In the spirit of the Jubilee of Mercy, all of us are called to realize how indifference can manifest itself in our lives and to work concretely to improve the world around us, beginning with our families, neighbours and places of employment. – Pope Francis
Happy 2016!
This is a very big year for Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Due to all of your generosity, we will be breaking ground on our new Life Center this year. Additionally, those gifts have helped us begin developing new programs that will help us all live out Our Holy Father’s call for us to improve the world around us, beginning with our own community.
This gives us an opportunity now to engage all the members of our Parish Family with additional details on what else we are looking forward to accomplishing if those that have not pledged yet would prayerfully consider giving.
- Church Renovation: As a nearly 27-year-old building, our church needs significant renovation support. From clearing away the old skylight that has been covered for years to creating handicapped accessible options for our altar, our church has several priorities. Additionally, we want to implement some essential components to our church, like more traditional confessionals.
- PLC Renovation, including Ballroom: Our Ballroom and other parts of the Parish Life Center require significant work in order to reinvigorate their capabilities for our Parish Family and the community. From new floors to increase the danceable space since Big Band dances and Sock Hops have people dancing between the tables, to appropriate window coverings to allow for videos to be shown during the day, and our beautiful view to the outside in the evening, we have a significant investment to make.
- Grounds: We have several plans for the grounds of the campus to assist our Parish Family, including adding covered parking, especially for the handicapped spaces, so people can arrive and leave church without getting wet during the downpours so common here in SW Florida. This would also allow us to “go green” by giving us additional locations for solar panels, saving the church in the long run on our power bills.
These are just a few of the plans we have. Please help us make these and other improvements a reality. While we have begun the work our current blessings have allowed us to accomplish for the Build Our Future, Serve Our Past capital campaign, we still need our entire Parish Family to give in order to reach our additional goals. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Lichwalla, the Campaign Coordinator at 239-495-2001 or email: [email protected].
You can also learn more information about the Campaign at: www.sjecc.com/future