As most of you are aware, there was no Scott’s Corner in last week’s bulletin. I was skiing in New Hampshire with my daughter and had planned to be back on Tuesday evening in time to compose my weekly column. Unfortunately, mother nature had a different plan. After driving to the Manchester Airport in a “white out” I was confident that we would get out and make our connection in Newark. The snow then turned to freezing rain and we ended up spending another night in the frozen north. After spending a little time in the middle of January in New England, I will never again question why our winter residents choose to evacuate their northern residences and escape to Southwest Florida. And as a Florida native, I respect those of you that lived in those conditions year after year. Although it is beautiful country, travel is treacherous at best especially for an inexperienced winter weather driver. I especially enjoyed driving down I-93 trying to figure out where my lane was. As it turns out, it really didn’t matter as I could seemingly drive anywhere without any consequences other than fish tailing all over the road. I am thrilled to be back in Naples.
I am also thrilled to announce that we finished incredibly strong in the 2010 Catholic Faith Appeal. We exceeded our goal of $486,000.00 by $22,596.96 finishing with a total of $508,596.96. In round numbers that is well over one half million dollars. Thank you so much to all that made this dream a reality. We have now met our goal three years in a row. Our assessment for 2011 looks to be even lower than last year. I am looking forward to a four year run in 2011. The $22,596.96 will be returned to the parish to be used for whatever need we choose.
I know there are a lot of Bears and Jets fans out there who are dejected while there are plenty of Packers and Steelers fans who are euphoric. As a Redskins fan, I have not seen the glory days for many years. So who do I cheer for? I cheer for the teams that I think will be the best draw for our Super Bowl Party. Considering the majority of our parishioners are from the Midwest and Northeast, I think this will be a great party with representation from each respective geographic region. As of this past Tuesday, we had sold nearly 200 tickets. If you are planning on joining us, please do not delay as I feel this year’s event will sell out. For those who have attended in the past and those who may be first timers, this is a great party! Tickets are available for $25 in the parish office.
The ministry parade was a smashing success this past weekend. Please remember that this weekend is the ministry fair and your opportunity to join one or several of our parish ministries. Please stop by the Parish Life Center Ballroom and meet the representatives. In addition, this will be your first opportunity to get your hands on the new Parish Resource Directory. This is truly a magnificent publication (thanks again to Dave Quist) and may only be obtained by attending the ministry fair.
There is a vicious rumor floating around the parish and for once I am incredibly proud to acknowledge that it is true. For those of you who were not at the 9:00 a.m. Mass several weeks ago and missed Fr. John’s announcement, I will now put it in writing. My wife (Shelley) is pregnant and expecting not one, not two, but three babies. Yes, this is true! We are expecting triplets. We also now know that we will have one boy and two girls. To say that we are excited is an understatement, and to say that I am terrified is also an understatement. I will wholeheartedly welcome any comments or suggestions as this is very unknown territory that we are entering.
Have you seen our new resident Ospreys? Well actually I guess you could say that they are residents of the baseball field as the nest is perched atop their light pole. He prefers to fish in our lake and retention pond so we can claim them as our own. I can only assume that they are preparing for some babies of their own – triplets maybe? If you have yet to see them I would bet you have heard their signature screech resonating throughout the campus.
As you are all aware, Mary did arrive as planned and is now positioned in her niche on the east side of the nave. She is even more amazing in person that I ever could have imagined. We are still working with our lighting vendor to enhance the illumination of Mary. In the very near future, we will also install votive candle light stands on either side of Mary for your devotions.
Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.