2020

8-WEEK OFFERTORY IS AT A 9-YEAR LOW

Our Finance team is constantly tracking data and trends.

Unfortunately, the first 8-weeks of offertory for the new

fiscal year (beginning July 1) is the lowest we’ve had in

nine years. The effects of COVID are clearly hitting us

hard. Thank you for your generosity in helping sustain our

parish mission and operations.

Dear Parishioners,

This is a brief follow-up to

the update I shared with you

at the end of August.

As I share these quick

updates with you I’m sure

they may spark questions,

comments or ideas. Please

feel free to share those with

me. With the help of our

gifted parishioners serving

on different committees,

and with our talented staff,

we will do our best to

connect back with you and

talk through your questions

and ideas.

I will continue to share

updates with you as things

develop in the life of our

parish, especially with

regard to our parish

mission, our finances and

our buildings and

properties. Thank you for

your prayers as we try our

best to do God’s will and

serve him as faithfully as we

can.

God bless you all!

Sincerely in Christ,

Even with our financial struggles, we have been diligent in

paying down the loan on our Parish Activities Center

using the proceeds originally designated from the

Fulfilling Our Vision campaign. In November 2019 our

balance was $488,000. Now it is just $33,000. Thank you

all for fulfilling your capital campaign pledges and

allowing us to pay off our loan!

#1

#2 OUR LOAN BALANCE CONTINUES TO DROP

#3

A team of parishioners and staff have begun working on a

study of our campus buildings, including their usage,

maintenance and repair needs. The review will help us

take a step in updating our master plan for the campus

and how best we can utilize our buildings and properties.

Part of the study will examine the potential sale of the

current parish rectory (located in the Cypress Creek

neighborhood behind the church) and move of the priests

back to the original rectory that has been serving as the parish offices.

The potential return of the rectory to the main campus was foreseen when the

parish first purchased the home in 2011. With the former Convent available as

potential office and meeting space (see update #4) we would like to study that

possibility now and arrive at a decision that best serves the parish and our long-

term future. No decision has been made yet, but I want to make sure that we are

open to doing whatever is best for the parish.

MASTER PLANNING FOR THE CAMPUS

PARISH UPDATE—SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

WELCOMING STUDENTS AND PARISHIONERS BACK TO CAMPUS! #5

PARISH UPDATE—SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Last fall I shared with you the good news of a financial gift that was made to the parish

specifically for repairs and maintenance of the Convent. As we update our parish’s master

plan, the Convent will continue to play a central role in the life of our parish. In light of

that, and with the monies available and dedicated to its upkeep, we will begin

undertaking some basic repairs and replacements of equipment and systems in the

Convent. In this way, whatever the master planning determines is best for the parish, the

Convent will be ready.

#4 REPAIR & MAINTENANCE TO THE CONVENT

We are blessed to have a large enrollment in our school this year (over 500 students)

with 80% of our students attending in-person. At the same time, we have seen our

Sunday Mass attendance reach the 50% mark compared to our pre-COVID attendance.

This is a great blessing to safely welcome back so many to our parish and school! I am

grateful for the hard work and dedication of our parishioners, staff, and faculty who are

making this possible!

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

#6

Recently, in the name of Pope Francis, a letter was sent to bishops around the world from

Cardinal Sarah, the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship. In the letter, he wrote:

“Even the hardest trials can bear fruits of grace. We have accepted our distance from the

Lord’s altar as a time of eucharistic fasting, useful for us to rediscover its vital importance,

beauty and immeasurable preciousness.” But with safe measures now established for

returning to church Cardinal Sarah urged: “As soon as is possible we must return to the

Eucharist … with a renewed amazement, with an increased

desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and to

bring him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life

full of faith, love, and hope.”

Cardinal Sarah’s letter puts the emphasis on what the Christian response should always

be with regard to Sunday Mass: we attend not simply because we have to, out of

obligation alone, but because we want to, out of gratitude to God and grateful love for

what he has done for us.

LET US RETURN TO THE EUCHARIST WITH JOY!