It always amazes me each time I attend Mass or participate in an event here at Saint John just how many wonderful volunteers we have. The volunteers and ministries of our parish assist and lead almost every facet of the church. They give out body and blood of Jesus both here in the church, at the hospitals (we now support two!), and at people’s homes. They go out into the community and serve food to those in need. They set up dances and doo whop nights. They take care of those grieving spouses that have lost a loved one. There is so much our volunteers do.
In the spirit of this fact, I want to announce the upcoming “We Are Saint John” activities. These activities will be focused on bringing our entire Parish Family together, both those that currently serve, as well as those of you who have not had the time to commit to one of the ministries of our Parish. These events are of a scale never before seen at Saint John, and they require the engagement of the whole parish, not just one or two groups. These events are not huge obligations. They do not require a family to sacrifice every week or every month, but instead commit to helping on a certain day, for a small period of time.
- Helping Hands: August 4, 5:00 PM – Imagine being able to feed 20,000 people. Would you like to join us to achieve this goal, all within the span of 2 hours? Catholic Relief Services will be setting up a “Meals Ready to Eat (MRE)” station in our Ballroom, where we will have the chance to make a major impact on the starving population of the world. Join us in this effort, and bring all the friends you possibly can. There are jobs for all ages, and all abilities.
- Thanksgiving in the Park Preparations: November 22 – 25 – John has been blessed to be designated as the primary support organization for Thanksgiving in the Park, the 30-year-old food preparation and service program to the people of Immokalee on Thanksgiving Day. We will need help gathering all the food, preparing it (including last year’s fun turkey carving), and getting all the materials out to the park. Last year, we carved more turkey than they ever had done before and we are planning on another banner year. Additional support will be needed to clean all the pots, pans, and equipment on Friday, so we need all the help we can get.
- Gaelic and Garlic Festival: March 18-19, 2017 – How much fun is it that both Saint Patrick’s Day and Saint Joseph’s Feast share the same weekend this coming year? Our whole Parish Family will come together to share the cultural food, music, dancing and revelry of both the Irish Isles and the Boot of Italy. We will have meatball eating contests, a 5K race to benefit Catholic Charities, dueling Irish Step vs. Tarantella Italian Dancers, and all the food and drink to celebrate these inherently Catholic cultural celebrations. Perhaps we can get Father John to sing Danny Boy at least once or twice. And, with all the pomp of Arthur Avenue, we will have the traditional procession of the statue of Saint Joseph through the campus and to our party in the Ballroom. We will need everyone to bring their favorite recipes and with the potential Naples community engagement, assist with everything from serving food to handling the games and booths to judging the Gaelic vs. Garlic contests.
I think you would all be as amazed as I am when you see just what we are all capable of doing together in the name of Jesus. Please join us for these activities. More information will be forthcoming on each as we get closer to their dates.