Patience is the companion of wisdom.
Saint Augustine
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.
As we continue to discuss the safety of our Parish Family, I wanted to broach a very tough subject. Our campus parking and traffic situation continues to be a major concern for each and every one of us. We have recently undergone major upgrades and enhancements to our campus parking lots and pedestrian areas to make it as safe as possible. In fact, many of these changes, including the new lighting, handicap spots next to the church building, enhanced entrances and exits, and redesigned front and back lots, may not been fully understood. Here is the new map of our campus:
As you can see, the large back parking lot next to the Pulte Family Life Center provides ample on-campus parking. If you were here during Ash Wednesday, you may have noticed that our Parish Family and Friends took significant liberties with their parking:
This became even worse with our neighbors, with our own police support having to direct traffic away from the school and sprinkler heads being destroyed at the cemetery next door. We need to treat our neighbors with the same respect we would like. It is, after all the Golden Rule. These steps have been taken to keep you and our entire Parish Family safe.
However, there is a small group of people that are disregarding these essential safety steps, endangering our Parish, as well as our neighbors on either side of us. It is important that we all work together to create the loving and embracing church we are supposed to represent to the world. That starts right here on the campus.
There is a very specific reason that we have created fire lanes on our campus. If someone has a heart attack in our church, we need to ensure the emergency responders and their vehicles can reach that person as quickly as possible. When someone parks in a fire lane, or where there are “No Parking” signs, they could delay the EMTs, police, and/or firemen from reaching that person. Please ensure you choose a properly marked parking space when you arrive on campus. I understand that may mean you will have to park further away from the church, in one of our central or even back lot spots. It may not be the most convenient to have to park in those more distant locations, but that additional walk could save someone’s life.
I want to thank all of you, who are in the vast majority, who understand this safety concern, and who do park in the proper locations and ensure we can all enjoy the love, mercy, and happiness that is the heart of our Catholic Faith.