Category Archives: News

Join Us for Hallow’s Lent Prayer Challenge, Pray40: The Return

Starting Wednesday, February 18

Join us on a journey back home to the Lord – no matter our sins, no matter our struggles, no matter how far we’ve strayed away. Just as we’ll see through the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we’re all farther away from God than we need to be…but the good news is God is always waiting for us with open arms, running out to us while we are still a long way off.

To really help bring the truths of this parable to life this Lent in Pray40, we’ll dive into the incredible book, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky–considered one of the greatest novels of all time.

Guided by Sister Miriam, Mother Olga, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, and of course the one and only Jonathan Roumie!

Plus, Hallow has other Lent prayer challenges specifically for younger children and teens:

Kids’ Lent: Miracle Hunters – For ages 6-12, this kids’ Lent Challenge follows characters Mia, Paul, Brad, and Grace as they set out to discover the truth about miracles and how God is always at work in our lives. Families will meet new friends, dive into saint stories, hear vocation journeys, play games, pray together, and more!

Teen Lent: The 180 – Join Mark Hart, Sr. Josephine, Fr. Frankie Cicero, and more for this Lent Challenge for teens presented by Life Teen International. Featuring short, 180-second sessions designed to help teens make a 180-degree turn towards Christ. Reflect on the daily Gospel readings, learn about the lives of the Saints, and take on a new fasting challenge each week.

Already using Hallow? Simply open the app, tap the Church tab at the bottom of your screen, visit our parish page (St. John & St. Joseph Parishes), and join the challenge.

New to Hallow? Visit hallow.com/parish, search for our parish (using zip code 21157 works best), and follow the prompts. While you’re welcome to sign up for a premium membership, you can still make a FREE account and gain access to premium content (like the Lent prayer challenge) through our parish page! Just remember to join the page once you create your free account (instructions above).

More questions? Call 410-848-8443 for tech support!

EXODUS 90: An Invitation to Uncommon Freedom

Beginning January 5, 2026

We invite all the men in our pastorate to join their brothers in Christ in this 90-day journey of daily prayer, discipline, and brotherhood focused on growing closer to God and overcoming everything that’s been holding us back in the spiritual life!

Maintaining daily prayer and reflection, embracing disciplines like avoiding sweets and unnecessary phone use, and having weekly Zoom fraternity meetings are the tenets of this intense challenge in personal formation.

“Through contemplative prayer, we open up to a vulnerable relationship with God. Through asceticism, we grow in the power to say ‘no’ to the common things of the world that hold us back. Through fraternity, we have the essential support, encouragement, and mercy of other men striving after the same uncommon ideals.” – How Exodus 90 Works

For our St. John-St. Joseph Pastorate, our Exodus 90 group will meet once a week for 30 minutes (sometime between 7pm – 9pm) on Zoom. Fill out the sign-up form below to tell us which day of the week would work best for you! Men are also encouraged (but not required) to download the Exodus 90 app for the full experience.

SIGN UP HERE

St. John – St. Joseph Pastorate
Christmas Mass Schedule

*LIVESTREAMED

Christmas Eve

Wednesday, December 24

St. John
4pm*
4:30pm (Portico)
6:30pm
8:30pm (Spanish)*
12am Midnight Mass* (Choral Program at 11:15pm*)

St. Joseph
4pm
6pm

Christmas Day

Thursday, December 25

St. John
9am*
11am

St. Joseph
10am

Join Us for Hallow’s Pray25 Advent Challenge

December 1 – December 25

Hallow’s Advent prayer challenge, Pray25, begins on Monday, Dec. 1! Each year, Pray25 invites folks to take a step back from the chaos of the holiday season and take a step close to God.

This Advent, we invite you to join our parish as we discover deeper stillness amidst the chaos of the holiday season, just as Mary did that first Christmas.

Listeners will dive into the story of the Nativity through reflections on the infancy narratives, powerful excerpts from The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, and moments of silence and contemplative prayer.

The waitlist is now open. Make the courageous decision to allow God into your life and discover a love that satisfies more than anything this world has to offer.

Already using Hallow? Simply open the app, tap the Church tab at the bottom of your screen, visit our parish page (St. John & St. Joseph Parishes), and join the Advent prayer challenge.

New to Hallow? Visit hallow.com/parish, search for our parish (using zip code 21157 works best), and follow the prompts. While you’re welcome to sign up for a premium membership, you can still make a FREE account and gain access to premium content (like the Advent prayer challenge) through our parish page! Just remember to join the page once you create your free account (instructions above).

More questions? Call 410-848-8443 for tech support!

Our community has been nominated THREE times in this year’s Carroll’s Best contest from the Carroll County Times!

Fr. Mark Bialek – Carroll’s Best Clergyperson

St. John Catholic School – Carroll’s Best Private School

Stephanie Rattell – Best Principal (NEW CATEGORY!)

We’ve won Best Clergyperson and Best Private School for a few years now, so we’re excited to have the chance to seal ANOTHER win for our beloved SJS Principal, Mrs. Rattell!

Voting is free and runs from August 10 – 24. You can cast your vote for each category once a day.
Your support for us in Carroll’s Best helps make our faith and school community more visible throughout the county, so thank you for voting!

CLICK TO VOTE

The Best Principal and Clergyperson categories can be found under Services.
The Best Private School category can be found under Shopping.

Please give a warm welcome to our new Associate Pastor, Fr. Shiadrik Mokum!

Fr. Shiadrik was born and raised in Bamenda in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. He received his Bachelor of Philosophy from St. John Paul II Major Seminary and Catholic University of Cameroon in 2018. He spent his pastoral year at All Saints college and Parish Bayelle in the Archdiocese of Bamenda. He moved to the United States in December 2020 and earned his MDiv and MA with a concentration in systematic theology from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Emmitsburg.

Since 2020, he has had several pastoral assignments within the Archdiocese of Baltimore, including Saint Agnes and William of York in Baltimore, Saint John the Evangelist in Severna Park, and is presently completing his deacon assignment at Saint Peter the Apostle parish in Libertytown. He also spent some time with us at St. John assisting with our Healthcare Ministry

Fr. Shiadrik was ordained on June 21, 2025 fulfilling his dream of being a faithful minister of Christ and a servant to his flock! We’re excited to be his first assignment as a new priest.

Join Our Parish on Hallow!

We are thrilled to announce an exciting new opportunity for deepening your faith: we are partnering with Hallow, the #1 Catholic prayer and meditation app! Hallow helps people grow closer to God through prayer, meditation, and inspiring content featuring Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Miriam James, Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie, and Chris Pratt. The app also offers mental health resources, sleep content, audiobooks, and sacred music to enrich your spiritual journey.

All parishioners—both subscribers and those using the free version—are invited to join our parish page on the app, where you can create a profile, share prayer requests, and participate in prayer challenges together.

Whether you choose to pay for a premium subscription or use a free account,

We look forward to walking this journey of faith with you in new, exciting ways!

In the fall of 2022, St. John gratefully received a $25,000 grant to invest in building St. Nick’s Workshop (SNW), a one-of-a-kind, interactive Catholic children’s museum here on St. John’s campus. We’ve hired professionals at Our Sunday Visitor to help guide the development of this project aimed at bringing families closer to the Lord through fun, hands-on activities. St. Nick’s Workshop will not only help inspire children to engage with their faith but will strengthen and encourage parents in their roles as their children’s primary catechists. Our team aims to have a prototype of this museum ready to open by December 6, 2025.

Visit the SNW website and join the email list!

Catholic Review: National Eucharist Pilgrimage meets rain and prayers at first Maryland stop

June 6, 2024
By Christopher Gunty

WESTMINSTER – The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage eastern route arrived in Maryland for three days of prayer, adoration and procession with a stop June 5 at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Carroll County.

The route – named for Maryland’s own St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint – is one of four coming from all corners of the country to join up July 17 at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

More than 500 people gathered at the church to hear a brief talk by Father Roger Landry, one of 56 eucharistic preachers in the U.S., who is accompanying the pilgrims on the Seton route.

Click to read the full article

Photo: Miguel Balbuena

After four years of faithful service to our pastorate family of St. John and St. Joseph, Fr. Rey Landicho’s (pictured left) assignment as our Associate Pastor will end on July 1, 2024, after which, he will be returning to serve in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

We most certainly want to take the opportunity to thank Fr. Rey for his priestly ministry, show our love, and spend time with him in prayer and fellowship. Please mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, June 8 when Fr. Rey will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at 4:30pm followed by a reception in his honor in the Portico. His final weekend with us will be June 15-16.

MEET FR. KIM
Effective July 1, 2024, Archbishop Lori has appointed Fr. Joseph Kim (pictured right) as our new associate pastor. Fr. Kim was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ for the Archdiocese of Boston in 2018. His family lives in Maryland. In 2022, he petitioned to serve in the Archdiocese of Baltimore due to family health concerns. His request was granted and was assigned to the Pastorate of Prince of Peace (Edgewood) and St. Francis de Sales (Abingdon) as Associate Pastor from July 2023 to June 2024. In gratitude to God, he looks forward to meeting and serving the people of St. John and St. Joseph in collaboration with Fr. Mark, Fr. Leandro, and our staff. Fr. Kim’s first weekend with us will be July 6-7.