This past week’s “PandaMania” themed Vacation Bible School was the enormous “success” that everyone expected. The organization was flawless and the stage props once again looked like something out of a Broadway show. Although there were over 100 volunteers involved in this year’s event, a special thank you is in order for Charlene and Brian Youngs, Tricia and Scott Schwarz, Jasmine Dina, Natalie and Brad Campbell, Karen and Rick Beebe, Michelle and John Mattia, Christina Raab, Trish Gasiorowski and Brendan Budlong. As Director of Family Ministry, Charlene was tasked with coordinating Vacation Bible School for the first time. She did a magnificent job! Brian (Charlene’s husband) constructed the stage props from scratch at no cost to the parish. These individuals spent an incredible amount of time and effort preparing for what has been the best Vacation Bible School yet. I say this every year and these incredible volunteers keep outdoing themselves. The aforementioned statistic is not a typo! There were actually over 100 volunteers involved in this year’s event. That equates to more than one volunteer for every two children. Over 200 children participated in this year’s VBS and Tom Oram stepped in to lead the signing (and dancing) portion of the festivities. Although this was Tom’s first time leading the song and dance, without him, we would not have been able to generate the enthusiasm that we did. If you missed the festivities, you will have a chance for an encore performance this Saturday at the 5:00 p.m. Mass. Tom Oram will lead a large cast of the children in song and dance so that our parishioners may see first hand the Holy Spirit at work. Thank you again to all the volunteers for providing our children an invaluable experience. This is by far my favorite week of the year with regards to programs held within our parish. There is nothing that pleases me more than seeing all of the families come together and share in this ministry.
Since we closed the brokerage account held individually by St. John the Evangelist several years ago, stock contributions have been few and far between. Remember that by donating “appreciated stock,” you will be able to avoid the capital gains tax and recognize the gift as a charitable donation at fair market value. This is what I would call a true win-win situation. You get to avoid a big tax hit, “write off” the gift and help your parish, while St. John the Evangelist receives funds desperately needed to survive into the future. Although some of you may be chuckling at the idea of appreciated stock in this down market (which has been abysmal as of late), the appreciated price is based on the true cost basis or what you initially paid for the stock. If you have held the stock for many years, this could be a substantial difference. The capital gains tax rate will remain at 15% through 2012. For those of you that contribute quarterly, semi-annually or annually, this is an ideal opportunity for you to support St. John the Evangelist. You may allocate your gift to the CFA or regular offertory. Stock gifts may now be made through the Diocese of Venice for the benefit of St. John the Evangelist Church by contacting the development office at 941-484-9543.
Re-sealing and re-striping of the parking lot will begin on Monday, the 27th of June. This project will require closing designated sections of the parking lot during the week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, however, the end result will be a beautiful new parking lot with an enhanced traffic flow. Thanks again to John Dina for his efforts in coordinating the work in our parking lot.
After my recent comments regarding the Memorial Garden at St. John the Evangelist, I have had several questions arise that I will do my best to address. First and foremost, The Catholic Church states that cremation is perfectly appropriate with the stipulation that the ashes or cremains are placed in an urn and buried in consecrated ground, which is the case in our Memorial Garden. The Catholic Church does not allow ashes to be stored on a shelf or scattered in the ocean, etc. You must be a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist or a family member of a parishioner in order to purchase space in our garden. If you are Catholic and your spouse is not, you may both be interred in our memorial garden. Finally, you must be willing to be cremated as we may only bury cremains in our Memorial Garden. Hopefully, this clears up some of the questions those of you on the fence have been contemplating. If you would like to purchase space in our Memorial Garden, please contact me at 566-1678.
Triplet update: Mia, Ella and Nathaniel (Nate) continue to gain weight daily. Mia and Nate are now well over four pounds and are out of their isolettes. Ella is the smallest of the three but is nearing the four pound threshold. There is a strong possibility that Mia may be the first to come home, possibly as early as this past week. There is also talk of Nate coming home on Father’s Day which would be the best gift I could imagine. Attached is a picture of Ella contemplating her homecoming.
Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.