Patience is the companion of wisdom. – Saint Augustine
There is already so much excitement brewing with our Parish Family and in the larger Naples area about the activities and events we are planning at St. John. With over 700 individual responses to our survey, we are clearly seeing the need for persistent programs to engage our fellowship and our faith. The challenge we now face is to begin these efforts within the confines of our existing campus, ensuring that past, present, and future come together.
Did you know we already have over 100 youth pre-registered for Faith Formation for next year? This is an unheard of number for St. John at this point in the year. If that is any indication of the growth of our Parish Family, we will have a significant increase in the activity on our campus every single day. As we increase the overall usage of the buildings we have now, and develop systems to handle all the various activities, I would ask that everyone understand that this coming year will be one of flexibility and patience. Meetings you may have had in a certain room for 5 or 10 years will need to move to another location on campus. Events that have not been supportive of the Parish Family may be modified or replaced for renewed activities. Priorities that have been illustrated by the survey will begin. We have over 4,800 activities to accomplish along with these new programs. We are such a vibrant community, so this is a good problem to have, but it can be difficult for some individuals to accept change. That is why patience will be needed from everyone for the next year.
Additionally, with the construction of the new Life Center beginning in the Fall and Winter, we will have further physical constraints on the campus. The back lot and field will become the staging ground for the increased space and capability of Saint John the Evangelist. From parking restraints to limitations on where we can hold activities, we must all work together to Build Our Future, Serve Our Past. Flexibility and patience (and prayer) are the keys to getting us through these challenging moments together and to a point of achieving Father John’s mission to build a constantly engaging St. John for our Parish Family and the community.
While the money has been pledged in our Build Our Future, Serve Our Past capital campaign to build our Life Center and some of our other urgent needs, we still need our entire Parish Family to give in order to reach our additional goals, including the detailed execution of the above programs. 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