Remember the past with gratitude.
Live in the present with enthusiasm.
Look forward to the future with confidence – Saint Pope John Paul II
We are blessed to be back in our church, again whole with our enlivening faith environment. It has taken tremendous effort to renew our church and our Parish Family. We are now nearing the completion of our church and the financial obligation that came along with this work. So, we have developed: Finish the Church, our final push of the Capital Campaign, to complete the transformation of the entire campus and ensure our success for the next 30 years. While we have come far already, we will all need to work together to complete our vision of the new Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Over the next few weeks, we want to give you an opportunity to learn where we stand, how we got here, and what we need to do as a Parish Family to Finish the Church together.
Last week, we discussed the impact our Parish Family has already had on our Finish the Church campaign, with the tremendous gifts that have already been received from many of you. This week is an opportunity for those who have been prayerfully considering Father’s request for us all to contribute. We continue to drive towards our goal of fulfilling our obligation to the Diocese. The loan began as slightly over $2 million. It is now only at $1.3 million, given the generosity of the Parish Family. If all the below memorial opportunities were taken, we would cut that balance in half.
Here are some details of the remaining opportunities:
- Altar Crucifix: This massive wood-carved statue was created in Florence, Italy. The artist spent months planning and creating this unique piece just to fit the exact dimensions of our new church Altar wall. It is so impressive and speaks to the Christ crucified, not dead, still very much human and yet suffering for all of us.
- Altar: Our brand-new Altar is honed out of the same Florentine quary marble as the rest of our Liturgical environment and houses an actual first-class relic of Saint Thomas (Doubting Thomas). The beauty of this Altar is in both its simplicity and its powerful presence.
- Video Screens and Projection System: When we were planning the new Sanctuary, we knew that the integration of technology would be a necessary component for years to come. As such, we deployed all the cabling needed to have video displays for the back wings of the church, as well as for large-scale powerful projectors, capable of placing easily read and viewed information on the walls on either side of the Altar. The cost of the projectors and screens were not in the current budget, however, so we have reserved this capability for this opportunity.
- Gift Boutique/Shop: We have completely renovated the Gift Boutique to make it more capable and open for the various religious items and Sacramentals that tie us personally to our faith.
- Brick Memorials: As you can see outside the main entrance of the church, we have begun to install the first set of memorial bricks that were from the gifts of the Parish Family. If you are so called, you can choose the small brick for $1,000 and have 2 lines of 25 characters each, or for $5,000, you can have the larger brick, which includes 4 lines of 25 characters each.
