New Signs

Jun 7

Letter from the Pastor
June 9, 2024

Some of you may have noticed that we have a new digital sign in front of St. Francis Church in Brant Beach. If you live north of St. Clare’s Church in Loveladies you probably also noticed that the sign that was in Brant Beach is now standing in front of that church. St. Thomas of Villanova Church in Surf City will be getting a new sign in a few weeks.

There are a number of reasons for these new signs. First and foremost is we all know that communication is crucial. We want to let the Island know that we are here, what we do, and that they are welcome. Besides the 1970s marquee signs on the Surf City and Loveladies churches we did not have any mode of communication with the public north of the causeway. That’s over half the island that we were missing. With these new digital signs at these three locations, we can now share the information about our Mass times as well as all the other events that happen at the parish and the center.

Another reason for the change is those old marquee signs were falling into disrepair. Additionally, they require a lot of time to manage. Because we are one parish with four churches, we open and close churches as well as add and subtract Masses depending on the time of the year. Our Mass schedule changes 6 times during the course of one year. That does not include the announcements of Holy Days, Holy Week, the 18 Mile Run, or special prayer services that we celebrate. Our maintenance team or volunteers would have to go to each church and physically change the message. That’s four churches, six times a year! That’s a lot. The upgrade to these digital signs will allow us to share more information than the Mass schedule and we will be able to change the messages from the parish office.

For those who live in Beach Haven, you may be wondering why I have not included St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas is within the Historical District of Beach Haven where there are different regulations as to what is permitted and what is not. I thought it best that we start with these three churches and then move forward as to how best communicate our message in Beach Haven. For now, we will continue to use the old marquee sign at St. Thomas Aquinas church.

This project has been underway for quite some time. I presented it to the Finance Council over two years ago. It did take time to get things in order including the finances as well as permits and engineering documentation, but I am very happy that they are here. I must add a tremendous thanks to Lorri D’Orsi who has been leading the charge on this from day one. I am truly grateful for her persistence with the sign company as well as with everyone else she had to deal with to make this happen.

Peace and All Good.