Parish Ministries

Charismatic Prayer Meeting

The Charismatic Prayer Meeting is a weekly assembly in which participants come together to offer worship to our heavenly Father whom we serve with gladness of heart.

Lifting up the name of God through songs of praise, those who participate receive a variety of graces in return and all receive the gifts of a lifted spirit and renewed fellowship.

In addition, some receive a spiritual prompting to use their gift of tongues while others are given signs indicating the presence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, his Blessed Mother and the heavenly choir.

Using their gifts of the Holy Spirit that all receive through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, individuals express a prophetic word, while others are inspired to read aloud sacred scripture.

Personal witness or a weekly lesson is also incorporated into each prayer meeting as a reminder of how we are to live our lives in accordance with God’s will.

In the spirit of jot, The Charismatic Prayer Meeting gives honor, praise worship, and thanksgiving to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Father of all creation and the Holy Spirit through whom every charism is imparted.

If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Phyllis at 567-5165.

Altar Servers & Coordinator What better way for a youth of our parish to serve than as an Altar Server? This position is open to both boys and girls. Parents, talk to your son or daughter about this ministry. Grandparents, talk to your grand kids and encourage them to consider this. You could say, "Being an altar server is something that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. This ministry will serve you well, not only for your spiritual development, but also in the virtues and disciplines it fosters. Virtues and disciplines like commitment, punctuality, responsibility, roll model for younger kids, good grooming, proper dress and respect for our Lord to name a few." Kids and parents, talk to Nancy Kiefer at 567- 7150 about participating in this ministry.

Bible Study Bible study will be offered both in the a.m. and the p.m. Larry Gerrior will continue to lead a Bible study on Wednesdays at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Center. Fr. Pasquini is teaching in an Open Bible study class on Wednesday evenings from 7-8 p.m. in the church. Parishioners are encouraged to participate in this activity and to especially bring a friend, Catholic or non-Catholic, to the evening session with Fr. Pasquini.

Building Maintenance Fred Volk is in charge of Building Maintenanceand asos oversees the maintenance of the grounds around the church, the Crowley Center and the rectory. From time to time, volunteers may be requested to assist in various tasks. Please contact Fre Volk if you would like to volunteer for any maintenance projects. Fred can be reached at 360-8264.

Catholic Communication While recognizing that several of our parish ministry activities involve aspects of evangelization in their mission, the Catholic Communication program specifically directs its efforts toward Catholic enrichment programs for our parishioners (e.g. Parish Web site and sourcing outside speakers), and toward encouraging lapsed Catholics to return to the faith (see Rediscovering the Church page on the parish web site), and toward those interested in converting to the Catholic faith (see Exploring the Church page on the parish web site). The leader of this ministry functions also as the Webmaster of the parish web site and handles questions coming into the web site from lapsed Catholics, those interested in the Catholic faith, as well as general questions from other visitors to the site. As mentioned, this ministry is also involved in seeking outside speakers to conduct parish missions and retreats for parishioners. This involves identifying candidates, reviewing tapes of their presentations, obtaining fee structures, and then making recommendations to the pastor for approval. Another aspect of this ministry is to use the media to reach out to those people indentified above. One example would be the TV ads that we have placed on local channel TV 10/11. These professionally made ads were produced by Catholics Come Home. Our vigil Mass is video-taped and broadcast on TV 10/11 on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. We also use the local paper to get St. John of the Cross activities posted. Catholic radio is also in the mix to promote our Catholic faith. AM 920, broadcasted locally, is a potential avenue for adding local content to that streaming from EWTN. We have active plans at the invitation of the station to get exposure to St. John of the Cross. If you are interested in any aspect of this Catholic Communication ministry, please contact Tom Frederick at 567-6131.

Charismatic Prayer Meeting The Charismatic Prayer Meeting is a weekly assembly in which participants come together to offer worship to our heavenly Father whom we serve with gladness of heart. Lifting up the name of God through songs of praise, those who participate receive a variety of graces in return and all receive the gifts of a lifted spirit and renewed fellowship. In addition, some receive a spiritual prompting to use their gift of tongues while others are given signs indicating the presence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, his Blessed Mother and the heavenly choir. Using their gifts of the Holy Spirit that all receive through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, individuals express a prophetic word, while others are inspired to read aloud sacred scripture. Personal witness or a weekly lesson is also incorporated into each prayer meeting as a reminder of how we are to live our lives in accordance with God’s will. In the spirit of jot, The Charismatic Prayer Meeting gives honor, praise worship, and thanksgiving to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Father of all creation and the Holy Spirit through whom every charism is imparted. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Phyllis at 567-5165.

Director, Religious Education The paid position of Director of Religious Education (DRE) is responsible for religious education of students K through 12. Frances DeSano is the DRE for St. John of the Cross. Please contact her to discuss the high quality of religious education you will find at St. John of the Cross. She may be reached by calling the parish office at 563-0057.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist the priests in the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass. Some also take the Eucharist to shut-ins in homes and nursing homes and sometimes to those in the hospital. Volunteers for this ministry receive basic training by the diocese and specific training by the pastor and/or Pat Dimesa, coordinator of this ministry. Our parish prides itself in following specific guidelines for this activity. If you have an interest in this ministry, please contact Pat Dimesa at 778-2926.

Finance Committee The Finance committee is responsible for the on-going financial planning, parish accounting, income and expense budgeting, and financial reports of the parish. This committee is a distinct entity from the Parish Council in accordance with the Code of Canon Law because of their differing responsibilities. Volunteers for this committee should be skilled in business and finance. The committee should have a minimum of four persons. Please contact Josie Holtzclaw, Chairwoman, at 563-0057 to discuss membership on this committee and the availability of an open position.

Knights of Columbus Text describing the mission of the Knights has been requested.

Lectors Lectors proclaim the Word of God in the first two readings at weekend Masses and the first reading at daily Masses. They also process with the priest to the sanctuary area. Schedules are published ahead of time so lectors know the date and time when they are to assist at Mass. If you are a good reader and project your voice well, please consider being trained for lectoring. Contact Donna Haro at 299-0010.

Legion of Mary The mission of the Legion of Mary is to bring friendship and spiritual comfort to persons in distress whether in the home, hospital or in an institution, with special attention to lapsed Catholics. Currently, the Legion of Mary is developing a working relationship with the Wellness ministry. Please call Eileen Kelley at 567-6297 to inquire about being a member of the Legion of Mary.

Sacristans Sacristans perform a wonderful function of preparing the sanctuary and tending to all activities necessary for the celebration of Mass. They also perform duties immediately following a Mass. Responsibilities include lighting the candles, filling the cruets with water and wine, setting the Lectionary, etc. If you would like to volunteer as a Sacristan, please contact the chairman of this committee, Jerry Martin, at 563-0537.

Liturgical Music This ministry involves the selection of hymns, Responsorial Psalms and other music which will enhance the quality of the celebration of Mass. The choir group welcomes all those who would like to participate in this ministry. Please contact Jack Galvin at 778-8291.

Parish Council The parish council assists the pastor in the coordination of all parish activities as well as other functions as described in the Parish Council Constitution. Council membership is comprised of Ex Officio Members, for the most part the leaders of the ministries on this web page, Extraordinary Members, those directly appointed by the Pastor who have special personal talent or needed professional qualifications, and At-Large Elected Members (18 years of age or older and not to exceed 4 persons). If you would like to serve on the Parish Council as an At-Large Elected Member, please contact Gwen Ripp, President, at 778-4912 to get you name on the list for the next election cycle.

Respect Life The Respect Life Program mission is to assist in the education of parishioners on a broad range of Catholic moral teaching and principles, especially that of the respect for life from the moment of conception to natural death. The program coordinator brings focus to these moral issues by increasing awareness among the faithful so that they are led to function as good stewards of Church teaching as they function within our society. If you are a champion of or want to be a champion of respect life issues, and want to assist in developing and implementing programs in accordance with the mission of this ministry, please contact Ginny Frederick, coordinator, at 567-6131.

Rosary Recitation The rosary ministry handles the recitation of the rosary before all daily and weekend Masses. If you are gifted with a good voice, are comfortable praying the rosary, and can project your voice well, by all means consider this ministry. Please call Peggy Pendergast at 562-4209 for a daily Mass assignment or for a 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass assignment. Please call Jan Freeman at 569-7179 for a 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass assignment. Please call Rita Geary for a 4:00 p.m. Saturday, vigil Mass assignment.

Ushers Ushers assist in the seating of parishioners, handle the collections during Offertory, offer Parish Bulletins to exiting parishioners, and other duties as called upon. New volunteers to ushering are always welcomed. Please contact Deacon Gene Hoch at 563-0057 to discuss your interest in this ministry.

Wellness The goal of the Wellness Ministry is to reach out to all those who are in need of healing: spiritual, physical, emotional, or mental. Volunteers seek to serve those under served and most vulnerable in our communities such as the frail, elderly and those without access to quality healthcare due to financial or cultural barriers. Services are provided primarily to our own parishioners. This free service is for all in the community regardless of sex, race, religion or any other factor. Ask anyone on the receiving end of this service or anyone touched by this service through a friend or family member and you will hear what a tremendous gift this ministry is from our parish. Wouldn't you want to be involved in this? Be not afraid and say YES! If you are a nurse or a person who can sit and give comfort to a person, please call Pat Dimesa at 713-9435. Start living a beatitude today.

Women's Guild In the past, this ministry has been involved in fund raisers in support of the building fund, the soup bowl and Publix Gift Certificates to be used in the Wellness ministry. Basically, the Women's Guild is there to step in where the parish or other ministries need them. For further information, please contact Tina Klingaman at 778-9763

Youth Group The St. John of the Cross Youth Group exists as a ministry for the teenagers (St. John members and non-members alike) in grades 8 – 12 who are currently studying for confirmation, or, who have already been confirmed, but have not yet graduated high school. The activities include service projects to benefit our parish, our local community and the world at large. We have been meeting twice monthly during the school year. Meeting times allow us the opportunity to socialize and discuss our faith in today’s society while planning, preparing, and implementing activities. One of the important activities we are involved in is helping at the Sammaritan Center here in Vero Beach. We look forward to welcoming you and your friends this coming year! Join us as we grow and take part in the decision-making for our plans. Watch the bulletin, and this web site, for announcements of meeting dates and times. For further information, please feel free to contact Suzanne Fallon, 794-5412 or by e-mail, jpfsmfiii@bellsouth.net.