On this World Mission Sunday, all of us are invited to “go out” as missionary disciples, each generously offering their talents, creativity, wisdom and experience in order to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family. – Pope Francis
When we think about the mission of St. John, To Know, To Love, and To Serve God, in His Church and Our Community, there are several priorities that all have equal weight for us to accomplish. This campaign is so much more than just the Life Center, or even the CYO and CAO programs that will enhance the life and community of our campus. It is also to ensure the missionary zeal of our Catholic Faith will be supported and engaged for many years to come. This weekend is World Mission Sunday. It is our role in the world to serve all those in need, both here and abroad. When we Build Our Future, Serve Our Past, we are ensuring that the integral focus of Saint John the Evangelist is service.
Some of that effort has already born fruit locally. Our Immokalee Missions Team has provided direct assistance to renovate both the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen as well as the Guadalupe Social Services Food Pantry. We have donated furniture to the offices of GSS so they can have better tools and space for their immigration services and counseling. Another area of persistent programmatic missionary effort is our Simple Gesture Food Pantry support. Thank you to each and every person and family that brought food in our blue bags to the church. We received this wonderful Thank You from the Catholic Charities Power Pack Meal program. This effort, that requires single-serving items that cannot be purchased in bulk, feeds the youth of the area over the weekends, when they cannot receive a free or reduced meal from their school.
We have plans for many missionary efforts, including a mission trip to Grenada this coming summer, that we will have more information about soon, but we still need your assistance with funding the long-term missionary efforts of St. John. While the money has been pledged in our Build Our Future, Serve Our Past capital campaign to build our Life Center and some of our other urgent needs, we still need our entire Parish Family to give in order to reach our additional goals, including the detailed execution of the above programs. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Lichwalla, the Campaign Coordinator at 239-495-2001 or email: [email protected].
You can also learn more information about our Capital Campaign at: http://www.sjecc.com/future