On behalf of the Clergy and Staff at St. John the Evangelist, it is my sincere pleasure to wish everyone a very blessed and spiritual Easter weekend. I cannot wait to see the sight as thousands are attending Mass this weekend in the church and overflowing into the Parish Life Center. Because Easter arrives very early this year, we are expecting substantial crowds at all Masses. It is true that a handful of our visitors have departed; however, there are many seasonal residents and visitors remaining in town as well as those who satisfy their annual requirement for Mass by attending only on Easter Sunday.
It seems that for most of the country, March has come “in like a lion” and doesn’t look to go “out like a lamb.” We have experienced very unseasonably cool weather almost the entire month of March. For those up north, the situation has been much more dire as they have been hit by one storm after another producing snow, ice and conditions much more typical of January than March. As a matter of fact, as I write my column, it is currently snowing in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City. All of this mess is spreading northeastward toward New England. The cool weather locally looks to remain in place all the way through Easter weekend, culminating with sunny skies on Easter Sunday and a high temperature of 79 degrees. As a point of reference, the average high temperature for March 31 is 81 degrees. Let us enjoy this amazing weather and realize that we are living (or wintering) in paradise for a reason.
As you read my column, we are less than three weeks out from the Reverse Raffle. We have sold less than one third (100) of the 300 tickets necessary for the event to take place. I certainly do not want to resort to begging; however, I have learned that this strategy is effective at times. We MUST sell all 300 tickets for the raffle to take place. I was hesitant to host the raffle again this year due to the stress in selling tickets. Due to the prodding of several parishioners, I agreed to do so with their assurance that we would have no problems selling all 300 tickets. Here are a couple of suggestions to entice those of you who have not yet purchased a ticket. First and foremost, all of the proceeds from this event will be used to offset our CFA assessment. At last year’s raffle, $15,000.00 was raised for the CFA. As you know, with the assistance of the Reverse Raffle proceeds, we exceeded our goal by nearly $60,000.00. With the proceeds from the raffle we will have a much better chance of exceeding our CFA goal for 2013. You have the chance of winning $10,000.00 or possibly splitting the grand prize with some of your fellow parishioners. Every 25th ticket drawn (including the first ticket) will win $100 so twelve lucky parishioners will enjoy a night “on the house.”
With the purchase of each ticket, you will enjoy dinner for two catered by Frisco’s, an open bar and entertainment by Tom Oram. Tom has an amazing repertoire and can play most of our parishioner’s requests. For those struggling with the $100.00 price tag, please consider grouping your funds to purchase a ticket. Five parishioners can go in together for $20 each. To win a share of $10,000.00 for a $20 investment is a pretty good return. Also, you need not be present to win. Therefore, if you are headed back north for the late spring/summer, please consider purchasing a ticket with the understanding that you may win without attending the event.
There will also be “side boards” available for $5 or $10 at the event. This is basically a side bet or a hedge. If your number is one of the first drawn on the big board and you are out of the game, by purchasing a different number on the side board, you will still have the opportunity to win. The side boards mimic the big board with the winner of the $5 board taking home $750.00 and the winner of the $10 board taking home $1,500.00. In summary, I truly want to see the Reverse Raffle take place. That being said, this is an impossibility without your support! Please put my mind at ease and purchase a ticket to this amazing event. I promise that you will not be disappointed.
You may have noticed that the color on the bulletin this past week was a little darker than usual. Messner Publications is currently working with a new press that in the next few weeks will produce an amazing bulletin for us. The new bulletin will look very similar to a magazine with a nice quality matte coated paper. We are confident that you will be pleased with the finished product.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager