Summer arrived this past Wednesday at 7:09 p.m. in conjunction with the Summer Solstice. Each year, the timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. This occurs annually on June 20 or June 21 in North America, depending on your time zone. You may or may not have noticed due to excessive cloud cover that June 20 was the longest day of the year or the day with the most daylight. The days will now become incrementally shorter culminating in the shortest day of the year on December 21 with the arrival of the Winter Solstice. The arrival of Summer means very little in Southwest Florida as we have been experiencing hot and humid temperatures for the past several months. It does signify the fact that all of our seasonal residents have now departed and we have our roads and restaurants back for the next few months. Arriving at the 9:00 a.m. Mass five minutes before the processional and finding a great seat is also a bonus.
Are you interested in becoming an altar server? This is a great opportunity for your child to become involved in the “life of the parish.” We will host the June Altar Server training this Sunday directly following the 1:00 p.m. Mass from 2:15p.m.-3:30 p.m. This is open to anyone who is currently serving or new servers. In the future, we plan on having an extended altar 
server training for any child who just received First Holy Communion and is interested in serving. We are looking to host this first special training in July and more details will be forthcoming. If you would like to participate this Sunday, we warmly welcome you to show up. For attendance in the July session, please contact Neal Borter at [email protected].
Charlene Youngs (Director of Family Ministry) is looking for lectors for the 11 a.m. children’s Mass. This also is a great opportunity to become involved in the life of the parish. If your child is interested, please contact Charlene at 566.8740 ext. 123.
For those parents who have applied for a tuition subsidy to St. John Neumann, St. Ann or St. Elizabeth Seton, you are well aware of the criteria involved in securing a subsidy. In addition to regular Mass attendance and giving, we also require that your child participate in the life of the parish. The two aforementioned opportunities are great ways to ensure that your child receives a subsidy. Participating in youth group is another avenue, if your child is not comfortable with serving or lecturing.
As a thank you to our altar servers, Fr. John took a sizable group to Busch Gardens this past Wednesday to recognize their service to the parish. The park was celebrating extended hours and this enthusiastic group had twelve full hours to ride every roller coaster more than once.
I have been managing operations in our memorial garden for a little over three years now. When asked to take over this responsibility, I initially balked as I found this addition to my job description to be slightly morbid. As it turns out, I have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful parishioners on a one-to-one basis that I would not have otherwise. The majority of parishioners purchasing space in our memorial garden are doing so for a very unselfish reason. They do not want their family members or loved ones to have to deal with their final planning at a very difficult and trying time. By purchasing space in our memorial garden well in advance of their demise, these parishioners can find solace in knowing that their family members may concentrate on spending time with loved ones rather than shopping for a final resting place. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please contact me at 566.1678 to schedule a meeting. The all inclusive purchase price of $1,200.00 is a great deal and includes the opening, closing, urn, headstone and plaque. In order to purchase space in our memorial garden, you must be a St. John the Evangelist parishioner or the immediate family of a parishioner.
I feel it safe to say that we have now settled into the summer doldrums even though summer just began this past week. Attendance has substantially tapered off and contributions to the CFA have also decreased dramatically. We are still in good shape due to the early outpouring of generosity through the first six months of the campaign. As I have stated on numerous occasions, let us strive to not just meet our goal this year, but rather substantially exceed our goal. Thank you in advance for your continued support of the Catholic Faith Appeal.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager