Annual Contribution Statements were mailed out last week to all parishioners who contributed at least $1.00 during the 2012 calendar year. The statements were mailed “first class” in order to eliminate any problems with the bulk rate mailing process. As you know, we have made great strides in the past several years to ensure that your statement is accurate. If there is an error on your statement, please contact me as soon as possible so that I may research and rectify the situation. The following are examples of contributions that will NOT appear on your annual statement from St. John the Evangelist.
1) If you have been contributing to the Catholic Faith Appeal in the 2012 calendar year and have exceeded the IRS $250.00 threshold, you will receive an acknowledgement directly from the Diocese of Venice. If you did not meet the $250.00 threshold for CFA contributions in 2012, you will need to use cancelled checks for tax purposes.
2) If you made a contribution directly to the Jamaica Outreach Program (JOP), your gift will be recognized by JOP.
3) If you made a contribution to the St. Vincent De Paul Society (directly or through the parish,) your gift will be recognized by the St. Vincent De Paul Society.
4) If you deposited loose cash in the offertory and did not use an envelope, we have no record of the gift. 5) If you are not a registered parishioner, you will not receive a statement.
Thank you very much to all of our parishioners for your generous support in 2012. We would not be able to efficiently operate without your generosity.
Have you taken a look at the “Lest we Forget” Veteran’s Memorial recently? We are in the process of installing travertine stone with marble insets at the base of the statue. In the next few weeks, we will install the travertine at the base of all benches. The next order of brick memorial pavers will be installed this coming week. For those who have been waiting for the engraving on the granite benches; all of the information has been submitted to the engraver and we optimistically hope to have them completed by this coming week. We have also removed the tree that was interfering with the flags at the memorial. Once we grind the stump, landscaping will be installed to the east of the memorial. We have placed an order for additional miniature replicas of the “Lest we Forget” statue and hope to have them by next week in the gift shop.
The fourth annual ministry parade will take place this weekend prior to every Mass. This involves representatives from all of our parish ministries processing into the church with their respective banners. For those who witnessed the parade in years past, it is a truly amazing sight. This will be an opportunity for those not involved in a ministry to peruse the choices.
After several years of hosting a black tie themed St. Patrick’s Day Party, we are switching things up this year by returning to a more traditional party. On St. Patrick’s Day (Sunday, March 17) we will host a party complete with corned beef and cabbage and green beer. We are still working on pricing and entertainment; however, rest assured that this event will be very affordable. We want to allow all of our parishioners the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at St. John the Evangelist. The proceeds from the St. Patrick’s Day Party will benefit the St. Vincent De Paul Society.
Save the date:
I have had several calls regarding the Reverse Raffle and whether or not we will host again this year. I am happy to announce the Reverse Raffle will indeed take place on Saturday, April 6. Please see upcoming bulletins for more information.
It wasn’t the match up many of us were hoping for but the San Francisco 49ers will play the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. This game will feature the Harbaugh bothers in a first for the NFL. Never before have brothers coached against each other in the Super Bowl. Tickets are still available for our 15th annual Super Bowl Party to be held on Sunday, February 3 in the PLC Ballroom. I look forward to seeing everyone outside of Mass on the February 3 as we sell Super Bowl Squares for the big game. Proceeds from the Super Bowl Party will benefit our Youth Ministry program.
Have you submitted your email address? Exactly one year ago, we began using Constant Contact to distribute email to our parish family. This module has been extremely effective and is a great way to convey important information quickly to all of our parishioners. If you would like to be included, please submit your email address to me at [email protected]. There are still about 80 addresses that bounce back when we perform a mass email. If you submitted your email address and are not receiving email, your address may have changed or may be incorrect in our system.
Our new goal for the 2013 Catholic Faith Appeal has been calculated by the Diocese of Venice. Due to numerous credits issued for support of Diocesan approved entities, our goal increased only $10,000.00 over last year, even though our assessable revenue increased substantially. We will see you in February for the annual CFA kickoff.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager