Our actions have a tongue of their own; they have an eloquence of their own, even when the tongue is silent. For deeds prove the lover more than words. – St. Cyril of Jerusalem
In our first meetings with the Diocese on the major renovations and the new Life Center, we were asked about some of additional efforts we would like to undertake. The first words out of our mouths were “fix the parking”. As any of you who attend our Masses have seen, the parking layout of Saint John the Evangelist is not sufficient, nor is it laid out effectively for our Parish Family. Some people have taken it upon themselves to park in dangerous locations, both for themselves and others. That is not effective for anyone, so I continue to implore all of you to respect fire lanes and not to park along the hedges of the church. Not only have we seen more car accidents due to this type of parking, we had an issue with an ambulance reaching the church when someone needed attention.
In order to resolve these issues, we are looking for your assistance with our Capital Campaign to include the following parking and vehicle improvements:
- Redevelop Parking Lot Layout: From the confusing one-way sections to the bottlenecks around the various lots, we need to take a look at how the parking is laid out and configured
- Covered Parking for Handicap Access: We want to make it as safe as possible for all our Parish Family to attend Mass. It will make it easier for those with special needs to be able to walk from their cars into church without needing an umbrella.
- Vehicles for On-Campus Transportation: Did you know we actually have a significant parking lot in the very back of our campus, behind the Claussen Center? That lot is rarely used by our normal Mass attendees, mostly because it is far from the church. It is completely understandable that people do not use it, especially those that need to be close to the church for medical reasons, so the only way to get people back and forth from that location would be to have transportation carts that will take people from the back lot right to the church. That will alleviate much of the parking congestion.
- Vehicles for Off-Campus Transportation: How can we assist our Parish Family that does not have the ability to come to church anymore? Our Companion Driving Ministry has done a wonderful job in helping individuals come to our campus for Masses, and we want to continue that effort for all the programs and activities we have here. These vehicles, from vans to small buses, would provide access to St. John for those who would otherwise be alone.
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