As of this past Wednesday, we were watching the tropics very closely as Tropical Storm Isaac gained strength and continued his westward track towards the Caribbean. If the current track holds, Isaac will affect the southern peninsula of Florida by late Sunday evening. The National Weather Service suggests that Isaac will be a strong category one hurricane with winds of 90 mph as it enters the Florida Straits. As we all know, these forecasts will vary greatly especially when we are four days out. Depending on the track, the storm could be torn apart over the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola and weaken further as it travels over Cuba. An ideal scenario would be a weakening storm passing to the east of Southwest Florida leaving us with a bounty of rainfall. Please watch the updated forecasts and be prepared for whatever Isaac may have in store for Naples and vicinity. Prayers for only a glancing blow would also certainly be in order.
Did you know that there is an amazing team of women in our parish who compose the bereavement luncheon ministry? Under the direction of Rita Spagnola, parish families of the deceased are given the option of hosting a luncheon following the funeral or memorial Mass. Rita began as a volunteer following the death of her husband in 1997. Since that time, this group has hosted hundreds of luncheons for the families and loved ones of our parishioners. Currently, the team consists of 20 volunteers during season and 10 remarkable women during the summer months. This year, they have hosted 26 receptions and counting. Thank you to Rita and her team for providing comfort to our parish families during these very difficult times.
In addition to the bereavement luncheon ministry, there is another group that assists with funerals. Arimatheans attend funeral Masses and memorial services to provide support and compassion from the parish community. Many times when a parishioner passes away, there may be very little family locally to provide support. The Arimatheans step in and provide much needed support by attending the funeral and simply being there with compassion.
Following the death of a family member, the loved ones of the deceased have the option of attending six weeks of grief support sessions offered in the Parish Life Center. These sessions have proven very effective in assisting our parishioners with the grieving and recovery process. Please see the bulletin for upcoming grief support sessions.
Next week you will most likely see a substantial jump in the Catholic Faith Appeal statistics. Our data entry employee was out of town for an extended period and three weeks worth of CFA contributions were not recorded. We should be back on track now moving forward for the remaining four months of the appeal.It is imperative that we reach our goal and with your help, I am confident that we can do so. If you are able, please consider making a pledge or contribution to the Catholic Faith Appeal. Please make your check payable to the CFA with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line.
If you have yet to purchase space in our beautiful Memorial Garden, now is the time to do so. The landscaping renovations are complete and the grounds are magnificent. My Achilles heel that has been detracting from the beauty of the garden for years has finally been resolved. The first order of new granite markers has been placed and will be installed shortly. Once installed, the true beauty of the garden will be revealed. In addition, those of you with loved ones who passed away quite some time ago will again be able to read the inscription on the granite. For a cost of only $1,200.00, this is a deal that should be taken advantage of sooner than later. Ironically, most of the plots that I have sold since 2009 have been to parishioners who own plots up north but feel that no one will ever visit them. In many cases, the cemeteries will allow you to sell back your plots at a discounted price.
As much as I find my affiliation with the memorial garden slightly morbid, I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with our parishioners and get to know them better. It has also allowed me to ask them candidly “how are we doing?” I have been pleasantly surprised at the answers to this question as many of you are quite pleased with our progress. So I will hope that my feeble attempt at a sales pitch in the prior paragraph will entice more of our parishioners to come on down and see me.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager