A few weeks ago I mentioned our “somewhat” new vendor for online credit card and bank draft contributions. We had previously used a vendor by the name of “Blue Pay” which was supposed to sync with our internal LOGOS database. Unfortunately, the payment information never correctly synced with our database, and as a result, we made the decision to switch to “Pledge Connect” used by the Diocese of Venice. In April of this year on two separate occasions, I asked those still using Blue Pay to please discontinue doing so and switch over to Pledge Connect. Many of you did so, however, a few did not see my comments. As of last week, the Blue Pay site is completely shut down and any recurring transactions have been discontinued. I kindly ask those of you who were using Blue Pay to please register on our website with Pledge Connect. This is a very secure process and will ensure that your gifts are being correctly posted internally as they are recorded.
I am very proud to say that St. John the Evangelist is becoming technologically advanced. Most of you have visited our website for one reason or another. 
Some of you may also have visited our website from your smart phone to obtain pertinent information. Accessing a website via a smart phone can be daunting as the information which appears on your screen can be very difficult to read because it is intended to be viewed from a much larger screen. We have developed a mobile application for our website which allows parishioners to view our site in a much more user friendly format. In addition, beginning this week you will see a “QR Code” on the front of our bulletin. Many of you may be asking yourselves…what exactly is a QR Code? For our tech savvy parishioners, no further information is needed. Upon seeing our QR Code, I am sure that many of you noticed these same codes on anything and everything from literature to consumer products. Basically, our QR Code is a link to our website. In order to use the code, you must first download a QR scanner application (app) to your smart phone. For Iphone users this may be done free of charge via the app store. For those on the Droid platform, you may visit your marketplace to obtain the free application. Once the app is downloaded, you simply click on the “QR Code scanner” icon. A screen similar to your camera will appear. Position the phone over the QR Code on our bulletin and you will automatically be redirected to our mobile website once the scan is complete. Upon arriving at our mobile website for the first time, you will have the option of placing our “St. John the Evangelist” app on your smart phone. I strongly suggest choosing this option as for future visits to our site, you will only have to click the app on your smart phone’s home screen. If you do not want to download the QR Code scanner app, you may also type our website address www.saintjohntheevangelist.com into your smart phone’s browser. Our mobile site can automatically determine whether you are using a smart phone to access our website and you will be redirected to the mobile site. We are still experimenting with which buttons are of most interest to our parishioners on the mobile site. If there is something that you would like to see that is currently not an option, please contact me and I do my best to make changes that will incorporate your wishes. For those willing, I encourage you to download the QR Code scanner app. Everyday, there are more and more vendors using this valuable tool to make it easier for you to access their website. It is actually a lot of fun and no more difficult than taking a picture with your smart phone.
On April 14, a JOP committee of sorters and packers met for perhaps the last time to pack a 40 foot container bound for our sister parish in Jamaica. Over 1,000 cartons of goods donated by St. John the Evangelist parishioners were shipped. An additional 231 cartons donated by the good people of Blessed Pope John XXIII parish were placed on board as well. It was a sight to behold as the crowd of over 70 volunteers scrambled like a bunch of “young guns” to get the job done. Regretfully, the JOP Board of Directors has suspended this project begun over 12 years ago. It is being suspended indefinitely for reasons that have become the norm lately. The shipping costs, once performed free of charge, now come with a $4,000 price tag. In addition, long time chairmen, Bill and Rosemary O’Connell are retiring as the leaders and organizers of the project. Fortunately for us and St. Pius X, they have agreed to stay on as chairmen of our Annual Food Drive. We at St. John the Evangelist extend sincere thanks to the O’Connells and their tribe of cheerful packers for a job well done as they worked in His name and yours for so long.
Did you take a look at the Catholic Faith Appeal statistics in the bulletin? We have nearly reached 50% of our goal only two full months into the annual appeal. Thank you for your extreme generosity! Seasonal residents and visitors, please remember to make your check payable to the CFA with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager