Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. – Saint Vincent de Paul
Over the past few weeks, we have been describing the significant needs we have still here at St. John. The lists of urgent and needed renovations for the church, the PLC, the Claussen Center, and the grounds are the reason we have a Challenge goal for our Capital Campaign to reach $10 million. This should not be a reach, given the current pledge amount of $8.7 million, and I hope all of you who have not contributed yet will consider prayerfully your support.
There are several major central services for all our campus that will be part of this renewal effort. Central services are utilities and other components that are used across the buildings that will ensure you will feel safe, comfortable, and engaged when you are here at St. John. A few of these services that are priorities are:
- Air Conditioning: You may have noticed that AC is on the list of every single building’s renovation plan. We will be looking closely at centralizing the AC systems of all the buildings to make them more efficient and controlled, so half of the church will not freeze while the other half is fanning itself.
- Doors: If you have noticed, the doors of all the buildings are all different shapes, sizes, and materials. Many of them have small glass inserts, others are industrial. Other than the front doors to the church, they are all original to their building construction. After decades of constant use, they need to be replaced, as many of you can attest to as they slam shut during Mass, or stick due to the humidity. Rather than doing piecemeal replacements, we plan to institute a new door system across the entire campus. This system will include integrated access control, allowing each and every one of us to visit the different parts of buildings as we need to with a single fob instead of a janitor’s keychain.
- Digital Signage: When you next visit a hotel or convention center, you will notice that instead of paper signs on doors, organizations have placed small screens at each room and larger ones at the entrances to the buildings. These screens provide interactive and direct information to individuals looking for their next meeting as well as directions on how to get there. I have heard the need for help for finding the Ballroom on a daily basis and these signs will assist our visitors and Parish Family find their way around our campus. Additionally, they will provide direct feedback for those looking for assistance, information on the upcoming activities, and many other functions.
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