Before
the 20th Century | Mission
Years | Early
Parish Years
The
Waiting Years | A
Time of Rebirth | A
Time of Renewal
A TIME OF RENEWAL
Through the leadership of Fr. Doussan, the life that had been reborn in recent years
blossomed even more. Rapidly changing times were calling the people of St. Joseph the
Worker into deeper awareness of who they were to God, and who God was to them.�
There were new developments in liturgy, sacramental development, education, youth
programs, programs for the poor and for seniors, and ministries to the poor. School
enrollment increased from 230 students in 1970 to 250 students in 1972. More attention
was paid to music and the arts, educational basics, cultural understanding and diversity.
The school PTA came into its own sponsoring many fund-raises.
Food drives; toy drive and the St. Vincent DePaul Society made major contributions to
organizations that worked with the poor. They also committed themselves to extensive
direct service.
1973 was a significant year. The Vietnam War ended, the Watergate Crisis in Washington
started, and it was also the 50th Anniversary of St. Joseph the Worker Church. That same
year the parish council voted to tithe 4% of the weekly parish income to support a poor
Catholic mission in Guatemala. The Liturgy Committee held a workshop to help
parishioners
understand the incorporation of Black Culture into the Catholic liturgy.
And....A decision
was made to commence construction of a brand new church that could
better meet the needs of this prosperous church.
In August, the property that had been purchased in1951 for $ 11,000 was sold to
McDonald�s for $ 200,000. Some of the money was used to build two new classrooms
and the rest was to
finance a new church. In 1975, St. Joseph the Worker welcomed into
its family several
Vietnamese families which had come to the United States after the end
of the
War in Vietnam.
They were welcomed and introduced to the congregation at a mass
in late
May. In broken English, one of the new parishioners told of their journey from
Asia to America. In the following years the Vietnamese community grew, and several
were educated
at St. Joseph the Worker School. Later, a special C.C.D. program was
established for them,
and a Sunday evening mass was said in their native language
every week.
In 1977 a contract was signed for construction to begin on the brand new church.
Ground
breaking was on January 15th of 1978. An estimated 700 people gathered for
the great event. The old church was sold for $ 2000 to Heavenly Star Missionary Baptist
Church in Marrero. The old church was placed on rollers, and moved intact to its new
location where it still sits today. You can see it today on Cohen Street, just across the
Westbank Expressway.
The first mass was celebrated in the new church in March of
1979. This was a joyous day for all the people of St. Joseph the Worker.
1980 to the present marked many significant events to the life of the parish. Fr. Ferdinand
Cheri established the Youth Gospel Choir and later the Adult Gospel Choir came into
being.The Knights of Peter Claver, the Knights of Columbus, their Ladies` Auxiliaries
and Children�s Groups made major contributions to the community. The Parish Fair
and other fundraising events supported family life. Over forty-five lay ministries made
their mark on the community.
In 1990, Fr. Doussan searched for some assistance with saying mass in the mushrooming
church community. Fr. Paul McQuillen answered the call, at first just to say mass. In 1991,
Fr. Paul accepted a position as the Associate Pastor.
Later that year, Fr. Doussan suffered a sudden heart attack and went on leave at which time
Fr. Paul took on the duties of the Parish Administrator. In March of that year Fr. Doussan
decided to move on and the position as the fifth Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church.
Today, he still serves in that capacity.
Copyright
� St. Joseph the Worker Church 2002 - 2003
Designed
By: CBX WebDesigns
|