Frank Speziale photo

OXFORD – St. Joseph's Church in Oxford, the oldest Catholic Church still in use in Chenango County, will celebrate St. Joseph Feast Day and the 170th anniversary of the building of the church on Sunday morning.

The celebration will begin with a Mass of thanksgiving for all of St. Joseph's past priests at 8:45 a.m. A reception celebrating St. Joseph and St. Patrick will follow at 9:45 a.m. in the St. Joseph Parish Center.

St. Joseph Feast Day organizer Cathy Rood said, "The most important parts of our celebration are Mass, where we prepare and bless our St. Joseph table, and the reception afterward where we share what we have with everyone. Even the sick and homebound can receive St. Joseph packets so they can share in our feast."

Every year for Feast Day, St. Joseph's in Oxford blesses a table full of different foods, which are then shared by all in attendance. Local farmers and gardeners have offered fruits of their labor for the celebration, which will be carried as an offering to the St. Joseph table by the church's youth.