Workers Prayer Service

May 1st, 2012 -7pm

Celebrating Catholic Social Teaching on the Dignity of Labor and the one year anniversary of our new church!

We will be blessing our beautifulWorkers Wall mural & a memorial to Dorothy Day, founder of theCatholic Workers Movement

Special Guests & Speakers:

Martha Hennessy — Granddaughter of Dorothy Day
Judy Barnett — Utah AFL-CIO

JOIN US MONDAY, APRIL 30 AT 7 PM
TO VIEW A FILM ABOUT DOROTHY DAY.

May 1, 2012 will be the first anniversary of the dedication of the new St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, 7405 South Redwood Road. To mark the occasion, the parish is planning a special prayer service at 7 pm followed by a blessing of our new Workers Wall mural and a memorial to Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Workers movement. Martha Hennessy, granddaughter of Dorothy Day, will be our special guest for the May 1 event. Other speakers include Judy Barnett of the AFL-CIO and Father Patrick F. Carley. Senator Karen Mayne .

This event is not just for Catholics. We are inviting representatives from other faiths and other parishes. We hope all those who support workers and workers causes will plan on coming. The key focus will be the Dignity of Labor .

History

St. Joseph the Worker was built in 1965 by displaced miners from now vanished towns of Bingham Canyon such as Dinkeyville, Lark and Highland Boy. The miners were forced to leave these towns by the expanding copper mine. Many of them, immigrants and children of immigrants, settled in the south valley areas of West Jordan, South Jordan and Riverton. They were spiritual refugees until Rev. John Sullivan led an effort to build a new Catholic church for them in West Jordan. This church would be a home of their own, a welcoming place that would restore their sense of belonging and community.

The south valley Catholics didn't have much money but they were no strangers to hard physical labor. They built the church with their own hands. The church was placed under the patronage of St. Joseph the Worker, patron saint of the working man, in honor of these founders, men and women and children who put in long hours of work and effort for their newly found parish. Building St. Joseph the Worker Church was truly a labor of love by its founders.

The church served the community very well for 45 years. It was the site for countless baptisms, weddings and funerals and held a very special place in the hearts of parishioners. However, over the years, the beloved building started to show its age. Under the leadership of Father Patrick F. Carley, the parish began efforts to build a much-needed new church.

Despite an economic downturn and record unemployment which directly affected our community, parishioners once again pitched in with donations and hard work. They built the beautiful new structure which stands today. It is a true testament to their love and commitment to the St. Joseph the Worker Catholic community of West Jordan. The new church was dedicated on May 1, 2011, the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker.

Over the years the parish continues to be a welcoming place where people from many diverse backgrounds and cultures come to be joined in a strong sense of community. The church, in fact, draws a good number of Catholics from outside the parish boundaries who are drawn to the West Jordan church by its warm and welcoming nature. The church remains a working class parish with down-to-earth parishioners who are happy to pitch in when work needs to be done.

Click here to read a Salt Lake Tribune article for more interesting information about our history.

Leadership

Father Patrick F. Carley was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1945. His birthday is October 4, the Feast of St. Francis, so he was named Patrick Francis by his devout parents, Margaret and Luke, both now deceased. He is the oldest of five siblings- 4 boys, one girl- all living. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers in primary and secondary schools. He was ordained on June 7, 1969 at St. Patrick's Seminary in Thurles, his hometown, after 6 years of education in Philosophy, Theology and Scripture. Since arriving in the U.S., he has earned a Masters Degree in Social Work (1987) and a Law Degree from the University of Utah (1992).

Father Carley arrived in Utah in 1969 and has served in many parishes in the Salt Lake Diocese. His first parish was St. Vincent's, then St. Ambrose. He has also served at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes. His longest stint was at St. Mary's in Park City. During this time he and his parishioners sponsored a brother and sister from Vietnam, Vo and Ying Houang. Father remains close to the family to this day. He has been at St. Joseph's since 2000.

Father Carley's first love is athletics- especially Hurling (an Irish game) and Soccer. He won state championships in his younger days. From this background he was very keen to develop a sports field for the kids of St. Joseph the Worker. It is now a valuable gem of the parish.

Since 2007, he has worked tirelessly to raise funds to build a much-needed new Church Worship and Welcome Center for St. Joseph's. While more money still needs to be raised, ground-breaking on the beautiful, award-winning new church is expected to take place in December 2009.

Father Pat now holds US citizenship but he has never lost his Irish identity or his strong love of Ireland. He returns there every summer for vacation and has sponsored many tours there. He has discovered that his fascination with Ireland is shared by many Americans, especially those of Irish ancestry. In response, he helped found the Hibernian Society of Utah 30 years ago. This group promotes the culture and history of Ireland and hosts ceilis, festivals, lectures and reading, the Siamsa and the ever-popular Salt Lake City Saint Patrick's Day parade.

June 7, 2009 marked 40 years of the Sacred Priesthood for the Reverend Patrick Carley. He has made an extraordinary impact on the lives of so many people. St. Joseph the Worker parishioners feel blessed to have Father Carley as their pastor.

Pictured on the left- Father Carley and his loyal pet Sally. She passed away in 2009. Fathers constant companion since he rescued her many years ago.

Sister Fabian passed away on April 21, 2011. It was our greatest hope that she would attend our Dedication Mass on May 1, 2011, but sadly this was not to be. Saint Joseph the Worker will be forever in her debt. She was an invaluable part of our parish community for 27 years. Our parish social hall is named "Sister Fabian Hall" in her honor.

Please click here to read a brochure about Sr. Fabian that was used at her Memorial Mass at St. Joseph the Worker.

Programs

Children's

Religious Education for Children
Children's Choir
St. Joe's Summer Day Camp
Boys and Girls Altar Servers
Boy Scouts
Girl Scouts
Cub Scouts

Attention Parish Groups

In an effort to reduce duplicate costs for consumable items purchased for St Joseph's Parish activities. It has been decided and approved by Father Carley that The WOW council will be responsible for keeping track of and approving the purchase of any consumable items such as condiments and/or paper goods that are purchased for stock or use in any Parish activity. The WOW will keep track of consumables for the parish and will authorize the purchase as needed for these items. It would be helpful for all if The WOW council is notified before items are purchased for the Parish. If you have any questions please contact Patrice Eliason, Jeanne Audiss, or Suzanne Turner for further information.

Youth Group

Camping, boating and swimming make summer loads of fun! Our Youth Group is a fantastic bunch of kids and we've done some great activities every summer. Currently for 2011- Marching in the St. Paddy's Day Parade, gone Ice Skating, Tubing- these are just a few of the activities that our Youth Group have done this year.

Come join us (7th grade and up) they generally try to meet at least once per month. Watch the bulletin for details . We meet in the Sister Fabian Hall.

We'd love to have you!

Women of the Worker

Ours is a supportive and friendly group that has something for women of all ages and interests.

You are welcome whether you come to every meeting or only occasionally. We understand that women have other obligations. All women of St. Joseph the Worker are de facto members of WOW.

Come and join us and make some new friends!

Bunco Nights

Bonnets & Breakfast Buffet

Silent Auction

Guest Speakers

Men's Groups

Knight's of Columbus- The Knights of St. Joseph the Worker have been an integral part of the parish since our early days. This is a Family and Fraternal organization open to Catholic men.

Men's Social Group- This is an informal social group open to all men of the parish.

Golden Seniors

Are you looking to socialize with other people from the parish in a casual setting? Look no further- The Golden Seniors are a terrific group of parishioners (55 years young and up) who gather once a month for a potluck Lunch followed by BINGO. Once a year they have an outing to Wendover and a special Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. These seniors know how to have a great time with laughter and lots of delicious food.

Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church • 7405 Redwood Rd. West Jordan

Workers Prayer Service

May 1st, 2012 -7pm

History

Leadership

Publications

Parish Registration

Weekly Bulletin