WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ST. JOHN'S:

St. Blaise blessing of throats this weekend
The Jack Korbel Confluence concert
Dear Clonmelians - porte cochère and cost updates
New cemetery section now open

Fr. Tatro will bless throats

Saturday, February 4th (after Mass)

Sunday, February 5th (30 minutes before Masses & after Masses)

Join us next Friday for The Jack Korbel Confluence Concert at 7pm in the Parish Center. Feel free to bring your family and BYOB to enjoy an evening of music!

Dear Clonmelians,

We have been granted our building permit from the county. Next week you will see advancements to the building site as concrete footings are put in place. We have also secured the bids for the steel and its erection work. This week I wanted to share with you a development in the scope of our project as well as some cost-saving measures we have implemented.

Porte Cochère (covered drop off) - A decision was made a year ago to eliminate the porte cochère as a cost-saving measure. This element of our build has been added back into the project due to a designated gift. It will be a blessing for the elderly and those with mobility issues to arrive under cover from the sun or wet weather directly at the side entry of our gathering space.

Inflation, Material & Building Costs - The overall cost of our project has increased more than anyone anticipated when this project first got underway. Inflation, and material and labor costs have all risen sharply over the past two years. The building committee and I are working to contain the total cost of our project to around $4.5 Million. Thankfully, we have seen a slight decrease in some material costs over the past six months.

Cost-Saving Measures - In order to accomplish our goal of providing the envelope of the church as we have envisioned it we have made several cost-reduction decisions. This includes moving the new church farther to the south and west than originally planned in order to keep the existing rectory and use it as the parish office building. The county granted permission to forego having an elevator to access the choir loft at this time. We are however putting in the elevator shaft so that we do have the ability to add an elevator. Changing the capacity of seating in the nave allowed us to eliminate a fire suppression system in the church, providing us a significant savings.

Parking lot improvements during this phase were adjusted during this phase to save costs. Finally, several additions of artwork and stained glass have been moved to another phase of our project as a cost-saving measure.

Last week I discussed the communion rail, the apse of the sanctuary, and the rectory location. If you missed that please check last weekend’s bulletin/Flocknote for that update.

Fr. Joe

NEW CEMETERY SECTION - NOW OPEN

The new section of our cemetery is open to purchase. Please stop by the office to purchase. No appointment is necessary. Remember we will raise fees on plots beginning March 1st.

Current Price: now through February 28, 2023

Parishioner: $250

Non-parishioner: $750

New pricing starting March 1, 2023

Parishioner: $500

Non-parishioner: $1,200