This will be the final edition of Scott’s Corner. I would like to sincerely thank the Clergy, staff and all of our parishioners for your unconditional love and support over the last 17 years. I have had an amazing ride and learned more than I ever would have imagined during my tenure at Saint John the Evangelist. I have developed friendships with many of you that will continue for a lifetime.
Although I will miss all of you, I am very excited to begin this new chapter in my life. I can promise you that I will use much of what I have learned here and apply it to my new business venture out west.
I would also like to thank those of you who attended my going away celebration on October 23. The level of attendance blew me away and to be honest with you, I was fearful that there might be only a few who chose to come and say goodbye.
After standing in a receiving line for most of the evening, the one common theme that I took away from your comments was my willingness to work with each of you to address your problems in an easy going and non-threatening manner. I did pride myself in that aspect and am glad that you recognized that I was working for you (our parishioners) and not vise versa.
As I look back on 17 long years, I think about all that we accomplished together. We grew the parish from humble beginnings into what could technically be described as a mega-parish. We completed construction of the Parish Life Center (PLC) and retired the debt in only three years. We then built the Claussen Family Center (CFC), which was completely funded at its completion. In addition to the CFC, we built a completely separate church (St. Agnes) which most of the donors never even attended. We built an amazing Prayer Garden, which is so well done that other parishes are trying their best to emulate our efforts. We completely rehabbed the Memorial Garden and turned it into a truly spiritual and fitting final resting place. In addition, we undertook countless renovation projects in the church and PLC to ensure that the facilities met the demands placed upon them by our very active ministries.
Obviously, all of the aforementioned would never have been possible without the incredible generosity you showed over the past 17 years. We have had our ups and downs (financially), but you have always come through even in the toughest of times. I would like to sincerely say THANK YOU one final time for all that you have done to make this parish the best that it can be. And although I am biased, I do believe that it is the BEST parish I have ever seen.
You may remember my column from several months ago in which I described what I refer to as the “dream team.” The reference was made with regards to our Clergy currently in place. We have assembled a team that is arguably the best that I have seen during my tenure – and I have seen a lot of clergy come and go. Fr. John, Fr. Len, Fr. Jim and Fr. Rourke are truly a remarkable team and you are in very good hands moving forward.
Finally, my successor (Jean-Paul Boucher) is doing a fantastic job of transitioning into his new role as GM of the parish. Trust me when I say that he has the best interest of our parishioners and the parish as a whole in mind as he develops new policies and procedures moving forward. Please give him the compassion, patience and respect you afforded me while I was at the helm.
Thank you again for everything you did for my family and me over the years.
If anyone would like to reach out to me in Arizona, I will leave my contact information in the parish office.
Signing off…
Scott Schlossberg
