The office has received many messages over the past week from parishioners who are returning from their summer abodes, requesting that their envelopes be reactivated. This is a wonderful opportunity to educate our Parish Family about these envelopes. The Parish envelopes are sent out every other month. The packet includes two month’s worth of envelopes for each weekend Mass, our Capital Campaign giving, and any special collections that may occur during that timeframe. The envelopes have a unique number on them, which corresponds to your family (whether you are a single individual or a family of 12) within our parish systems. Every family has an envelope number, even if you elect to not have those envelopes mailed to you, or you use our online giving program.
Did you know that St. John is one of the largest parishes in Southwest Florida, with over 2700 active Parish Families? But, how do we know who is a Parish Family, and how do we classify them as “active”? For a long time, our parish did not have a systematic way to answer either of these questions in an accurate way, which has led to some issues. With the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, who have combed through our parish records, finding individuals who have passed away, moved out of the area, and new families that have registered, we have a clear understanding of the make-up of our parish. We now classify “active” parishioners as those that have some activity within the parish in the past 2 years. The envelopes are the easiest and most effective way to show activity.
These envelopes are much more than just a mechanism to receive your generosity. They are essential tools for our parish operations and allow us to serve you effectively. And they are incredibly important for you as well. Here are just a few of the reasons for everyone to use their envelopes:
- Participation in our Parish: Your use of the envelope when you come to Mass is the most direct illustration of your active participation at St. John. The envelope does not have to be filled with money to be important. By placing the envelope in our collection baskets, with whatever gifts you may be able to share with your Parish Family, we are able to reflect your attendance. The attendance is the first item we are asked to use when setting up letters for Catholic functions, like sponsorship for sacraments, direct assistance requests, or enrollment in church programs. Being a “Catholic in Good Standing” requires illustration of attendance, and we know that all of our Parish Family deserves to be considered “good”, if not “amazing”.
- Tracking Giving for Tax Purposes: You all give so generously, with your time, your talent, and your treasure to our Parish Family. We want to ensure any giving you provide to our parish is properly accounted for, especially in the case of your donations. By using the envelopes, we can properly account for those gifts and provide an appropriate letter at the beginning of each calendar year for your tax needs. With the thousands of letters we send out each year, we want to make sure to properly provide your full giving amount. That can only be accomplished if your donations are associated to your envelope number.
- Gauging Mass Sizes: As many of you have noticed, we are blessed with a beautiful church that swells to capacity (and then some), especially during some of the busiest times of the year. One of the only ways we can plan for the growth of our Parish Family, and therefore provide Masses that fit our needs, is by understanding how many people are at each Mass. There are many moving parts to these Masses, including how many Ministers we need for Communion and Ushering, how many hosts to order for the coming weeks, and how many chalices to place on the Altar, and we want to ensure a faithful and pleasant Mass that focuses on the Eucharist.
- Information Changes: From phone numbers to name changes, sometimes the church is the last to know of a change to your information. The envelope is a great way for you to pass on any changes to your contact information, or any comments you may have. That way, we can keep in touch with you as part of our Parish Family.
Please help our parish help you by utilizing your envelopes when you attend Mass. If you forget your envelope (which I do all the time), we have blank envelopes at each door of the church and you can write your name and/or envelope number on those. And if you are a guest or new to our Parish Family, please go ahead and use those envelopes as well. You can even start to register with our Parish via those envelopes or ask questions about how to become more involved in our community. If you do not know your envelope number, or have asked to not receive envelopes in the past, please contact our office (239) 566-8740, or [email protected] to get your questions answered.