations

Community Care

Liturgical Ministries

Spiritual Opportunities

Parish Life Organizations

Community Care