I received the most beautiful note via U.S. mail last week. The note was from a parishioner who had recently returned to her Northern residence in New York. “Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus in such a beautiful way. The liturgy and messages are gifts to a faith filled community. It is my blessing to be with you.” It is notes such as this which make all we do for Saint John the Evangelist very worthwhile.
I would like to personally apologize to our parish congregation for all of the issues we have had recently with regards to the sound system, lighting system and air conditioning in the church. As you know, we have installed new lighting controls, sound controls and AC controls and it seems that the learning curve was much greater than anticipated. Ultimately, all of these systems will be controlled by one operating system, however, currently they are all being operated independently which has been problematic at best. Once we are able to tie all of the systems together, we will recognize a great cost savings and have a very efficient operating system. Please understand that we are working diligently to resolve these issues.
Vacation Bible School is now filled to capacity. If your child is enrolled to participate, I ensure you that this year’s VBS will be the best ever. If your child was unable to attend, I urge you to register early next year as our program is arguably the best locally.
We have broken the $300,000.00 threshold with regards to the 2014 Catholic Faith Appeal. We still have a lot of work to do but with nearly seven full months remaining in the appeal, I am confident that our parishioners will come through strong. Remember that a great way to help us and help yourselves is by donating appreciated stock to the CFA. Considering that the stock market (DJIA) has been hovering near record highs for the past several weeks, many of you are in receipt of appreciated stock. Remember that by donating “appreciated stock,” you will be able to avoid the capital gains tax and recognize the gift as a charitable donation at fair market value. This is what I would call a true win-win situation. You get to avoid a big tax hit, “write off” the gift and help us reach our CFA goal. You may call the Development Office at the Diocese of Venice at 941.484.9543 and request the transfer. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
After my recent comments regarding the Memorial Garden at Saint John the Evangelist, I have had several questions arise that I will do my best to address. First and foremost, The Catholic Church states that cremation is perfectly appropriate with the stipulation that the ashes or cremains are placed in an urn and buried in consecrated ground, which is the case in our Memorial Garden. The Catholic Church does not allow ashes to be stored on a shelf or scattered in the ocean, etc. You must be a parishioner of Saint John the Evangelist or a family member of a parishioner in order to purchase space in our garden. If you are Catholic and your spouse is not, you may both be interred in our memorial garden. Finally, you must be willing to be cremated as we may only bury cremated remains in our Memorial Garden. Hopefully, this clears up some of the questions those of you on the fence have been contemplating. If you would like to purchase space in our Memorial Garden, please contact me at 566.1678.
We will begin installation of six new air conditioning units in the PLC the week of June 16. Believe it or not, the rooftop units being replaced are the original units and have given us 17 solid years of service. Considering our proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, that is a great life span. The new units will come complete with “controls” so that they may be operated via our Metasys system. There will be a crane onsite and most likely a bit of mess while the installation takes place. We apologize for any inconvenience you may experience as a result.
Believe it or not, our triplets celebrated their 3rd birthday this past week. To the left is a picture of Mia, Nate and Ella preparing to devour their cake. Nate is a big fan of Monster trucks and garbage trucks, while Ella and Mia love to wear dresses, dance and sing, especially to the soundtrack from the movie “Frozen.” Thank you again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers over the past four years.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA,
General Manager