This weekend is the kick-off weekend for our diocese’s “Stewardship for Saints and Scholars” campaign. As Bishop Boyea explained in the campaign video shown this weekend far better than I could ever, I won’t even attempt to do so in this article. But if you missed it before Mass, I highly encourage you to take ten minutes of your time and watch it online (https://stewardshipforsaintsandscholars.com/watch/).
I have probably seen the video at least five times, and I still can’t help but tear up a little when I see it. In such a stormy world filled with pain, spiritual emptiness, and overwhelming materialism that offers little hope to the soul, our mission to provide our children a place to learn and grow in the love of Christ is more urgent than ever. So, thank you in advance for your generosity to strengthen Catholic education in our diocese, our parish, and Jackson.
What I would like to do is spend some time talking in more detail about the capital projects in the school and parish that your generosity makes possible. Consider this to also to be something of a preview of the State of the Parish coming in the next month or two
A couple of weeks ago in the bulletin, we celebrated the completion of two major projects at the school: 1) the replacing of the north wing roof and 2) the gym roof. It was through your gifts to the St. John Capital Fund over the past years that paid for the $462,250 north wing roof. And thanks to a very generous grant from Alro Steel, the entire cost of the second project, our gym roof, was covered! The generous Glicks have had a history of supporting the athletic facilities in our community.
So, what’s next for the school? Looking out over the next 2 to 5 years, we have a few big-ticket items that we are hoping to tackle:
- We would really like to update the heating and cooling systems in the south wing. As summer temperatures are getting warmer, relying on window A/C units are becoming increasingly inadequate. As for heating, replacing the over 60-year-old heating pipes and switching to hot water heat (instead of steam) will ensure longevity of the system and decrease maintenance needs for generations of students.
- Additionally, the south wing roof is the final roof section in need of replacing. Though it’s in better condition than the north wing roof was, its time is coming and a replacement with modern materials will extend its life for decades.
- Lastly, the school boiler is showing some signs of wear that indicate a need for some major part replacements to prevent leakage.
When looking at these and other smaller projects, we realized that the 20% portion of the “Stewardship for Saints and Scholars” campaign would be a significant assistance to our school’s capital needs. Therefore, we are dedicating that 20% to the capital needs at St. John School. I want to be clear that, unlike in previous campaigns, St. John’s 20% portion will not be tied to specific projects. The campaign pledges will be collected over the next five years, and by the time enough are fulfilled to fund a major capital need, the order of urgency of the above example projects may shift. And there is always the possibility that new capital needs at the school are identified. So, while St. John School will be the clear direct beneficiary of the parish’s 20% portion of the campaign, maintaining a healthy flexibility of funds among specific projects is important.
On the church side of projects, it continues to be a busy year:
- We all got to see the transformation earlier this year with the patching and repainting of the interior of the church.
- By the time you are reading this bulletin, the work to repair the rotting exterior framing of our precious stained-glass windows should have started.
- The parish center’s parking lot repair and reseal will be starting.
- And lastly, we expect that in November, the scaffolding will go up for work to begin on the mural painting on the apse wall.
All of this is possible because of your generosity to the St. John Capital Fund, the 4% of the 5-4-1 tithing model that we use in the parish. We hope to continue this momentum of renewal, beginning with further work in the sanctuary, especially the flooring. Someday, the entire church flooring will need to be done (I’m pretty sure if there’s one thing that is universally agreed on in the parish, it is that our old carpeting needs to go!).
Let’s celebrate everything that has been done on our school and church campus this year. To keep it going and move our aging buildings into the future, please pray for the continued generosity of your fellow parishioners to the St. John Capital Fund and the “Stewardship for Saints and Scholars” campaign.
St. John the Evangelist, patron of our parish family and school, pray for us!
St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic education, pray for us!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of us all, pray for us!