​You will notice up in the corner of the sanctuary that we have a poster detailing our Centennial Project. We are moving forward with what we have been talking about for the past two years.

To recap, the Centennial Project is a way of providing space for our parish for the next 30 years (or more!). At the heart of the project is providing space for parish activities by making our present school cafeteria into our Parish Social Hall. We have already begun renovations on this space by putting down a new floor and making it a much more elegant space by adding eight-feet high wainscoting on the walls. We will paint and add new lighting soon. We will eventually renovate the kitchen.
This new Social Hall will be mostly adult-oriented with the added bonus of being able to rent it out for such things as weddings, baby and bridal showers, birthday, anniversary, graduation, and retirement parties, etc.

The new Social Hall in the former school cafeteria will necessitate a new cafeteria for our school (and while we are at it, provide a new media center and eight additional classrooms to adequately address the space needs of our children in REP and our parish grade school.

I know many of you will have lots of questions and feel free to ask me or Jerry Crawford, our parish manager. I have done extensive surveying of parish groups (CCW, Areba Club, PTO, Parish Council, Finance Council…heck, I have talked about this to anyone who will listen!) and everyone is very supportive of us moving forward.

I hope you get as excited about this project as everyone else is! We will have a big roll-out of our Capital Campaign most likely after Easter so keep your eye on the bulletin and find out as much about the Centennial Project as possible in the next couple of months!
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God Bless.

Vacation Bible School is coming!

Save the date: July 8 - 12. We’ll be on safari this year and are looking for volunteers.

​A volunteer meeting will be held on February 10 at 9:30 am.
 

What is the Secular Order of Franciscan - OFS (Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis)? Join us to explore the Franciscan charism to follow Jesus in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Gather with us on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the St. Joseph Center.

​We will meet next on Wednesday, January 30.
 

Please join St. Joan of Arc’s pro-life committee every 1st Friday of the month from 6:00 - 7:00 pm in the St. Lucy Chapel. We will hold a silent holy hour of praying in reparation to Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart for all the innocent unborn children lost to abortion. We will also pray for the conversion of each and every heart to God so that respect and dignity will be given to all human   beings created in His image and likeness, and that St. Joan of Arc Parish will be graced with hearts on fire for God and His plan for life from conception to natural death.
 

Bishop McDevitt High School invites you to a night of music and reflection with internationally known musician Steve Angrisano. Join us Monday, February 11 at 7:00 pm in Finestra Hall for a free concert with one of the most effective and versatile ministry leaders in the Church today. 
 
A veteran musician and composer, Steve has been featured at countless local diocesan and national events. Steve's easy, honest style of ministry is born from who he is: a committed witness to the life and love of Jesus Christ. Steve has also been featured at six World Youth Days and will perform for the McDevitt students at their retreat on February 12, 2019.

Learn more about Steve at www.wteveangrisano.com

Congratulations to those newly received in the Catholic Church on January 19, 2019
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Wayne Davidson
Helen Greening
Caitlyn Hoffman
 

This weekend we received into Full Communion in the Catholic Church three people who have been part of the RCIA process since last summer. We welcome Wayne Davidson, Helen Greening, and Caitlyn Hoffman as the newest members of the Catholic Church and as members of Saint Joan of Arc. Wayne, Helen, and Caitlyn were all baptized in other Christian churches and therefore they were formally received into the Catholic Church, and received the Sacrament of Confirmation and their First Holy Communion. I thank Earl Tropp and the RCIA Team for being faithful to their formation these past couple of months.
 
Speaking about being fully initiated, if you    remember from last year the Bishop gave permission for us priests to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on baptized Catholics from Ash Wednesday until Pentecost Sunday. If any of our parishioners were baptized and receive Holy Communion but were not confirmed for some reason, give us a call and we can help you  receive this wonderful Sacrament of  Confirmation.
 
This weekend we sadly mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe V. Wade which legalized abortion in this country.  As Catholics, we are all called to be great defenders of human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Please check out the bulletin for resources to direct pregnant women to, so as to avoid this grave sin of taking the life of a child in the womb, or to find healing from a past abortion. The Church is here to help! Every child is a blessing no matter the circumstances in which he or she was conceived. May we always be aware of the great blessing of children in our lives!

On February 3, a special collection will be held for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith Membership Appeal. This is the means through which the Holy Father supports more than 1,100 mission dioceses throughout the world. It assists with faith formation, the selection of native bishops, and the formation of seminarians, religious sisters and brothers, and lay catechists. As mission dioceses struggle to take root, SPOF also provides critical education, health, and social services.