To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often. – Blessed John Henry Neumann
With so many changes to our Church Building, we thought it would be helpful to our Parish Family to provide some suggestions and guidance on how to enjoy this faith-enriching environment. This “Survival Guide” will take many forms, from this column to a consolidated pamphlet and even walking tours of the church to help us all Finish the Church. Please join us in embracing these wonderful changes and prayerfully consider any support you can provide to complete this campaign.
When the leadership of the Parish Family determined to seize the opportunity to completely transform our church, one essential design element was prioritized: accessibility. We wanted to ensure any and every member of our Family, as well as our wonderful guests, could participate fully in the beauty of our faith, and in particular, the Mass. Every decision was calculated to see if we could improve the building, making it easier to access for all ages and all special needs, from physical impairments, to audio/sensory support, to cognitive services. Some of these changes manifested themselves in the building itself. Here are a few changes to the exterior that can assist you in coming to Saint John for Mass:
We have removed the priest/deacon spots in the front-left parking lot immediately connected to the church and posted signage for these spots to be 24/7 handicap parking only. This lot will also be completely redesigned in the next few months, increasing the amount of handicap spots and allowing us to move the expectant mother and Driving Ministry spots to that lot. This will make finding a spot much easier for those with handicap placards.
The Middle Parking Lot of our church has a substantial amount of handicap parking signs, as well as the expanded sized spots specifically for large vehicles for wheelchair transportation. There is now an automatic door opener on the door that leads from that lot into the Sanctuary, making it very easy for those with physical needs to be able to enter our church and find their seats. We plan to add another automatic door opener to the entrance near the new front lot described above when we finish that construction as well. All the infrastructure has been installed already.