This weekend members of our parish will celebrate the Women of the Year Awards.  St. Joseph’s Woman of the Year is Teresa Weber.  We are very happy for her and grateful for all she has done to make St. Joseph Church a better and happier parish.  Women from all the parishes of the McHenry Deanery will gather with their pastors, families and Bishop Malloy to honor their “Women of Inspiration”!

We have such wonderful women to put forward each year because we have a great Altar & Rosary Society.  This society gathers for various events and fundraisers so that they can in turn help our parish in so many ways.  I am grateful for their wonderful work which is helping us to redo the bathrooms in the church hall, provide for new vestments and liturgical items used to celebrate Mass and lend it reverence.

As every woman in our parish automatically retains membership in the Altar & Rosary Society, I want to encourage every one of our great women to help where and when you can as various needs arise.  Whether it be baking, helping with a funeral luncheon, the plant sales, the rummage sale, or different dinners of fellowship throughout the year, the  greater involvement, the stronger the organization and the better the support to St. Joseph Church.

As pastor, I want to thank the women of our parish, organized as this society, for the cooperation and generosity which help support my work and ministry at our parish.  Thank you one and all for this good work you do and may God bless you in wonderful and joyous way!

PS:  In many of our parishes, societies like ours are dissolving and have fallen into none existence.  Let it not happen here!