My brothers, may God grant us this gift of a renewed closeness between the family and the Church. Families need it, the Church needs it, and we pastors need it. – Pope Francis
We have been blessed in this past year to experience significant growth in our Parish Family. While many churches in this country are struggling with attendance and shrinking parish environments, St. John has had another banner year of engagement. To a Catholic Church, a “Family” can mean a single individual, including a widower. It means couples that have retired and may have children and/or grandchildren living elsewhere. Interestingly enough, of our 333 new Families, 160 of them (48%) have children under the age of 16 in their household. That is a very telling number here in Naples, a town that continues to have a strong seasonal presence, and now grows a full-time workforce and community as well. This multi-generational parish of St. John is a clear illustration of the Presentation of the Lord, where Jesus is brought to Jerusalem as a baby and is met by the elders Simeon and Anna, who recognize this baby as Christ. All of us are a family together.
Our Life Center, and the programs and initiatives of our Capital Campaign to Build Our Future, Serve Our Past, is also directly aligned with the growth in the area of all age groups. We want to be able to serve the experienced with Catholic Adult Organization wellness activities and social gatherings every day, especially for those dealing with loss in their life. We want to have the first, active Catholic Youth Organization in Florida, providing after-school support in a safe and protected environment, as well as sports programs that instill the virtues of our faith as much as athletic achievement.
These are just a few of the plans we have. Please help us make these and other improvements a reality. 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