After my recent comments complaining about the warmer than average weather, mother nature sent a quick shot of arctic air our way. Although temperatures hovered around the freezing mark in inland areas, it looks as though we dodged a bullet on campus. A light breeze kept any frost from forming on our tender vegetation. In addition, we took precautions and covered all of the annuals. There still may be some ancillary damage as the temperatures transitioned from warm to COLD in a very short period of time. I guess this is a lesson learned in that “you have to be careful what you wish for.” Let’s hope that jack frost remains up north for the rest of winter. Seasonal temperatures will certainly be welcomed from here on out!
The miniature statues of St. John the Evangelist, the Blessed Mother and the crucifix have finally arrived. I say this as the original delivery date was September, but there were a plethora of issues getting the items shipped from Thailand. We have placed samples of the miniatures in the narthex for you to see at your convenience. The statues may be purchased in the Religious Gift Shop or in the parish office at a cost of $35.00 each. The final product is absolutely beautiful and worth the wait as far as I am concerned. We hope that you agree.
January 19 is the 80th birthday of Bishop Emeritus John J. Nevins. A Mass celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane and concelebrated by the priests of the Diocese of Venice will be held on that same day at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice at 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend.
Bishop Frank Dewane will celebrate Mass for married couples celebrating milestone anniversaries (25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 50+ years). The Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, March 3 right here at St. John the Evangelist at 11:15 a.m. Following Mass, there will be a wonderful catered lunch in the ballroom. Please see Melanie in the parish office to register.
The Notre Dame Undertones will perform on Wednesday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ballroom with open seating. The Undertones are a twelve-man a cappella group from the University of Notre Dame. The Undertones have a strong heritage of touring the United States with and independent of the Notre Dame Glee Club. The Undertones sing a cappella arrangements of popular songs of many genres. Tickets are $10 per person payable at the door to support Naples Club Scholarships and Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Faith Appeal. Contact Jim Raley with the number attending at [email protected] or 239.353.8909 and leave a voice mail message.
On Sunday, February 5, we will host our 14th Annual Super Bowl Party in the ballroom of the Parish Life Center. This party has received much acclaim over its 13 year run, and this year will be no different. Tickets are available in the parish office for $25 each. We will sell a maximum of 300 tickets, and due to the increasing popularity of this annual event, I strongly suggest buying yours early. This year we will be using our new audio visual system for the game. Rather than having one large screen to watch the game, we will have four large screens which will provide an amazing viewing experience. We hope to see you there. Please see the flyer in this bulletin for further details.
It looks as though we will have to start a new streak in 2012 with regards to the Catholic Faith Appeal. We have yet to receive the final results, however, even with a strong finish, I believe that we missed the mark. I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of our parishioners who gave so generously in an effort to reach our goal. We will do our very best in 2012 to meet with success. We are planning to host a few additional fundraisers this year that will assist our efforts.
There will be a Memorial Mass to Celebrate the life of Msgr. Lou Piermarini on Saturday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m. Msgr. Lou was the pastor of St. Roch’s Parish in Oxford, Massachusetts, and assisted the clergy at St. John the Evangelist when he was in town. Msgr. Lou was loved by those who knew him within our parish. He died on Sunday, June 26 after an illness. Fr. John will celebrate this Mass.
As a reminder, the Ministry Fair will take place on Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29. This is your opportunity to meet with representatives from our parish ministries and join if you like. We hope to see you there.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager