Parish Appreciation Day was an enormous success. I was ecstatic to see all of our parishioners show up to support this event. Thank you to the Men’s Club for an outstanding job in coordinating this massive undertaking. Everything went off without a hitch.
The choir from St. Pius X in Jamaica did an amazing job this past weekend. It is always so uplifting to see these talented musicians filled with the Holy Spirit. Our parishioners responded in true St. John the Evangelist fashion by contributing $24,107.00 to the second collection for the Jamaica Outreach Program. Thank you so much to everyone that gave so generously to help our brothers and sisters in Jamaica.
Have you seen the new St. Vincent De Paul poor boxes that have been installed around the perimeter of the church? They are very attractive, yet discreet and most importantly, vandal proof! As many of you know, we have had our share of problems with the old boxes in the past. On numerous occasions, we have had vandals sneak into the church and empty the contents of the poor boxes. Some chose to use creative techniques (a stick with duct tape), while others simply pried the door open and helped themselves. This was always very disturbing as the funds in the poor boxes are used to assist needy families in our community. These new boxes should solve our problems. We have also installed a similar box for the votive candle offering near Mary. Another box has been ordered for St. John the Evangelist. Thank you to Marty Gauthier for researching vendors, choosing an appropriate solution and installing the boxes.
We finally have a clay rendering of the corpus for our new Processional Cross which you have all been patiently awaiting. As you may remember, Timothy Schmalz, the same sculptor that created the corpus for our crucifix, Mary and St. John the Evangelist, designed this beautiful corpus for our processional cross. I will not dare to suggest a delivery date but wanted to let everyone know that we have approved the design so that Timothy may cast the sculpture. Please see the attached pictures.
And then there was one! As of this past Monday, only one Station of the Cross remained. Since the publication of the last bulletin, three more parishioners came forward to reserve Stations I, VII and X. This leaves Station IX (Jesus falls for the third time) as the lone remaining Station. We also sold two more benches in the memorial garden and have a reservation for one or two more. This would leave three or four benches remaining in the memorial garden. I have still had no takers for the benches in front of church. I find this odd as it is such a prominent location. In any event, all four benches remain if anyone is interested. In an effort to have all of the remaining Stations sold by Easter, may I offer the following option. Consider purchasing a Station with another family and share the cost. Two families may come together and honor or memorialize their loved ones. The dedication plaque will simply list the names of both families rather than one. If this option is of interest to you, please contact me at 566.1678 to arrange an appointment. Stations of the Cross are $7,500.00. We would like to have all of the Stations of the Cross spoken for by the end of season so that we may order the granite, break ground and have the grand opening by the end of the year.
Do you dislike the traffic pattern in the parking lot in the front of church? Are you irritated when you cannot find a spot in the rows of parking and realize that your only option is to leave the parking lot and return to try again? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you will be happy to hear that we are re-sealing and re-striping the parking lot this Spring, hopefully, in late May or early June. We have enlisted the help of professionals this time so we will have a traffic flow that makes sense. Dave Underhill (Civil Engineer) and John Dina, both parishioners, have volunteered their time and talent to design a parking lot that works well for everyone. In the next few weeks, I will publish an aerial view of the new striping so that everyone will be able to see the enhancements. Thank you so much to Dave and John for their generosity in this endeavor.
We have reached the 40% mark with regards to the 2011 Catholic Faith Appeal. We currently have $178,668.00 pledged towards our goal. For those seasonal residents and visitors who remain with us in paradise, please make your check payable to the Catholic Faith Appeal with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line. Thank you again for your extreme generosity
Do you enjoy the new statues of Mary and St. John the Evangelist? Are you mesmerized looking at the beautiful crucifix while sitting in Mass? You can now have all three of these beautiful pieces in miniature form (11” x 5” x 5”) for your home or office. Our sculptor, Timothy Schmalz, is creating miniature replicas of all three pieces which we will offer for sale at $35 each. There are very limited quantities (200) of each piece. If you would like to pre-order yours, please contact Natalie at [email protected]. We are expecting delivery in mid to late September.
Please consider making a donation to the Easter Spiritual Bouquet so that the Arts and Liturgical Environment Committee may furnish the church and Altar with beautiful flowers this Easter season. Any excess funds will be used to keep the Altar decorated year round. If you are unable to locate a Spiritual Bouquet envelope, please tear out the sample on page 12 of the bulletin. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration.
Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.