Dear Parishioners,

I love being your Pastor here at St. John’s Parish in West Boca.  Nowhere have I experienced the tremendous warmth, sense of family, willingness to be involved, and generosity of spirit as I do here. 

Since I became your Pastor six years ago, I have personally witnessed the faith, dedication and enthusiasm of our families as we have worked to build our parish.  The fruits of our labor have been nothing short of miraculous.  In three short years, our fledgling parish of 400 families celebrating Mass in a storefront raised over $1 million to begin Phase I – Building Our Parish Center.  This Center is now the heart of our Parish, where we celebrate the sacramental and social life of our community. Through the combined efforts of contributions from our growing parish family and additional fundraising, we were able to burn the $3.4 million mortgage in June 2003.

Since the completion of the Parish Center in 2001, our parish has doubled from 600 to more than 1200 families and is growing every week.  In contrast to other parts of the country where Church rolls are dwindling, I rejoice in our expanding flock.  However, as we are now bursting at the seams, it is time to move forward with Phase II - Building Our Church.

We need to create a more appropriate home in which we all can gather to fully celebrate God’s Presence.  Building a House of God is a noble venture.  As we begin our campaign to build our Church, I am inviting you to open your hearts to God’s calling; to open your minds to new possibilities; and to demonstrate your faith by making a generous financial commitment.

With God, all things are possible.  Surely together we can accomplish our goal.  I look forward to this new challenge with renewed enthusiasm, and I hope you will do the same.

Yours in Christ,

Reverend Michael O’Flaherty

Pastor