Did you know that we participate in a sandwich program for the Immokalee Friendship House? As a matter of fact, the sandwiches used to be prepared in our kitchen. In 2001, North Naples United Methodist Church offered to move the distribution headquarters to their location on Goodlette Road. Many of our parishioners still prepare sandwiches and deliver them weekly to Immokalee. Below is a brief history of the Immokalee Friendship House.
Immokalee Friendship House was founded in 1987 by Sister Marie McFadden, and a small group of caring community leaders. Working in the area, these individuals noticed that many men, women and children, many of them hard-working migrants, had no place to sleep at night. To address the lack of emergency housing in this farming community of 25,000, the Immokalee Friendship House was created
Since its inception, Immokalee Friendship House has provided meals, clothing and shelter to thousands of individuals in Greater Collier County. The shelter is nearly always at capacity, quite often including families with young children. Abused women and children, migrant farm workers, convalescents, people fighting addiction and families that recently suffered a loss of income all come through the doors of the Immokalee Friendship House
Many of you may be unfamiliar with the Immokalee Friendship House but may be familiar with St. Matthew’s House. It just so happens that St. Matthew’s House merged with the Immokalee Friendship House in 2008. Immokalee Friendship House now operates under the umbrella of St. Matthew’s House.
We are looking for a few new volunteers who would be interested in preparing sandwiches for the Immokalee Friendship House and more importantly, volunteers who would be willing to deliver them to Immokalee. If you are interested, please contact Doug Durrenberger with North Naples United Methodist Church at 450.1135 or [email protected].
As you are now well aware, we came up short ($23,000.00) in our efforts for the 2011 Catholic Faith Appeal. This means that we will have to recognize the shortfall out of much needed operating funds. The new campaign for 2012 kicks off in a few short weeks. Every year for the past ten, I have addressed the parish community in an effort to generate interest in the annual appeal. This year we are going to switch things up a bit
On February 18 and 19, you will see a new face. Barbara Kuryea (Finance Council Member) will be speaking to you to discuss the importance of the Catholic Faith Appeal. She will address the financial implications of failing to meet our goal, but more importantly, she will discuss the amazing programs supported by the Catholic Faith Appeal.
Making a pledge is the best way to ensure that we meet with success. This year, you will have the opportunity to make your pledge on kickoff weekend. Barbara will walk our parishioners through the pledge process and will ask that everyone make their pledge at that time. I will ask now (two weeks in advance) that you prayerfully consider making a pledge to the 2012 Catholic Faith Appeal. Consider the amount that you are willing to gift and be prepared to fill out your pledge card on the 18th and 19th of this month.
The Ministry Fair was a great success this past weekend. We had representation from 45 ministries and many of our parishioners came down to visit the various booths. We raffled off statues of the Blessed Mother, St. John the Evangelist and the Crucifix. As a result of the raffle, I was able to capture several hundred email addresses to use for our future correspondence. Thank you to those parishioners who took time out of your weekend to visit the fair and support our parish ministries
Comcast came out this past week and made the final connections to allow for our HD (High Definition) digital signal in the ballroom. What does this mean for you? For those attending the Super Bowl Party this Sunday, you will be treated to an amazing picture on all four of our 12’ screens. In addition, because all of the equipment is ceiling mounted, the location of your seat really doesn’t matter as everyone will be treated to the same amazing picture. The quality of the picture is as good or better than what you may have at home. I am extremely excited for the game and even more excited for our attendees to enjoy the amazing picture on our new AV system. As of this past Wednesday, we were nearing capacity with 221 tickets sold.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager