Saint John is a vibrant and engaged community, a parish family. We have well over 5,000 different events that occur on our campus on a yearly basis, everything from traditional liturgical programs (Masses, Weddings, Funerals, etc.) to parish-wide spectaculars (Family Fun Day, Oktoberfest) to small-group prayer meetings. In fact, we have a new calendar of events available on our website that will be used to inform you of all the goings-on here at Saint John. It is at the bottom right-hand corner of the main webpage, as well as being available directly at: https://legacysite.sjecc.org/calendar.
As part of the “New Wineskin” of Saint John, Father John and I have created a mantra for the entire parish. If you are a sports fan, you will recognize the chant, which is used by almost every team in the world: We Are Saint John! This simple and direct comment expresses our vision that we are all working together, with one voice and one focus, To Know, To Love, and To Serve God in His Church and Our Community. In every moment we are doing God’s work here on earth, whether that is spreading mulch to make our parish campus look amazing, seating a new parishioner in our church with a smile and answer to any question they have, or working in the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen, We Are Saint John.
There are responsibilities that come with being part of a parish. We are all called upon to live this mission and message in our daily lives and in all our interactions with the people in our lives. We Are Saint John illustrates our behavior during the moment of encounter (https://legacysite.sjecc.org/familymission/the-moment-of-encounter-protecting-the-butterfly) that is a core focus of our faith.
We have so many various ministries, organizations, and groups within the Saint John parish family. They all have the Holy Spirit guiding them to successfully accomplish their missions and the Saint John staff and parish continue to support and encourage them all. We Are Saint John shows we are also called to work together in the spirit of mutual understanding and collaboration, especially in efforts to grow our ability to help more people in the community around us. Recently, the Knights of Columbus generously supported the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist with their Holy Happy Hour, and the over 65 EM’s are thankful. In fact, several of them are now considering becoming Knights.
This topic will be the core of our Open House Town Hall Meetings this coming week here at the church. Please join us. Dates and times are on our website at: https://legacysite.sjecc.org/uncategorized/we-are-saint-john-town-hall-meetings-week-of-november-16th. We can all work together to achieve our goals and we will only be stronger together. We Are Saint John!