Church of the Nativity Parish @ St. Joseph

Welcome to the Church of the Nativity

The parish publicizes itself as the Church of the Nativity, a single canonical corporation founded in 2012 within the Diocese of Syracuse that gathers four historic country parishes — Immaculate Conception in Pompey, St. Joseph's in LaFayette, St. Leo's in Tully, and St. Patrick's in Otisco. The parish website at nativityny.org is the shared online home for all four. A simple tagline on the site summarizes the mission: "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), quoting Fr. Dennis Walker, the pastor.

About St. Joseph's, LaFayette

St. Joseph's is the historic Catholic parish of the hamlet of LaFayette in Southern Onondaga County. Founded in 1866, it sits on U.S. Route 20 (Cherry Valley Turnpike) at 6104 US Route 20. Within the larger Church of the Nativity it serves as the Sunday-morning Mass site for the LaFayette cluster, with confession and Eucharistic Adoration offered every Monday evening.

• Sunday Mass: 9:30 a.m.
• Confession and Eucharistic Adoration: Mondays 6:00–7:00 p.m.
• Phone: (315) 677-3439
• Mailing: P.O. Box 169, LaFayette, NY 13084

History of St. Joseph's

Catholic families in LaFayette organized the parish in 1866, more than a century before the 2012 diocesan restructuring. For most of its history it was an independent, single-church parish serving the farms and crossroads of southern Onondaga County. In 2012, the Diocese of Syracuse grouped St. Joseph's with three neighboring parishes — Immaculate Conception (Pompey), St. Leo's (Tully), and St. Patrick's (Otisco) — into one canonical parish called the Church of the Nativity. Each church kept its own building, schedule, and parish identity, but they share a pastor, staff, religious-education program, and website. The name "Nativity" was chosen as a fitting patron for a new rural pastoral family gathered in the rolling southern hills of the county.

• 1866 — Parish founded in LaFayette.
• 2012 — Grouped with Immaculate Conception, St. Leo's, and St. Patrick's as the Church of the Nativity (Diocese of Syracuse).
• June 5, 2021 — Fr. Dennis Walker ordained for the Diocese of Syracuse.
• November 15, 2023 — Fr. Dennis assigned as Pastor of the four Nativity parishes.

Mass and Worship Schedule (St. Joseph's, LaFayette)

Within the four-church Nativity family, St. Joseph's in LaFayette is the Sunday-morning Mass site for its section of Southern Onondaga County. Daily Mass for the whole Nativity corporation is celebrated at St. Leo's in Tully, Monday through Thursday at 8:30 a.m., and during Lent on Fridays at noon.

• Sunday Mass — 9:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's, LaFayette
• Saturday Vigil — 4:30 p.m. at St. Leo's, Tully
• Sunday Mass — 8:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception, Pompey
• Sunday Mass — 11:30 a.m. at St. Patrick's, Otisco
• Daily Mass Mon.–Thu. — 8:30 a.m. at St. Leo's, Tully
• Friday Daily Mass in Lent — 12:00 p.m. at St. Leo's, Tully

Faith Formation (Religious Education)

Faith formation at the parish centers on worship at Sunday Mass, supplemented by weekly religious-education classes from October through May for children in grades 1 through 8. Sacramental preparation in the family of parishes follows the typical diocesan arc: First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion are celebrated with children in the 2nd grade, while Confirmation preparation begins in grade 9 and culminates in grade 10, with confirmandi also participating in service work and evangelization.

• Grades 1–8 faith formation (Oct.–May)
• 1st Reconciliation & 1st Holy Communion — 2nd grade
• Confirmation preparation — Grades 9–10
• St. Joseph's coordinator: Anne Loughlin — (315) 677-3439
• St. Joseph's additional coordinator: Michelle Benjamin — (315) 677-3439

Youth Ministry

The parish is preparing the groundwork for a multi-parish Middle and High School Youth Ministry program intended to deepen young people's relationship with Jesus and with the Catholic Church. The youth ministry connects to larger diocesan events so that teens from across the Nativity parishes experience a wider Catholic peer community.

• Youth Minister: Rose Kane — cell (315) 382-1716
• Steubenville Youth Conference
• Middle-school trip to Niagara Falls
• Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference

Outreach and the LaFayette Food Pantry

Service to neighbors in need is part of the parish's identity, and each of the four Nativity churches anchors a local outreach. For the LaFayette area, the parish operates the LaFayette Outreach food pantry, while the other Nativity sites partner with the Fabius-Pompey Outreach and St. Leo's/St. Patrick's Outreach respectively. The parish also supports a St. Vincent de Paul Society and visits the homebound.

• LaFayette Outreach — (315) 677-5221
• Fabius-Pompey Outreach — (315) 677-3590
• St. Leo's / St. Patrick's Outreach — (315) 696-5092
• St. Vincent de Paul Society
• Homebound visits

Parish Life and Ministries

Beyond the sacraments, the parish offers a rich tapestry of ministries and groups in which parishioners can use their gifts. Liturgical ministries include choir, lectors, altar servers, and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist; social-justice ministries include visiting the homebound and volunteering at food pantries; and other parish groups include men's and women's organizations and the annual parish bazaar.

• Choir
• Lector
• Altar server
• Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist
• Men's and women's parish groups
• Annual parish bazaar

Clergy, Staff, and Trustees

Fr. Dennis Walker serves as the single pastor of all four Church of the Nativity parishes. He was ordained for the Diocese of Syracuse on June 5, 2021 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and before his assignment to Nativity he ministered at parishes in North Syracuse, Mattydale, Cortland, Homer, De Ruyter, and Truxton. He also serves the diocese as Director of the Office of Vocation Promotion and as Chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America within the Diocese. Parish-office staff and faith-formation coordinators are assigned by church, and each Nativity church has its own trustee on the parish council.

• Pastor — Rev. Dennis Walker (also Diocesan Director of Vocation Promotion; Boy Scouts chaplaincy)
• Parish Secretary (St. Joseph's & St. Patrick's) — Peg Sutton
• Religious Education Coordinator (St. Joseph's) — Anne Loughlin — (315) 677-3439
• Religious Education Coordinator (St. Joseph's) — Michelle Benjamin — (315) 677-3439
• Youth Minister — Rose Kane — (315) 382-1716
• Trustee (St. Patrick's) — Shawn Henderson
• Trustee (St. Leo's) — Dennis Kennedy
• Trustee (Immaculate Conception) — Terry Christmas

Bulletin, Office Hours, and Contact

A new bulletin is posted each Friday evening on the parish website, with an archive of past issues available online. The parish mailing address for the LaFayette office is P.O. Box 169, LaFayette, NY 13084, and the canonical mailing address used by the Diocese is P.O. Box 574, Tully, NY 13159. The general e-mail address is [email protected] and the parish phone is (315) 696-5092 with the LaFayette location reached at (315) 677-3439.

• Website: nativityny.org
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Phone: (315) 696-5092 / LaFayette office (315) 677-3439
• St. Joseph's mailing: P.O. Box 169, LaFayette, NY 13084
• Parish bulletin posted each Friday evening

The Church of the Nativity Family of Parishes

St. Joseph's is one of four historic churches that together make up the Church of the Nativity, a single corporation of parishes within the Diocese of Syracuse formed in 2012 to preserve vibrant Catholic life in the rural southern Onondaga County hill country. Each church keeps its own identity and schedule; together they share a pastor, staff, faith formation, and website — providing a Mass within reasonable driving distance no matter where in the Nativity catchment area a parishioner lives.

• Immaculate Conception, Pompey (Sunday 8:00 a.m.)
• St. Joseph's, LaFayette (Sunday 9:30 a.m.)
• St. Patrick's, Otisco (Sunday 11:30 a.m.)
• St. Leo's, Tully (Saturday Vigil 4:30 p.m.; Daily Mass Mon.–Thu. 8:30 a.m.; Friday in Lent noon)