History of St. Joseph Catholic Church
The land for St. Joseph’s was purchased in 1965. The groundbreaking for the church building took place in 1977. Monsignor Eugene Livelsberger, then pastor of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Hickory, dedicated the St. Joseph Church Building on October 15, 1978.
St. Joseph’s was originally built to be a mission church – a church without a resident pastor. However, we grew so quickly that in 1979 Bishop Michael Begley, Bishop of Charlotte, installed the Reverend John Hoover as our first resident priest and pastor. Between 1982 and 1999 the Holy Spirit continued to guide us by sending Reverend Richard Hanson, Reverend Donald Baker, Reverend Richard Hokanson, and Reverend Gordon Pillon as pastors.
The Greminger Chapel was later added to the back of the sanctuary through the generosity of long-time parishioners, Franz and Maria Greminger. A successful building campaign resulted in rebuilding and expansion.
The look of the church changed again in 1998 when the Knights of Columbus donated the statue of St. Joseph which stands in front of the church. It is dedicated to the
“sanctity of all life” as a sign of our love and commitment to the unborn, the elderly, and the terminally ill.
In February of 2002, a fire in the Greminger Chapel caused significant damage to our sanctuary. An outpouring of support from parishioners and the community blessed us. A successful building campaign resulted in rebuilding and expansion.
Our current pastor, Father Jim Collins, came to St. Joseph’s in the summer of 1999 as Administrator and became our pastor the following summer.
Bishop William Curlin assigned Scott Giffillan to serve St. Joseph’s following his ordination as a deacon in June of 2001.
From our first days as a Faith Community, the people of St. Joseph’s have reached out to one another, to community members, to visitors, and to new parishioners. The Holy Spirit has transformed a small group of people and molded us into a warm, spirited, diverse church.
We are a church that is the People of God in Newton, united with the whole Catholic Church and the Christian community.