If you read the front page of the bulletin, you are well aware that we are hosting a listening session on December 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the PLC Ballroom. If you carefully read the questions listed on pages 5, 6 and 7 that will be discussed, you will realize that there is a lot of information to digest and possibly research. With that being said, if you are planning on attending the session, PLEASE do your homework ahead of time so that you are able to adequately contribute to the discussion. We will only have an hour and a half to complete a monumental task. Thanks in advance for your cooperation and preparation!
The new 2014 parish calendar has gone to print and I must say that it is the best yet. Each month features a prominent parish ministry and the contributions the ministry makes to St. John the Evangelist and to other outside groups. Calendars will be available for pickup beginning the last week of December. A special thank you is in order to Bill & Liz Shikany with Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home for absorbing the substantial cost of printing the calendars.
The collection for Typhoon Haiyan on November 17 and 18 totaled $20,715.00. Thank you for your generosity in giving to those who were negatively affected by this natural disaster. The funds from our collection were sent to Catholic Relief Services to be distributed to those in the Philippines. We are confident that your donations will help many in this area begin the recovery process.
In addition to making a difference in the lives of those in the Philippines, you are also making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate locally. The collection for St. Vincent De Paul on Thanksgiving Day totaled over $12,000.00 when combined with poor box donations. As there are no administrative costs associated with St. Vincent De Paul, every penny of your contributions will be used to assist families in our local area who are struggling to get by.
The Ladies of Charity Sneaker Drive is moving along very nicely. Believe it or not, all 500 tags were removed from the Christmas Trees in the narthex. Assuming everyone follows through, that will be 500 pairs of sneakers for students right next door at Naples Park Elementary and many more in Immokalee. You may have noticed that the sneaker tags have been replaced with tags for the Ladies of Charity Food Drive. If you were unable to pick up a sneaker tag, maybe you would like to participate in the food drive or if you are feeling especially benevolent this holiday season, you could do both.
After going through a recent health scare myself and seeing several parishioners experiencing debilitating strokes, I thought I would include the following announcement regarding an upcoming health screening at the parish. Although we cannot endorse Life Line Screening, they have had some very impressive results over the past several years. In addition, I have two gift certificates for a complimentary screening which I am willing to give to two deserving parishioners who cannot afford the price tag. Please contact me if you are interested and if you are truly unable to afford the screening. This will be a first come, first served offer.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is pleased to offer a preventive health event. Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, will host their affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings on January 8, 2014. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes four vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. In order to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call 1.888.653.6441 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.
I sent out an email blast on Thanksgiving Day from the parish wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Several days after sending the email, the results arrived. Although I was pleased that nearly half of you opened the email, I was shocked to see that of the nearly 1,400 emails sent that 97 bounced back. Obviously, if you did not receive this email then we do not have your address, have an incorrect address or you do not wish to receive email from St. John the Evangelist. Regarding the bounces, these are generally inactive accounts or incorrect addresses. If you would like to receive email blasts from the parish, please email me with your address at [email protected] or complete the form on page 11 and drop it in the collection basket or turn it to the parish office. Thank you.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA,
General Manager