Wow, what a weekend! This past Easter weekend was filled with everything you may have wanted and more. The weather was absolutely perfect with clear skies and temperatures warming into the low 80s. For those who managed to find a seat inside the church and PLC, the AC units had to work overtime to keep all of the tightly packed parishioners from overheating. Fr. John tells me that the 8:00 p.mm Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday was absolutely full. On Sunday, the action started promptly at 7:00 a.m. with roughly 1,500 in attendance. The 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. Masses in the church were completely standing room only (inside and out) and one can only “guestimate” the total number in attendance. The 9:15 and 11:15 am overflow Masses in the PLC were also standing room only. It is estimated that in excess of 10,000 attended Mass over the weekend. Traffic was backed up on 111th Avenue North all the way to US 41 and then eastward to the entrance of the Post Office. Although it was overly crowded, we are hopeful that you had a very spiritual experience here at St. John the Evangelist.
The Men’s Club hosted their 7th annual Easter egg hunt on Holy Saturday. Soaking in abundant sunshine and low humidity, over 400 children and adults showed up to gather as many eggs as possible before heading back to the ballroom in the PLC for pizza and ice cream. So well organized was this event that I received numerous phone calls and emails expressing thanks to the Men’s Club. On behalf of everyone here at St. John the Evangelist, many thanks to the Men’s Club for hosting another exceptionally well organized event to benefit the children of our parish. These men and their wives certainly deserve a nice break after hosting countless events this season! (See photos on page one of t
his bulletin.)
As promised, the late season cool weather allowed the Tabebuia Tree to retain its bloom which was at peak for Easter Masses. Please see the picture of one of our trees located in the Paniccia Prayer Garden. It is truly spectacular!
If you were at St. John the Evangelist during Holy Week, you most likely witnessed some major developments taking place on campus. Most of you noticed that there was a very large crane parked outside the Parish Life Center. We replaced three of the fourteen AC units on the roof of the PLC. This is part of a program that will continue until all of the fourteen old units are replaced. The PLC is now 16 years old and the AC units have recognized their useful life. We replaced one last year and two are used only periodically and in good condition, leaving eight more to be replaced. While the replacement of these units is important news, our new control system is the really exciting news. We have contracted with Johnson Controls to install a “Metasys” control system which will ultimately oversee the controls of all mechanicals on the campus in the near future. Metasys is now installed and we are able to control the new PLC AC units from any computer. On Easter Monday, we performed a “direct underground bore” from the PLC to the church and installed fiber optic cable which will connect the two buildings. Believe it or not, until now, there was no connectivity and no internet access in the church. No longer will the church be isolated. This is a major development as we can now proceed with many items on our long range wish list. The “relatively” new AC units in the church will now be retrofit with controls allowing us to also operate these units on the Metasys system. The new lighting system will also be tied into the system as well as the sound system, security and fire systems. We will be able to control the parking lot lights with a module that recognizes the time of year, turning the lights on and off as dictated by the amount of ambient light present. In addition, this new high speed connectivity will allow us to provide live streaming of Masses in the near future. We are very excited about the new opportunities that await us as we move forward. These technological advances will not only make it easier to control and monitor our campus; they will also save us substantial dollars in the future.
Have you purchased your ticket for the Reverse Raffle to (hopefully) be held on Friday, April 19th? I would bet that the answer from the majority would be a resounding “NO.” We still must sell 150 more tickets in order for the event to take place. If you are waiting in the wings or are “on the fence”, I urge you to support the parish and the Catholic Faith Appeal by purchasing your ticket this week. This is a great event and the price is certainly “right on.” For $100.00, two guests will be treated to a fabulous dinner, open bar, entertainment and the chance to win $10,000.00. We have recently added other giveaways so that even fewer attendees will leave empty handed. Thank you in advance for making this event a reality and a tremendous success by purchasing a ticket.
Last week, I alluded to the fact that Messner Publications was preparing to launch a new press and paper for our bulletin that would dramatically change the look and feel of our weekly publication. We all had a very nice Easter surprise as they were able to produce our first new bulletin last week. It is beautiful and the pictures and text really “pop” off of the page. We hope you enjoy the new bulletin.
Did you take a glance at the YTD collection summary? Please pay close attention to the Catholic Faith Appeal statistic. We are currently at 46% of goal only three months into the annual appeal. As a point of reference, last year at this time, we were only at 42% of goal. Our total for this year does not include any of the Easter contributions yet to be recognized. Thank you so much to those who have made a pledge or contribution to the CFA. As a reminder, if you are a seasonal resident or visitor, please make your check payable to the Catholic Faith Appeal with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line. Thank you again for your continued support.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager