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Our new landscaper (Molter Landscape) has been doing a fantastic job keeping our grounds in great shape in the midst of a drought and restrictions limiting watering to two days per week.  In addition, they are also re-working our archaic irrigation system and locating and mapping all of the valves that have been covered and forgotten over the years.  Once the areas immediately adjacent to the buildings are completed, we will move on to the parking areas which have turned into dust bowls recently.  Hopefully the rainy season has finally arrived which will replenish our lake in front of the campus.  As you may remember, we irrigate out of the lake and re-hydrate the lake by pumping from an aquifer.  During extremely dry periods, we are unable to access water from the aquifer to the low water table.

As a reminder, re-sealing and re-striping of the parking lot will begin this coming Monday, the 27^th of June.  This project will require closing designated sections of the parking lot during the week.  This past week, we finished replacing the broken parking stops which numbered over forty.  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.

This past Monday we began a full renovation of the kitchen in the Parish Life Center.  After 14 years of constant use and abuse, this is a much overdue makeover.  All of the equipment has been removed from the kitchen and work has begun to refinish the floor with a new epoxy based material which will wear much better than the current painted concrete in place.  In addition, we will install new gypsum board walls and fiberglass panels in all of the wet areas of the kitchen.  All of the kitchen equipment will be deep cleaned while not in use.  All of the walls will then be re-painted.  We will ultimately have a beautiful new kitchen that will be very safe for all.

This past Monday, we had a purse stolen from a vehicle that was parked in front of the church during daily Mass.  The vehicle was unlocked and the purse was visible through the window.  I will kindly ask that you please lock your vehicle while attending Mass and please do not leave valuables visible through your window.  I personally met the same fate several years ago and learned my lesson the hard way.  Although we don’t like to think that something like this would happen in our church parking lot, the sad fact is that when there is an opportunity, someone will certainly take advantage, regardless of where your vehicle is parked.

We have enlisted the help of Sam Kojiro to begin working on our website.  As you know, we built a new site several months ago although the information is somewhat static.  Sam will create a truly interactive site that will be fun to visit and informative.  Sam will ultimately contact all of our ministries to obtain content that will populate the pages of our site as well as pictures which will be used to enhance the viewing experience.  Thank you for your patience while we create a site that will be unlike any in the Diocese of Venice.

Triplet update:  What a surprise I received this past week.  On Friday, the 17^th of June, I received a call from the NICU asking that we bring in another car seat because Ella would be joining her sister, Mia and coming home that afternoon.  Ella is the smallest of the three and I was sure that this was a mistake.  As it turns out, Ella made great strides and didn’t want to be left in the NICU without her sister.  On Friday afternoon, we loaded up these tiny little girls and brought them home (see picture in bulletin.)  Nathaniel had a bit of a setback with some digestional issues and will remain until this Saturday at the latest.  To say that my world has been changed is a monumental understatement.  Because the babies are still considered premature, they must eat every three hours which means that my wife and I wake up at 11 p.m., 2 a.m., 5 a.m., 8 a.m. and so on to make sure that they are taken care of.  We are only one week in to this process and the volume of diapers and wipes that we have gone through is amazing.  Sleep is something that I cherished and now there is very little to be had but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  Shelley and I make a great team with the two girls however we question how this will all play out when big brother Nathaniel joins his sisters at home.  My daughter Sydney is the self proclaimed proudest big sister in Southwest Florida now that she is able to get her hands on her little sisters.  She is eagerly awaiting her little brother so that she can show them all that she knows.  All three babies are very healthy and weighing in at 4 lbs. 5 oz., 4 lbs. 11 oz. and 4 lbs. 13oz. Thank you once again for all your prayers for the health and prosperity of our little ones.

Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.

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 27^th 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.

My wife and I would like to once again thank everyone for your prayers during the birth of our triplets.  This has truly been a magical time for us and I am confident that your prayers played a very large part in a successful delivery.  The babies are still in the NICU and will remain there for another couple of weeks optimistically.  After losing approximately four ounces each after birth, they are back to their original birth weight and gaining daily.  We are told that they may be able to remove their feeding tubes this week.  Mia is the largest of the three and should have been taken out of her isolette this past week.  Our babies were privy to a very special visitor immediately following their birth as Fr. John dropped in to bless each one of them.  Shelley and I go over each afternoon and bottle feed the babies their lunch.  Considering that the hospital is only two miles from St. John’s, it is extremely convenient for me to stop by at anytime to see my crew.  My daughter Sydney is the self-proclaimed “proudest big sister in Naples.”  Unfortunately, she is unable to enter the NICU (due to age restrictions) and has only been able to see her little brother and sisters through the glass.  The nurses have been very accommodating, holding the babies up and having them wave to Sydney.  This period of time while our little ones are in the NICU is what I like to refer to as “the calm before the storm” as Shelley and I both know what is waiting for us when the triplets come home.  We are doing our best to catch up on our sleep and get everything in order for their homecoming. 

I would like to recognize everyone at “The Birth Place” at Naples Community Hospital (NCH) for their incredible professionalism and support during this amazing process.  From the surgeons to the technicians, the staff has been very accommodating ensuring that Shelley had the very best care during her four day stay.  As Shelley’s roommate, I hardly felt that I was sharing a hospital room but rather that I was a guest in a five star hotel.  The Neonatal Intensive Care staff has taken incredible care of our little ones ensuring that they are watched over 24 hours a day and have everything that they could possibly need.  One of the nurses even suggested that we bring in three disposable cameras to place on top of the isolettes to capture pictures of their development while we are not there.  Thank you to NCH for putting my mind at ease during this stressful process.

I was trying to find a good way to Segway into my next paragraph for the Memorial Garden, however, there is no easy way to Segway from birth to death.  With that said, there has been a tremendous response to my recent suggestion that our parishioners consider addressing their final planning by meeting with me to discuss purchasing space in our beautiful Memorial Garden.  Space still remains and I am readily available for the next few weeks to sit down with you and discuss this important step in your lives.  The all inclusive cost to purchase a space is $1,200.00 and includes the opening, closing, urn, headstone and plaque.  As previously mentioned, this price is roughly 33% of what you would pay elsewhere.  The beauty of our Memorial Garden continues to be enhanced with additional landscaping and the addition of a fantastic new fountain.  If you are ready to make St. John the Evangelist your final resting place, please contact me at 566.1678.

The construction fence has been erected and we will have broken ground on the Paniccia Prayer Garden by this weekend.  Work will take place in stages beginning with the concrete pavers this week.  While we are excavating the site, we will also address the drainage issue in the atrium of the PLC which has been an issue for several years.  After the pavers are removed, organic topsoil will be rototilled into the existing ground cover to provide a healthy environment for the new plantings.  In an effort to create a serene, quiet and spiritual space, the entire garden will be shrouded with mature Podocarpus shrubs, which will ultimately create a great hedge to buffer any outside noise.  The entry into the garden will be accessed through the gazebo currently in place.  The sides of the gazebo will be enclosed with lattice and confederate jasmine will grow through the lattice openings.  There will be a total of 600 shrubs planted in the garden creating an amazing atmosphere as our parishioners meander from Station to Station.  Other plantings in the garden include Bougainvillea, Croton, Green Island Ficus, Indian Hawthorne, Italian Cypress, Ligustrum, Cocoplum, Arboricola and many more.  I would like to recognize Mark Stahlman for his hard work and dedication to this project.  Due to his extensive experience with irrigation and landscape design, Mark has stepped in to serve as the project manager for the Prayer Garden.  Although he is extremely busy with his own business, Mark is volunteering his time and talent in order to create a truly amazing Prayer Garden.  I would also like to recognize Marty Gauthier for his work on the Prayer Garden.  Marty is overseeing the design and fabrication of the Stations of the Cross as well as the St. Francis Statue.  As you may remember, Marty was an integral component of the church renovation last summer.  He has now moved on to participate in this project.  Thanks Mark and Marty for your incredible gifts of time and talent.  

Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.

There is no Scott’s Corner this week because Scott’s wife gave birth to the triplets, May 28. See the bulletin for more photos and more details.