Every summer I have a jealous streak that comes over me knowing that our seasonal residents are up north enjoying truly beautiful weather while we are left to sweat it out in Southwest Florida until they return in the fall. It seems that the tables have turned slightly this year. Our high temperatures in the low 90s pale in comparison to what others are experiencing up north. From Minneapolis to Chicago to New York and even in Boston, temperatures are extremely unseasonable with many of these cities seeing triple digits in the past week. Looking at the national temperature map, it seems that the only safe haven is the coast of California. The good news for those up north is that this heat wave won’t last. The unfortunate news for us is that we can guarantee temperatures in the low to mid 90s and humidity of at least 90% for the next several months.
This past Sunday marked the beginning of our new fiscal year. Our fiscal year runs July 1 – June 30. I am pleased to announce that in the face of a challenging economy, we once again finished the fiscal year “in the black.” Once I have completely closed the books for last fiscal year, we will publish a financial report in the bulletin so that you may see the details. On behalf of St. John the Evangelist parish, thank you for your extreme generosity in allowing us to remain solvent during the trying economic times.
Did you know that the nature of the landscaping in the Memorial Garden was planned for a particular reason? We wanted to plant as many flowering trees, shrubs and plants as possible for one specific purpose. The last thing we want to do is clutter our beautiful Memorial Garden with plastic flowers and large bouquets
that look out of place. The idea is that instead of placing an arrangement of flowers on a particular grave, you would pick one of the many varieties of flowering plants and place this on the grave. See the attached picture of the new landscaping and a gentleman placing a freshly picked hibiscus on a grave. I would kindly ask that you comply with this request to further beautify our garden. The placement of small American flags is also perfectly appropriate.
The final order of granite benches arrived this past week and they have been installed in the Memorial Garden and in the courtyard between the church and Parish Life Center. If you missed out on the opportunity to purchase a bench, we may have one final campaign. Please see the bulletin for details as they become available.
Each week the Diocese of Venice sends me an updated spreadsheet of contributions made to the Catholic Faith Appeal (CFA.) Included in this report are statistics regarding the total number of registered families and those that have made a contribution the CFA. We currently have 2,600 registered families at St. John the Evangelist. A registered family is defined as one that has contributed at least $1 in the past twelve months. Obviously, our parish membership is much greater than the 2,600 listed, however, many choose not to register, others do not contribute and many more are very seasonal and contribute cash while here, making them virtually “invisible” as far as record keeping goes. What I found truly amazing is that only 29.99% of these registered families have contributed to the CFA. That amounts to roughly 780 of our 2,600 families. Currently, we are $168,000 short of reaching our goal for the 2012 appeal. If we had participation from the 1,820 families that have not yet made a contribution or pledge, we would have a great shot at exceeding our goal this year and on into the future. Our shortfall divided by the number of families not contributing amounts to approximately $92.00 per family. If these 1,820 families were able to make an annual pledge of $100 ($1.92 per week at 52 weeks) to the CFA, we would be in great shape. As everyone is aware through my constant badgering, we missed our goal last year by $23,000.00. This shortfall was recognized by operating funds that would have been put to better use by supporting our countless ministries within the parish. Remember that the CFA is the single most important component of our annual operating budget. For those who have made a pledge or contribution the CFA, thank you for your generosity. For those who have not, please consider doing so as there is certainly power in numbers. Although $1.92 per week doesn’t sound like a lot, when there is a factor of 1,000 or more involved, the growth is exponential. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager