Week One Hundred and Fifteen - Saint Joseph (Camp Springs)
5:00 Saturday afternoon mass, St. Joseph a.k.a. St. Joseph in the Hills, although if you ask me, it would be St. Joseph ON the Hill. St. Joseph Church in Camp Springs sits at the end of a long driveway at the top of a steep hill. Suffice it to say that you will not be attending mass here in the winter nor when there's even a threat of snow. In good weather though? It's kind of cool - a little red church, up high, all by itself, keeping watch over the neighborhood.
According to St. Joe's brief online history, the parish originated in 1845 with the construction of a log church by German immigrants. Today, St. Joseph in Camp Springs is the oldest Catholic parish in Campbell County, and the parish school, established in 1851, is the longest continuing Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Covington. How the school continues is beyond me - enrollment this year is a whopping 34 students, K thru 8th grades. The school itself doesn't appear much larger than a ranch house. The Sisters of Divine Providence, just down the road, staffed the school until 1978 when a shortage of nuns prompted a switch to lay faculty. Financial troubles in 1991 forced the seventh and eighth grades to be dropped, although they were reinstated the following year. Clearly, it's been a struggle for the school over the past several years, but I like this little school's perseverence and spirit. Go, Blackhawks!
Meanwhile, back at the church . . . Not a lot to see here. A square nave, roughly 14 rows of pews on each side, white walls, a small balcony. A few stained glass windows appear to be the originals but lack the glamour of some of the other stained glass from the same time period that I've seen. The altar takes center stage, a hulking behemoth, not particularly pretty but imposing nonetheless. It frames a large portrait of Joseph holding the child Jesus - it's a good one. There are additional paintings on either side of the altar, but from my vantage point, I couldn't see what they depicted.
A lone woman led the music for the mass, providing guitar accompaniment. She sang quite well, but for a grown woman, her voice rang out like that of a little girl. Odd. Mass progressed at a good clip with two exceptions. My husband and I couldn't help but chuckle (chuckle?) over the seemingly endless stream of petitions. The petition for the sick must have included every name in the parish census. And then, just when things were wrapping up, the celebrating priest asked the congregation to "please, be seated." Oh no. A fifteen minute lecture on the upcoming changes to the mass ensued - every line, every word, every detail, as if anyone was going to remember any of it.
The one thing I will definitely remember about St. Joseph is their church bell. Tolling just before the start of mass, it must be heard for miles around. This is a true church bell, and it's loud. REALLY. LOUD. I loved it.
St. Joseph's School's website includes a poem written in the 1930's by a church parishioner which I've included here. I think it's quite nice.According to St. Joe's brief online history, the parish originated in 1845 with the construction of a log church by German immigrants. Today, St. Joseph in Camp Springs is the oldest Catholic parish in Campbell County, and the parish school, established in 1851, is the longest continuing Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Covington. How the school continues is beyond me - enrollment this year is a whopping 34 students, K thru 8th grades. The school itself doesn't appear much larger than a ranch house. The Sisters of Divine Providence, just down the road, staffed the school until 1978 when a shortage of nuns prompted a switch to lay faculty. Financial troubles in 1991 forced the seventh and eighth grades to be dropped, although they were reinstated the following year. Clearly, it's been a struggle for the school over the past several years, but I like this little school's perseverence and spirit. Go, Blackhawks!
Meanwhile, back at the church . . . Not a lot to see here. A square nave, roughly 14 rows of pews on each side, white walls, a small balcony. A few stained glass windows appear to be the originals but lack the glamour of some of the other stained glass from the same time period that I've seen. The altar takes center stage, a hulking behemoth, not particularly pretty but imposing nonetheless. It frames a large portrait of Joseph holding the child Jesus - it's a good one. There are additional paintings on either side of the altar, but from my vantage point, I couldn't see what they depicted.
A lone woman led the music for the mass, providing guitar accompaniment. She sang quite well, but for a grown woman, her voice rang out like that of a little girl. Odd. Mass progressed at a good clip with two exceptions. My husband and I couldn't help but chuckle (chuckle?) over the seemingly endless stream of petitions. The petition for the sick must have included every name in the parish census. And then, just when things were wrapping up, the celebrating priest asked the congregation to "please, be seated." Oh no. A fifteen minute lecture on the upcoming changes to the mass ensued - every line, every word, every detail, as if anyone was going to remember any of it.
The one thing I will definitely remember about St. Joseph is their church bell. Tolling just before the start of mass, it must be heard for miles around. This is a true church bell, and it's loud. REALLY. LOUD. I loved it.
Far from modern city rumble,
Far from all industrial ills
Nestled in Kentucky’s highlands
Stands St. Joseph’s-in-the-hills.
Here its spire, a rigid finger
Pointing nobly heav’ns way
Beckons to the valley trav’ler
To ascend the hills and pray.
Steeped in love and old tradition
Standing here a hundred years,
Landmark of a bygone era,
Built by faithful, stern pioneers.
Here they came with ax and plowshare
Tilled the valleys, bridged the rills,
And with Christian faith and labor
Built St. Joseph’s-in-the-hills.
Thus their church was interwoven
With their lives, and going their way
They left it to the generations –
Thus it stands…the same today.
And Oh! ‘tis sacred when the sun sets
And a lonely cardinal trills
While the wind is whisp’ring softly
O'er St. Joseph's-in-the-hills.
The website for St. Joseph Church touts their parish as "the best-kept secret in Campbell County." I have to agree.
ATTENDANCE: 45 minutes for the mass itself
DURATION: Slightly less than half full
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