The St. Joseph Home School Association offers support, encouragement, and fellowship opportunities for Catholic homeschooling families in the diocese of Lexington, Kentucky.

Our History

The St. Joseph Home School Association began...

Our Mission Statement:

We, the members of St. Joseph Homeschoolers, are dedicated to deepening our relationships with Christ and our friendships with one another.

We are committed to educating our children and to passing on our Catholic traditions and beliefs, thus allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to touch others. In addition, our outreach ministries are a wonderful source of the giving and the receiving of many blessings.

We welcome and offer support to all that seek encouragement and nurturing in their faith journey, in their role as father or mother, and in the education of their children.

We pray daily that we can be worthy examples of the virtues and the values set for us by the Holy Family.

We offer all our prayers, works, joys, and sufferings for the Honor and Glory of God.

St. Joseph Home School Association Bylaws:

The members of this Association, on this 5th Day of August 2010 do hereby agree:

1. Name and Address. The name of the Association shall be the Saint Joseph Home School Association (SJHSA), (the “Association”). The mailing address of the Association is the address of the currently elected Chairman. The alternate address shall be the address of the currently elected Treasurer. The Catholic Diocese of Lexington, 1310 West Main Street, Lexington, KY 40508 shall be designated as the sponsoring Official Catholic entity.

2. Purpose. The purpose of the Association is to encourage the spread of the Roman Catholic faith by providing mutual consultation, and fellowship to Roman Catholic families interested in home schooling. The Association shall always faithfully follow the teachings and Magistierium of the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Membership. Members shall be members of, and shall faithfully follow, the teachings and Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church (the Church). Associate members (members of other faiths) may join the Association as non-voting members, and shall agree to refrain from violating the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in all Association activities. If both the husband and wife are Roman Catholic, both shall be considered members, and each will be entitled to cast one vote provided the family is current on all annual dues payments. All members and associate members must pay the annual dues as determined and announced by the officers of the Association.

4. Liability. Except as otherwise provided by Kentucky Law, no agent, member, associate member, officer, manager or employee of the Association shall be personally liable for the debts, obligations, or liabilities of the Association, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise or for the acts or omissions of any other agent member, associate member, officer, manager or employee of the Association. By joining this Association members and associate members shall agree to hold harmless the Roman Catholic Church, and the Diocese of Lexington from any and all debts, obligations or liabilities of the Association, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise or for the acts or omissions of any other agent, member, associate member, officer, manager or employee of the Association. The Association with the Bishop’s endorsement is granted the status as a ministry of the Diocese; official Association functions shall enjoy the benefit of this ministry sponsorship in utilizing diocesan facilities as an included ministry and not that of a third-party entity.

5. Management, Bylaws, and Duration. The Association will be managed by its elected Officers in accordance with the Bylaws. The Bylaws of the Association may be changed by a vote of two thirds (66.67%) of all the members in good standing at the time of the vote. Notices of all meetings shall be provided in written form (electronic means included) at least two weeks in advance. Attendance at any Association meeting is optional for members and associate members. The period of duration of the Association shall be perpetual. The sponsorship of the Catholic Diocese shall be renewed each year with the submission of the Annual Report to the Bishop and his continued favorable endorsement.

6. Voting. Only Members in good standing shall be entitled to vote. Both the husband and the wife of each family in good standing are considered members, and each are entitled to cast one vote. Vote may be made in person, or by a valid written absentee ballot, provided such ballot is witnessed by one of the officers of the Association.

7. Officers. There shall be 4 officers elected from the members in good standing which are the Chairman, Co-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. These 4 officers will constitute the executive committee. Officers shall be Roman Catholics in good standing with the Church. The officers of the Association shall serve 1-year terms, and shall be elected by majority of all the members in good standing at the time of election. The Chairman is responsible for maintaining the spiritual focus of the Association. He or she is responsible for providing approval of all Association events. The Chairman is responsible for the approval of all Association expenditures. The Chairman is also responsible for setting the time and location of all Association meetings. The Co-Chairman will assist the Chairman in all responsibilities listed above. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at all Association meetings and sending out appropriate notices to all members of such meetings and of Association events. The Treasurer is responsible for collecting all dues, maintaining control of and accounting for such dues, and maintaining a current roster of all members and associate members.

8. BISHOP. The Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington agrees to be the sponsoring prelate and appoints a Chaplain to assist the spiritual and sacramental aspects of the Association. The Chaplain shall celebrate Mass and officiate in Sacramental Rites as agreed upon by the Officers and the assigned Chaplain. The Officers and Chaplain shall prepare an annual report to the Bishop regarding the Associations activities, membership, and spiritual programs over the past year and submit programmatic plan for the coming year. The Diocese accepts no financial obligations or authority over the business of the Association. This annual report is due to the Bishop at the end of each school year and prior to the beginning of a new school year.

9. Dues. The amount of annual dues shall be determined at the Annual Meeting by a majority vote of the members in good standing who attend that Annual Meeting including those who vote by absentee ballot. The annual dues shall be announced via the minutes of the Annual Meeting. Annual dues shall be payable per family regardless of the size of the family. Good standing means to be current on all annual dues payments.

10. Association Sanctioned Events, Protecting God’s Children. All Association events must have the approval of the Chairman. Any member or associate member may volunteer to lead such events, provided such leader has attended the Diocese-sponsored child-abuse prevention session called Protecting God's Children. Such events can be scheduled at the Annual Meeting, or any other time as deemed appropriate by the leader of such event. Attendance by members or associated members at any Association event is optional.

11. Notice. Notice under these Bylaws means the timely posting on the Website and the timely sending of emails to current email addresses on file for the member or associate member.

These Bylaws are adopted and agreed to by members on this _________________, 2010.

Chairman _______________________________

Secretary _______________________________

2011-2012 Executive Committee:

Chairman: Wendy Dowler
Co-chairman: Kate Blair
Secretary: Caroline Hood
Treasurer: Erin Lee

Other Officers:

Membership: Christina Farrell
Liturgy: Jennifer Longworth
Outreach: Angie Hogge
Field Trips: OPEN
Webmaster: Erin Lee

Spiritual Director:

Father Nick Pagano

Parish Shepherds:

A Parish Shepherd is a volunteer who keeps in contact with other homeschool families in his or her parish. The parish shepherd calls to invite families to homeschool field trips and events. Please let us know if you would be willing to volunteer for your parish!

Our current Parish Shepherds are:

Parish	City	Parish Shepherd(s)
Church of the Annunciation	Paris	Julie Ervin
Good Shepherd	Frankfort	Wendy Dowler
Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary	Lexington	Mark Lund, Jennifer Longworth
Newman Center Holy Spirit Parish	Lexington	Erin Lee
Regina Pacis	Lexington	Stephanie Brefeld
Ss. Francis and John	Georgetown	Caroline Hood
Ss. Peter and Paul	Danville	Doug and Lisa Chappell
St. Andrew	Harrodsburg	Wendy Dowler
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton	Lexington	Vicki and Joey Luciano
St. Lawrence	Lawrenceburg	Wendy Dowler
St. Luke	Nicholasville	Colleen Milburn, Mary Ice

SJHSA Activities and Events, 2011-2012

Worship Opportunities

First Friday Mass. Our "Kick-off Mass" for this year is scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Pax Christi. A pizza party potluck will follow in the church basement. For more details on this year's First Friday Mass schedule, contact Jennifer Longworth.

Friday Mass and Fellowship. On all other Fridays, we will attend noon Mass at Pax Christi and meet afterward for fun, food, and fellowship. Kids can run and play on church grounds, while the adults enjoy an opportunity to visit.

Family Holy Hour. Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary hosts monthly Family Holy Hours on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Families from surrounding parishes in the diocese are invited to attend. For more information, contact Mary Graehler.

For Kids

Holy Family Co-op.

Boy Scouts. Our troop meets Monday evenings at 6:15 in the basement of Pax Christi Catholic Church. Please contact Mark Lund for more information.

American Heritage Girls. We are very excited to announce we are chartering our own American Heritage Girls troop this year! Stay tuned for more information, or contact Wendy Dowler.

For Parents

Mom's Night Out. Join us at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Starbucks on Nicholasville Rd (just inside New Circle Rd, near Wendy's and Red Lobster). This is a chance for moms to take a break, relax, and simply enjoy each othet's company.

Interested in becoming a member? Please contact Christina Farrell at 859-339-1695, or email her at stmichaelaa_07@yahoo.com.

Annual dues for the 2011-2012 school year are $10.

Please see our bylaws (section 3) for more information concerning membership.

Resources/Support

Catholic Homeschool Support
CatholiCity Home Schooling

Catholic Curriculum

Seton Home Study
Catholic Heritage Curricula
Angelicum Academy
Mother of Divine Grace

Local Resources

Local Art Classes (Nicholasville, KY)
St. Benedict Homeschool Association (Radcliff, KY)
Homeschool requirements in Kentucky

Prayer to St. Joseph, our patron saint