A Parish at the Heart of Millstone Borough
St. Joseph Parish sits on Yorktown Road in the Borough of Millstone, the small municipality tucked inside Hillsborough Township in Somerset County, New Jersey. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Metuchen and is served by a pastor, Fr. Hank Hilton, and a sizable staff and ministry team. From its quiet Millstone location the parish reaches well beyond its own boundaries: members drive to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Perth Amboy, board a bus to the Saint Francis Inn in Philadelphia for a weekend immersion, spend a week building homes in West Virginia, and raise money for a sister parish in Guatemala. The parish's stated prayer - "Lord Jesus Christ, Living Son of the living God, Help me to know what You want, to want what you want, and to do what you want" - sits at the top of the parish site and sets the tone for a community that takes both worship and service seriously.
The parish vision statement sums up the same idea: "PRAYERFULLY to continue to BUILD a Community that PROCLAIMS the Gospel, CELEBRATES the Eucharist, and SHARES our Gifts." St. Joseph's is at once a traditional Catholic parish - daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration through reverence for the Sacrament, rosary, Confirmation, OCIA - and a heavily programmed one, with separate ministries for caregivers, special-needs adults, food-bank volunteers, mission-trippers, high-schoolers, seniors, young adults, and people caring for loved ones at home.
Mass Schedule and the In-Car Option
The weekly rhythm centers on the Eucharist. Weekend Masses are celebrated on Saturday at 4:45 PM (livestreamed), Sunday at 8:00 AM, Sunday at 9:30 AM (livestreamed), and Sunday at 11:30 AM. The 11:30 AM Mass shifts with the seasons: in summer it is celebrated under the pavilion on the parish grounds, and in winter it moves back inside the church. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 8:35 AM and is also livestreamed. On Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM the parish gathers for an outdoor Communion Service rather than Mass, with congregants remaining in their vehicles.
The in-car arrangement is one of the more distinctive features of the parish. At the 11:30 AM Mass - and at the Wednesday Communion Service - those who wish to remain in their cars can park in the pink spaces in the parking lot, tune a car radio to FM 88.7, and follow the liturgy from the driver's seat. Communion is brought to the vehicles, and collection baskets are circulated among the cars. Ushers and parking attendants direct traffic. The arrangement is offered as a permanent accommodation for those with mobility, health or other concerns rather than as a pandemic-only measure, and the parish notes that the Wednesday service can be cancelled in cases of severe weather.
Holy Days of Obligation follow their own pattern, with Mass the evening before at 7:00 PM, then 8:35 AM and 5:00 PM on the holy day itself. Holy Week brings the full sequence of liturgies: Mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday evening, the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at 3:00 PM on Good Friday followed by Stations of the Cross at 7:00 PM, blessing of food at 9:00 AM on Holy Saturday, and the Easter Vigil at 8:00 PM. Easter Sunday has the regular three-Mass schedule (8:00, 9:30 and 11:30 AM). Christmas mirrors the regular weekend pattern: Christmas Eve vigils at 4:00, 6:00 and 9:00 PM, with Christmas Day Masses at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:30 AM.
Reconciliation, Anointing and a Parking-Lot Appointment
Confession is handled in a way that is unusual and personal. Rather than a fixed weekly slot, Fr. Hank meets parishioners one-on-one in the parish parking lot on Saturday mornings, usually for one to two hours, for the sacrament of Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick and conversation. The exact time changes week to week because of the demands of baptisms, funerals and weddings; the current slot is published each Friday in the This Week newsletter. Those who cannot come at the announced time are encouraged to email Fr. Hank directly to arrange an appointment. An Examination of Conscience is available as a downloadable PDF to help with preparation.
For sacramental emergencies - a sick relative at home or in the hospital - the parish keeps a dedicated line. The main number, (908) 874-3141, routes a press of "1" to a priest for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
Livestreamed Mass on YouTube
St. Joseph's livestreams three liturgies each week on its YouTube channel: the 4:45 PM Saturday Vigil, the 9:30 AM Sunday Mass, and the 8:35 AM weekday Mass. Closed captioning is enabled on the streams for those who need it, and a short walk-through video explains how to turn the captions off for viewers who prefer them silent. Replays remain available on the same channel. The parish also provides a set of "Prayers for Livestreamed Mass" - including the Memorare, a Prayer for Spiritual Communion, and the parish's own prayer - so that those watching from home can pray along when they cannot receive the Eucharist sacramentally.
Sacraments
The parish prepares members for the seven Catholic sacraments. Baptisms are usually celebrated outside Mass at 1:00 PM on the second Sunday of the month, or during any Sunday Mass not already taken by another baptism; parents and godparents take a short preparation class first. First Eucharist and Confirmation are coordinated through the Religious Education program. Marriage preparation begins with the couple meeting the priest and includes reading the Nuptial Mass readings; the parish notes that the couple, not the priest, is the minister of the sacrament. Anointing of the Sick is available by calling the parish office. OCIA - the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, formerly RCIA - walks inquirers through the four steps toward full initiation into the Catholic Church. Children preparing for Confirmation are shepherded through a separate two-year Religious Education Confirmation Program.
Religious Education and OCIA
The Religious Education program (CCD) is led by Kelly Craigle and Linda Mackiw. Classes follow a published curriculum, and registration is open through a dedicated page on the parish site. The Confirmation Program runs alongside the regular curriculum and concludes with Confirmation typically celebrated in the upper grades; candidates are also required to complete service projects as part of their preparation. Adult inquirers enter OCIA, where Suzanne Kral coordinates the four stages of the rite - inquiry, catechumenate, purification and enlightenment, and mystagogia - that culminate at the Easter Vigil.
Music Ministries
Music at St. Joseph's is led by Music Director Matt Viola and is provided by volunteer choirs, cantors, instrumentalists and vocalists across all ranges. Adult choirs sing at the Saturday 4:45 PM Mass, the Sunday 7:15 AM, 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM Masses, with combined rehearsals on Thursday evenings at 7:45 PM. Solo and ensemble opportunities - instrumental and vocal - are available year-round, and choirs come together for Christmas, Easter and other major celebrations. A separate Children's Choir draws students in grades 1 through 6, with performances at Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday and other special Masses throughout the year.
Children's Liturgy of the Word
During the 9:30 AM Sunday Mass, children in grades K through 4 are invited forward for Children's Liturgy of the Word. They leave the main body of the church for about twenty minutes and gather in the hospitality room for an age-appropriate version of the readings and prayers of the day, then return to the main liturgy at the offertory. The ministry is coordinated by Natalie Zuccarello and operates on a rotational basis so that volunteers serve a few Sundays at a stretch rather than every week. Virtus training and a background check are required.
Altar Servers, Lectors and Liturgical Ministries
Suzanne Kral oversees Liturgical Ministries, which include altar servers, lectors, sacristans, Eucharistic ministers, ushers and the music staff. Altar servers must have received First Communion and be in at least the fourth grade; training consists of an hour-and-a-half session and three Mass observations, after which servers are scheduled about twice a month. Ushers, lectors and Eucharistic ministers serve at the parish's weekend and daily Masses; the Eucharistic Ministers ministry also extends to two local facilities, the Avalon assisted-living community in Hillsborough and the Bridgeway healthcare center, where teams of three ministers visit roughly every other Sunday, are blessed and dismissed after the 9:30 AM Mass, and typically finish by noon. Sacristans, coordinated by Susan Wund, prepare the sanctuary for each liturgy.
Youth Ministry
Bob Ferretti directs the parish's Youth Ministry, which serves junior-high and high-school students from St. Joseph's and surrounding schools. The program's mission is to "INVEST in the next generation of young people in significant ways; INSTRUCT them in the core doctrines and disciplines of the Catholic faith; INSPIRE them by example; and IGNITE them with a passion for Jesus Christ." The annual calendar combines weekly Youth Group nights (typically 7:00 - 9:00 PM on Saturday or Sunday evenings, often beginning with Mass) with social and service events: a parish picnic and game night in September, Trivia Night in October, Trunk or Treat, a Pancake Breakfast in December, the O Holy Nights Living Nativity, Pasta Night, Random Acts of Kindness Day, a 30-Hour Famine in April, and the parish Day of Service in January. The 2026 St. Timothy Award winners were junior Megan Vogt and senior Grace Hanna. The ministry maintains its own YouTube channel and a Google Calendar that families can subscribe to.
CYM Basketball - the parish's Catholic Youth Ministry athletic program, branded Blue Storm and directed by Michael Greenstreet - fields teams through the winter. The Columbiettes, an affiliated Catholic women's service group, also meet at the parish under Erica Ruffer.
Young Adults, the YAMS, and a Pilgrimage to Italy
Young adults in their twenties and thirties gather as the YAMS (Young Adult Ministry). Information and sign-up are handled through the parish's FlockNote. A high point on the calendar is the Young Adult Pilgrimage 2027 to Italy, July 2 through 11, booked through Ciao Roma Travel. The ten-day trip includes roundtrip air from Newark, four nights in Rome near St. Peter's, two nights in Assisi, two nights in Florence, daily Mass, a Papal Audience with Pope Leo XIV, a day trip to Orvieto, and guided visits to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's Dome, the Scavi Tour or Catacombs, and Michelangelo's David - almost all meals and tips included, plus musician leadership from PJ Anderson. The all-in cost is $4,695.
The young-adult track also feeds into service. Young Adult Service Trips have sent parishioners to the same Appalachian mission and Saint Francis Inn immersions that older parishioners join.
SAGES Senior Ministry
SAGES (St. Joseph Adult Group for Enriched Senior living) is the parish's senior program, coordinated by AnnaMaria Realbuto. Programming is built around fellowship, formation and pastoral care. Monthly Monday Funday gatherings combine lunch, poker and bingo; Drums Alive, a low-impact exercise class, meets Thursday mornings at 10:00 AM in the Parish Hall; the four-part Peace of Mind lecture series on End of Life brings in outside speakers (a Robert Wood Johnson representative on advanced directives, Monsignor Fell on palliative care versus hospice, a funeral director, and Fr. Hank with Carol Valone on planning a funeral at St. Joseph's). Halloween and Christmas parties round out the year. There is no cost for the SAGES retreats and gatherings; the program welcomes parishioners of any age who find themselves in the senior stage of life.
Ministry to Caregivers
The Ministry to Caregivers, led by Sharon Sweeney and run under the umbrella of Social Concerns, addresses a need the parish has identified among its members: men and women caring for spouses, parents, children, siblings and neighbors. The ministry runs semi-annual Saturday retreats in spring and fall. Each retreat opens with a continental breakfast, a talk by Fr. Hank drawn from his own experience caring for his younger sister Judith, table conversation with caregivers in similar circumstances, and a theme-related activity, closing with lunch and additional table talk. Retreats are free and open to caregivers of any faith. The "Sip and Learn" series supplements the retreats four times a year, with topics such as hospice and end-of-life decisions, legal issues for caregivers, nutrition and self-care. The parish maintains a curated list of outside resources, including dailycaring.com, AARP's Family Caregiving guide, the Alzheimer's Association, the United Way Caregiver Coalition of Northern New Jersey, and Caring.com.
Becca's Friends: Special Needs Social Events
Becca's Friends is a parish social ministry for adults eighteen and older with intellectual or developmental disabilities, coordinated by Janet Pescinski. Since 2013 it has organized monthly gatherings in the Parish Center or outdoors - bingo nights, a PJ Anderson concert, spaghetti dinners, cupcake decorating, painting, campfire and s'mores with guitar, a Halloween costume and dance party, Christmas party with Santa, a Somerset Patriots baseball outing, bowling, ice cream socials and the Montgomery Rodeo. Two tracks of membership coexist: parishioners who help organize and host, and the adults who attend. The ministry is closely tied to the parish's special-needs outreach and the broader social-concerns office.
Social Concerns: Food Bank and Drop-Off Van
Social Concerns, directed by Victor Fung with Carlene Thomson, is the umbrella for the parish's relief work. Its flagship effort is the Food Bank Ministry, which sends teams of volunteers to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Perth Amboy on the fourth Saturday of every month. The pantry - open since March 2020 - serves an average of 186 clients a week; volunteers work the front desk (greeting clients, checking IDs, punching food pantry cards), pack groceries for families, and stock the warehouse shelves. A Spanish-speaking staff member is generally on hand, though Spanish is not required. Volunteers gather at 9:20 AM for prayer, doors open at 9:30 AM, and distribution wraps up around 12:45 PM with cleanup. Weekday volunteer slots are also available at the Hillsborough Food Bank, Feeding Hands and the Caritas Food Pantry in Manville.
Back in Hillsborough, the parish collects non-perishable food, toiletries and cleaning supplies year-round. A gray church van parked in the lot serves as the drop-off point; the parish distributes the donations to five local agencies - the Hillsborough Community Assistance Network (CAN), Franklin Township, Somerset County, Manville Food Bank through Christ the Redeemer, and Feeding Hands of Somerville. Paul and Patti Toste coordinate weekly deliveries. The Thanksgiving Food Drive each November aims to provide 120 full bags of Thanksgiving groceries, distributed through Catholic Charities in Bridgewater and Flemington, the Arc of Somerset, and St. Peter's University Hospital Family Center on Howes Lane.
HOME: Housing Outreach Multifaith Empowerment
St. Joseph's is one of the sponsoring congregations of HOME (Housing Outreach Multifaith Empowerment), the interfaith Somerset County program that shelters homeless families on a rotating basis at member houses of worship. HOME (formerly the Interfaith Hospitality Network) currently houses its overnight program at the Hillsborough Reformed Church down the road; St. Joseph's shares responsibility for each HOME week. Each host week takes roughly sixty volunteers to feed, transport, set up beds and provide evening company for fourteen guests. Volunteer slots include evening greeters (6:00 - 9:00 PM), cooks who prepare a dinner at home and deliver it by 6:00 PM, overnight hosts who sleep at the facility from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, and miscellaneous helpers - drivers, linen pickup, clean-up, and shopping. Tina Androulakis and Victor Fung coordinate the parish's involvement.
Appalachia: Houses of Hope
For more than a decade, the parish has sent teams to the Wayne County Work Camp in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia to repair and rebuild homes for families in need. The mission is run through Social Concerns and is coordinated by Jeanine Cavanagh, who also oversees the parish's Christmas Mission to Appalachia. Missionaries travel roughly 600 miles, stay at Cabwaylingo State Park, and spend a week on home repair. The work ranges from shacks to trailers - many without running water, heat or electricity - and parishioners at home fund the effort by taking "saw tags" from a replica house displayed in the Gathering Space and contributing toward specific building supplies. In December, a separate Christmas Mission delivers roughly 200 wrapped gifts to children in Dunlow, West Virginia, gathered through the Advent Giving Tree ministry.
Saint Francis Inn: Weekend Immersions in Philadelphia
Twice a year - in the spring and the fall - a group of about ten parishioners travels to the Saint Francis Inn in Kensington, Philadelphia, for a weekend immersion serving meals at the Inn's "Table of Four" Soup Kitchen. The Saint Francis Inn has served a sit-down meal every day since 1979, through blizzards, hurricanes and the pandemic, and currently serves more than 350 meals a day. Volunteers stay in the All Saints Apartment, prepare and serve meals, and meet face to face with the people they are serving. The weekend also includes shared prayer and reflection; in past trips it has produced conversions of heart that the parish describes as "life changing for those we serve and those of us who work with, and beside one another in the love of God." The mission is run through Social Concerns; one-day missions are scheduled in summer as well.
Guatemala Ministry
Through its Guatemala Ministry, St. Joseph's supports its sister parish of San Juan Tecuaco with spiritual, material and medical aid. The focus has been on clean water, clothing, educational materials and medical expenses. Parishioners help with fundraising - notably the annual Thanksgiving Pie Sale - and with packing and shipping supplies to Guatemala. Online giving supports a dedicated "Guatemala" fund (and an "H2O" designation for the clean-water project). The work is led by Pat Lambo.
Women's Bible Study
The Women's Bible Study meets in two formats: Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and Tuesday mornings from 9:15 to 10:45 AM in the Parish Hall. The current series is the 24-lesson "Women of the Bible" study from Creative Living Bible Studies; the cost is $25, and new members are welcome at any point. Suzanne Kral coordinates the group.
Other Ministries That Keep the Parish Running
The ministries catalog at St. Joseph's is unusually long, and several smaller groups carry the day-to-day life of the parish. The Lazarus Ministry supports bereaved families through the wake and funeral. The Prayer Chain lifts up intentions through Kathy Gibson. Prayer Shawls, led by Betty Zobre and Carol Wetzel, knits and crochets shawls for those in need of comfort. The Sunshine Committee sends notes of encouragement in difficult times. Healing Prayer, led by Ann Smith, offers prayer after Mass for those who request it. Stations of the Cross during Lent is coordinated by Sharon Liszczak and Ed Yakely. The GriefShare program, led by John Jorgensen, walks participants through a structured season of grief support. The Family Advent Wreath workshop brings families together to make fresh wreaths in early December, with a visit from St. Nicholas. The Refreshments ministry serves coffee and donuts after Sunday Mass. The New Parishioner Welcome Ministry, led by Gail Bellas, hosts the four-times-yearly welcome lunch for those who have registered in the last year (the first Sunday of February, May, August and November). Buildings and Grounds, under Dave Mendez, maintains the parish plant. The Altar Linens and Altar & Plant Care groups keep the sanctuary in order. The Livestream/Multimedia team, led by Rachelle Hanna, runs the parish's video operation; the Tech Ministry supports the broader online presence. The Holy C.H.O.W! Food Truck (Chris and Michelle Laffoon), the Knights of Columbus (Rob Cappadona), and the Columbiettes (Erica Ruffer) round out the social and fraternal side. The Vocations Discernment group, under Mary and Peter Tabernero, walks with adults praying about a call to priesthood, diaconate or consecrated life.
Parish Governance and Staff
The Pastoral Council, chaired by Pam Cunning, advises Fr. Hank on the spiritual and material concerns of the parish through monthly meetings, subcommittees, and parish-wide reports. Members are expected to be practicing Catholics in full communion with the Church. The Parish Finance Council, chaired by Bill Strawderman, meets monthly for ninety minutes to review the parish's financial position, with Mike Seelig serving on the council; quarterly financial reports and diocesan audits are posted publicly under Financial Statements on the parish site. Pastoral and financial information is summarized in the published Pastoral Profile.
The staff directory lists sixteen people in addition to Fr. Hank Hilton. Key ministry leads include Bob Ferretti (Youth Ministry and Operations), Suzanne Kral (Liturgical Ministries, OCIA, Altar Servers, Women's Bible Study), Victor Fung and Carlene Thomson (Social Concerns), AnnaMaria Realbuto (SAGES Senior Ministry), Kelly Craigle and Linda Mackiw (Religious Education), Josh Huang (Young Adult Ministry), Matt Viola (Music Director), Kim Caridi (Church Environment), Joseph Karam (Technology), and Jeanine Cavanagh (mission work). Diane Boyle serves as Ministry Coordinator. Dianne Mantilla is the parish's Safe Environment coordinator, handling Virtus training and background checks for any volunteer working with children, vulnerable adults or the elderly.
A Place to Belong
St. Joseph's describes itself as a parish where "we are young and not so young and everything in between. We are lifelong Catholics, brand new Catholics, and some of us are still seeking a spiritual path. We are saints that often struggle. We are sinners that dare to trust in the mercy promised. But no matter how you see yourself, please know that you have a place - a home here with us." Visitors who would like to register are invited to call Carol Valone at (908) 874-3141 x221. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM; phones are covered after hours, and there is always a priest available for sacramental emergencies.
The parish's livestream, online giving, homily archive, bulletins and calendar are all accessible through its main site at sjmillstone.com, and the parish invites visitors who would like to keep up with weekly events to sign up for FlockNote emails.