St.

Joseph the Worker

A Catholic Parish striving to be “Amazing.”

Place
Place
Scripture: Used projectors up in
God’s Mercy: The way the church
the front to display words of the
pews were organized in a
psalms. Everyone could see &
circular fashion helped point
participate.
everyone's focus towards God.
This connects everyone together
when cherishing God.

Church: The way this Church is designed is very different from that
of the Lutheran Church we observed. It is built in one big circle. The
windows are made from traditional stained glass. The tabernacle
was stored in a cylinder built into the altar. There is seating in the
back of the church for the elderly members.
People
People
Church: A very large amount of
people, varying ages, strong
crowd of younger aged people.
The people make up the church.
When we gather together to
celebrate the mass we are
representatives of what is
awaiting us in Heaven.
Scripture: A lay person stood up
during the homily to talk about
the scripture of the day. This is
a response to their emphasis on
St. Paul’s command to give “But
rise and stand on your feet; for I
appeared to you for this purpose,
to appoint you to serve and bear
witness to the things.”

God’s Mercy: There were many people who attended mass. They gave
back an hour to God since he is merciful and gave them everything.
The church also brings a video of mass and eucharist to the
homebound in the community.
Piety
Piety
God’s Mercy: The members of
the church are very close and
involved with one another. They
outwardly show their prayers
and strongly showed God’s
Mercy through prayers.
Scripture: Contemporary style
of worship reflects St. Paul’s
evangelical call in scripture. They
are reflecting what the
communities should be:
Continually learning about Jesus
and displaying scripture in more
contemporary ways (through
music, videos, etc.)

Church- One observation we made was that the Church was

aiming to be contemporary in order to reach more people. Also
we still think about those who we lost, and we still consider
them part of the church, although they are part of it in heaven.

Fr Ken- “I see a oneness that exists in every place and every

time”
 “People are always
affected by where and
Time
when they worship…”
-White
Time
Church: Different times change Scripture: “Mercy in Motion”
the type of people that go, Campaign. Scripture calls us to
sometimes there are older be merciful--St. Joe’s striving to
people and sometimes more have conversations about it
college students. inside & outside of the mass.
For example: Connected Year of
Gods Mercy: This is shown
Mercy with daily scripture and
through all the available times,
Zacchaeus. Jesus had mercy on
St. Joseph has many different
a man who was seen as the
times for mass. Also these
scum of the earth.
masses fill up with hundreds of
people.
Preaching

Father Gabriel: Pastor

Preaching
Church: Members of the church
were given a part in the homily
to voice their opinions and tell
their stories.
God’s Mercy: The Priest was very
comfortable with the people and
would direct his homilies toward
things that the people could
relate to. This made it easier to
understand and therefore
showing how God is merciful.

Scripture: (Interview Father Mark Murphey) “Scripture is completely

central, because in a way, God speaks to us, through scripture…. I like
to place myself within the story to help me understand.” St. Joe’s
Allowed others to voice their opinions during homily and witness—St.
Paul on being good witnesses and being able to “give a reason for your
faith.”
Prayer

Prayer
God’s Mercy: God’s Mercy is
clearly seen through the prayers
of Petition where people ask for
God to help people in need.
Scripture: St. Joe’s “Mercy in
Motion” campaign--picked prayer
partners before mass so
everyone had petition.
Reminiscent of Mass = a work.
This idea of intentionally praying
for one another is biblical!
(James 5:16--“Pray for one
another that you might be
healed.”)

Church: The church gives us a safe space to worship. And we have a

community of people to pray for us when we need it. We also
gather together to pray for those who have passed away.

Fr. Ken- “Even if I’m in a different country I can still experience the
mass”
Music
Music
Church: A ton of singing, everyone
was very into the service and
singing, made it feel like a
community and much closer.
God’s Mercy: Many of the songs
are modern and upbeat. They also
focus on all of the happy and
wonderful ways in which God is
merciful towards his people
Scripture: Sang songs that are
directly from the psalms or
reflect teaching from scripture.
Use of contemporary music is in
response to a biblical call to
mercy: They desire to “bring the
young people back to church” by
making themselves more a
more dynamic parish..
(Parishioner quote 10/30/2016)