New Mass Times

New Weekend Mass Schedule Begins December 2 & 3

Thank you for your patience while the weekend Mass schedule was thoughtfully and prayerfully reviewed. The Parish Pastoral Council has approved reducing the weekend Mass schedule to 5 Masses. Starting December 2 & 3, all Masses will be in the church and the new schedule will be:

Saturday 5:00 PM & Sunday 7:00 AM, 9:00 AM (Livestreamed), 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM

The 7:15 AM and 10:45 AM drive-in Masses and the 12:30 Sunday Mass will be discontinued.

There were 2 primary goals when considering Mass schedule changes:

• Create a vibrant worship experience at all Masses. Gathering in larger numbers builds stronger connections with our Lord and each other.
• Better utilize our limited pastoral and worship ministry resources. Over 120 ministers are required to support our 7 weekend Masses. Filling all these roles is a significant challenge.

Information reviewed in the decision-making process included St. Joseph Mass attendance since 2019, Mass schedules and pastoral support from surrounding parishes, and a parish-wide survey where over 1,000 parishioners provided feedback on potential schedule changes.

Here are some of the key findings:

• Weekend Mass attendance is down 32%. Sunday drive-in Masses and 12:30 PM Mass are regularly the least attended Masses.
• Minister support for some Masses is waning. Drive-in Mass ministers are experiencing fatigue after 2+ years of outdoor ministry, sometimes in extreme weather conditions; 12:30 is the most challenging mass to consistently secure ministry support.
• Most parishes offer 4 weekend Masses. Excluding combined parishes and those offering multi-lingual Masses, St. Joseph is the only area parish of our size offering more than 5 weekend Masses.
• Most parishioners will attend another Mass at St. Joseph. 68% of parishioners surveyed would choose another Mass time if their current Mass is discontinued.
• Almost 70% of 7:15 drive-in Mass attendees do so because there is no Mass in the church at that time.
• Distribution of survey comments from parishioners. Comments will be shared with parish and commission leaders to help improve our worship experience.

We respect and understand that some parishioners may be disappointed with these changes. We are blessed to belong to a vibrant parish that is not threatened by consolidation or closing like many other parishes have experienced. Parish leadership believes the new schedule is necessary to reinvigorate our worship experience, focus our pastoral and ministry resources, and position our parish for future growth.