Today as we gather for the Eucharist, we have returned to the greens of Ordinary Time for the first Sunday since last February. After all the celebrations of the Lenten and Easter Season, as well as the Solemnities of Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, the Church calls us back to Ordinary Time. For the next five and a half months, our Sunday Scriptures will have us focus on the active ministry of the Lord. On this 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear Jesus asking His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Our own answer to that question is the most important of our lives. Jesus reminds us in Luke's Gospel today, that we must not only profess faith in Him as the Christ, but also take up our crosses daily and follow him.

At St. Joseph Church, we have received a new set of green banners for our pillars for Ordinary Time. These banners were made by the Bramante Studio in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, the same company that made our Advent/Lent and Christmas/Easter banners. These beautiful tapestries are a gift to St. Joseph Parish from Dr. Paul Hund, in memory of Donald and Marie Maahs.

Today we also join Americans throughout our nation in celebrating Father's Day. At our Masses this weekend, we salute in a psecial way all the fathers in our congregation. We offer prayers for our fathers and grandfathers, living and deceased, on this special day. At this point in our history we are keenly aware of the great need for strong Christian fathers in our families.

Today, all our parishioners who have been confirmed, are asked to vote for three candidates for our Parish Council. I hope that you had the opportunity to read the biographies of our seven candidates in the insert in last Sunday's bulletin. I am grateful to Kerry Brungardt, Leo Fink, Maureen Hernandez, Colleen Rogers, Patty Scharinger, Laura Todd, and Mary Wheaton for allowing their names to be placed on this year's Parish Council Ballot. Please place your completed ballot (with your signature) in the "second collection" today.

I plan to give you and update on our St. Joseph Parish Parking Lot Project at all the Masses this weekend. We are finally ready to undertake the first phase of this major project! Please keep the safety of our workers and the successful and timely completion of the project in your prayers.

Don't forget that next Saturday, June 26, is our Third Annual St. Joseph Parish Germanfest! We will begin with a German Heritage Mass at 4:00p.m. with the Ethnic Choir of Kansas City, led by Ed Grisnik. From 5-7:30p.m. we will be serving a great German meal, with an outdoor German dance in our "parish beer garden" from 6-10:00p.m. Plan on joining us for a fun evening! All proceeds will help us with the St. Joseph Parking Lot Project!

God bless you always!