Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Oram on their marriage this past Saturday, July 2nd. As many as 600 parishioners, family and friends celebrated this sacrament with Tom and Martha. Our best to the two of them as they enjoy their honeymoon in Nova Scotia and the Canadian Maritimes.
Last week I alluded to the fact that the rainy season had begun. As it turns out, that was an understatement. We have had measurable rainfall every day for the past seven days as of this past Tuesday. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to re-seal and re-stripe a parking lot when the conditions are wet. A job that was supposed to be completed in three days was still far from completed as of this past Wednesday morning. We apologize for the inconvenience, however, mother nature can be very fickle and we are all paying the price. The good news is that we are receiving much needed rainfall. The bad news is that the forecast calls for increased rainfall at the end of this past week with the approach of a tropical wave. Being the eternal optimist, I am hopeful that we can find a window of dry weather to finish the parking lot project.
Have you had a chance to walk through the Memorial Garden recently? We continue to enhance the landscaping and have added beautiful new shrubs on the interior of the garden. The Zoysia grass is thriving with the recent rainfall and the entire garden looks absolutely beautiful. Many of our parishioners have taken advantage of my suggestion to purchase a space sooner than later. Most of the sales in the past were to parishioners in their 70’s and beyond. Recently, the age of prospective buyers has dropped substantially, and I am meeting with many couples in their 50’s and 60’s. There is no greater gift that you can give your loved ones than to plan ahead and have all your final arrangements in order prior to your death. The all-inclusive cost to purchase a space in our Memorial Garden is only $1,200.00. This price includes the opening, closing, urn headstone and plaque. If you are interested in making St. John the Evangelist your final resting place, please contact me at your earliest convenience at 566-1678.
Did you know that the nature of the landscaping in the Memorial Garden was planned for a particular reason? We wanted to plant as many flowering trees, shrubs and plants as possible for one specific purpose. The last thing we want to do is clutter our beautiful Memorial Garden with plastic flowers and large bouquets that look out of place. The idea is that instead of placing an arrangement of flowers on a particular grave, you would pick one of the many varieties of flowering plants and place this on the grave. See the attached picture of the new landscaping and a gentleman placing a freshly picked hibiscus on a grave. I would kindly ask that you comply with this request to further beautify our garden. The placement of small American flags is also perfectly appropriate.
Work in the Paniccia Prayer Garden continues at a steady pace. All of the paver work has been completed, and you may now see the outline of the garden taking shape. Lattice is currently being installed in the gazebo, which will ultimately be the main entrance. The lattice will be shrouded with Confederate Jasmine providing a dramatic entrance into the garden. In addition, when in bloom, the aroma of the jasmine is absolutely intoxicating. The conduit for electrical and irrigation has been installed. Due to the poor soil underneath the existing pavers, we have brought in organic material to be rototilled into the existing soil to create a solid foundation for the new plantings. We are also going to install a sound system so that music may be heard by those visiting the garden. Installation of landscaping should begin this coming week allowing the new plantings the remainder of the growing season to become established.
The kitchen renovation is now complete and just in time. The first event catered in the new kitchen was Tom and Martha’s wedding reception. Cappelli’s catered the reception and raved about the enhancements to our kitchen. Thank you to everyone involved in getting the kitchen put back together in a timely manner..
While writing my column it occurred to me that I have not mentioned the Catholic Faith Appeal for several weeks. Obviously. there has been a lot of activity going on around the campus recently, however, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the most important component of our annual budget. It is generally this time of year when I begin to get very nervous about the prospects for meeting our annual obligation. As you will see in the collection summary, we have a long way to go to meet with success for the third straight year. If you are able, please consider making a contribution to the CFA so that we may meet our goal for 2011. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Triplet update: As I was looking at the triplets the other day, I noticed that they are beginning to lose the hair that they came into this world with. I then took a good look at myself and contemplated who was losing hair at a faster rate, them or me. The good news for Nate, Ella and Mia is that theirs will grow back while mine is certainly gone forever. While the stress of raising these triplets is definitely taking its toll on my already receding hair line, it is a fair trade. As of last week, Nate and Mia are quickly nearing the six pound mark and Ella is making great strides weighing in at 5 pounds 4 ounces. Fr. John and I are in the preliminary planning stages for their baptism, which will most likely be sometime in August. We have agreed that this will be a public baptism as we want to share this very special occasion with all of you. I will keep you updated as to the date when it is confirmed. Attached is a picture of Ella waiting in excitement to meet all of you.
Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.