St. Michael's Hope Rising Update #40

 Dear Friends,

A lot is happening this week. Tomorrow is our big Hope Rising Event at the Rec Center from 6:30pm-8:00pm. I encourage you to stop by and wander through the rooms displaying inspiring art work and live performances by musicians, poets, and short story tellers. Over 1,000 homemade cookies have been made, so if you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to be!
 
I am thrilled to announce St. Michael's will have an Easter Service on Sanibel!  We have secured the Sanibel Rec Center large meeting room, to have an 8:30am Easter Sunday Service on Sanibel on April 9. We will also have the 11:30am Easter Sunday service at Peace.  We thank the Rec Center staff for coming in on a holiday to allow those on the island to gather together and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. We see this as an opportunity to reach out to island residents and offer an inclusive, welcoming worship experience that inspires and gives hope. 
 
Work has begun to repair the Noah's Ark building. As you can see from the photos below, they are removing the many layers of flooring (5 to be exact) and doing more mold mitigation from the past few months. As soon as the city grants the permit, the roof and other parts of the project will get underway. This gathering space will serve as a place for additional worship services, starting with a 5pm Saturday service and social, offices for our staff and a place for the island community to gather.  We will continue to have our 11:30am Sunday service at Peace Church as well as meetings and activities at Peace. The restored Ark will give us an on-island presence until the main facility is completed.   

Yesterday I was honored to receive a check for $12,000 from the Church of the Redeemer Hurricane Relief Fund.   Jackie Overton, Youth Minister at Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota presented the check and has been meeting with us to discuss other ways they can be of assistance, more to come on that in the near future. The funds will be used to furnish the new gathering space and to help us provide support for the island community at our "community care center."  We are greatly appreciative of our fellow Episcopal churches reaching out and providing support. 
 
The Property Restoration Team met today and most of the meeting centered on the main building. Additional portions of the floors were opened up to assist the structural engineer in making his final determination on how to repair the compromised floors. We have engaged a second private appraisal company to be sure we are maximizing the value of the main building.  Members of the team also met with a second restoration company that will be bidding on the project. Once the floor situation is decided the bids can be finalized, a company chosen and the next steps taken. The goal is to have a decision in hand hopefully by the end of the month, but there are many moving parts to the process. 

Peace, 
Bill+ 

Sanibel Resources:
1. As of yesterday, two more beach areas have opened. 

• Bowman’s Beach Park, 1700 Bowman’s Beach Road (220 parking spaces)
• Gulf Side City Park, 2001 Algiers Lane (46 parking spaces)  This is in addition to:
• Blind Pass Beach Park, 6497 Sanibel-Captiva Road (29 parking spaces)
• Tarpon Bay Road Beach Park (Trost Parking), 205 Tarpon Bay Road (76 parking spaces)

2.The City of Sanibel also opened the Sanibel Boat Ramp and boat/trailer parking on March 6, 2023. The boat ramp is located at 888 Sextant Drive (39 boat trailer parking spaces). Please review the following information closely as the rules for use of the Sanibel Boat Ramp have changed:

• The boat ramp will be open to permit holders only on weekends and Holidays. 
• On weekdays it is open to the public (non-permit holders) for a $40 daily fee. 
• There is no beach access at the Sanibel Boat Ramp at this time. 
• Commercial use of the boat ramp is prohibited.
• Fines for violations at the boat ramp are $250. 

3. F.I.S.H. food pantry on the island is now open Monday-Friday 9am-3pm. 
 
4. The Captiva Civic Association will host "Voices of the Storm: Writing your Story in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ian" on March 14 at 10am at the Captive Civic Center. Participants will learn how to process their experiences through writing. to make a reservation visit https://ccacaptiva.org
 
5.With the city of Sanibel, Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce and others, the new SanCap Citizens for a Resilient Future hopes to address concerns in a two-part community meeting series. The first event, “Emerging from Hurricane Ian: Stronger & More Resilient,” will be held on March 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. at BIG ARTS on Sanibel. It will also be live-streamed on the city’s Facebook page. The free event will focus on sharing community stories and collecting feedback to guide a citizen-led planning effort focused on building greater resiliency for the future. Panelists will share their stories as residents and business owners, along with their perspectives on the work that lies ahead for the community in addressing its short- and long- term needs. Sanibel’s first mayor and keynote speaker Porter Goss will lead the discussion, while City Councilmember John Henshaw will moderate.