On November 8, the Knights of Columbus will honor Fr. John Rourke for his vocation by hosting their Annual Vocations Dinner in the Ballroom of the Parish Life Center. This is a great opportunity for our parishioners to congratulate Fr. Rourke and to say thank you for his vocation and all he has done for our parish. See the full page advertisement on page 19 for more information.
After attending the Vocation dinner on Friday, we hope to see you bright and early the next morning as the Arthur J. Corr 4th Degree Assembly Knights of Columbus and St. John’s Council 11281 host our annual Veterans’ Day Mass on Saturday, November 9 at 9:30 a.m. in the church. There will be numerous festivities culminating with our celebra
nt (Fr. Greg Caggianelli) blessing the “Lest we Forget” statue in the Veteran’s Memorial. For those who have not yet purchased a brick paver in the memorial, this would be an ideal time to do so. If you would like a paver and would like it engraved and installed before the Mass on November 9, please contact me by no later than this coming Friday, October 25 with your information. The cost for an engraved brick paver is only $150.00. For a full listing of events surrounding the Veterans’ Mass, please see page 3 of the bulletin.
Several weeks ago I wrote about a parishioner who authored a Catholic children’s book relating to Advent. Soon thereafter, another parishioner stepped forward letting me know that she too, was the author of a children’s book. Maggie Gadsby wrote a book last year entitled “Owl Be Home for Christmas.” This is a historical-fictional book about owls and World War II. It is available for sale in our Divine Gift Boutique and also at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Amazon. Maggie is actually having a book signing at Barnes & Noble this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – Noon. Our Divine Gift Boutique manager (Jackie Gibson) has notified me that she is a having a special book shelf fabricated (Book Nook) which will house the books of our parishioners as well as many others. It seems that I say this entirely too often but we have some incredibly talented parishioners here at St. John the Evangelist.
We have officially broken the $400,000.00 threshold with regards to the Catholic Faith Appeal. We still have over two months remaining in the appeal and need only raise $52,000.00 to meet our goal. As a point of reference, at this same time last year we were $100,000.00 short of our goal and finished with a $60,000.00 surplus. Simply meeting our goal this year would be a disappointment after what we accomplished last year. Let us strive to exceed our goal so that the overage will come back to the parish free of assessment. If you are a returning seasonal parishioner or visitor, please make your check payable to the Catholic Faith Appeal (CFA) with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line. Also please consider making a year-end gift to the CFA as an appreciated stock donation, IRA distribution or a credit card contribution. Thanks in advance for your consideration!
The final round of flu shots will be administered on Thursday, November 7 at 9:00 a.m. in the ballroom of the Parish Life Center. If you have yet to receive your shot this is an opportunity to do so in the friendly confines of St. John the Evangelist. The Flu Shots are being administered by the Visiting Nurses Association of Southwest Florida at a cost of only $25. Did you know that the proceeds from the Visiting Nurses Association will be used to provide Flu, Tetanus and Pneumonia shots to Immokalee Farmworkers free of charge?
I have had numerous comments from parishioners recently about the condition of the campus. Returning seasonal residents have sent me email and spoken to me in person commenting that they have never seen the campus look so beautiful. After hearing their comments, I decided to pay a little closer attention to my surroundings and as a result I have to wholeheartedly agree with the comments of many. The campus really does look beautiful. Of course, the fact that we had an abundance of rainfall this season certainly helped our cause. I would also like to recognize our Buildings and Grounds Committee for their hard work in keeping the campus in tip top shape. Finally, I would like to recognize Molter Landscape for the incredible job they have done in keeping our campus meticulously maintained in the face of a crazy rainy season which had everything growing at twice the normal rate.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager