What happened to St John's Religious Shop?
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On January 1, 2017, at the request of the Diocese of Rochester, St John the Evangelist Church closed St John's Religious Shoppe and Bookstore to the general public.
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On December 16th, 2017, St. John the Evangelist Church transferred ownership of some of the assets of St. John's Religious Shoppe and Bookstore to Divine Mercy Religious Shop Ministries (DMRSM). DMRSM is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, managed by former Shop volunteers and customers, and overseen by a Board of Directors. DMRSM is not owned, operated or controlled by either St John the Evangelist Church or the Diocese of Rochester.
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The new Divine Mercy Religious Shop currently continues to be located in the former St John's School building at 65 Martha Street in Spencerport, under a lease agreement with St John the Evangelist Church.
Why did the Shop change its name?
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This was a requirement of the Diocese of Rochester. They wanted to make sure people did not think that St John's Parish either owned, or was involved in the operations of the new Shop, outside of a landlord-tenant relationship.
Why did you choose the new name Divine Mercy Religious Shop Ministries?
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Our Lord's private revelation to St Faustina, approximately 90 years ago, is one of the most recent revelations of Our Lord officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church - including the establishment of the 1st Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. In this revelation, as the Great Physician, He prescribes and offers to us the sure remedy for our individual weaknesses, wounds and trials, and through us the world's. It is a universal invitation not only to Catholics, but also to all Christians and non-Christians alike. that no matter where we are in our life's journey, His Mercy and the healing and strengthening Grace of the Holy Spirit are always available to us, if we will truly trust in Him and live as he prescribes for our eternal good.
One of the main barriers to convincing people in our time to trust the Holy Trinity (one God consisting of 3 Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit), is that people have many misconceptions about the Holy Trinity, and the Roman Catholic Church's role in God's plan for our salvation. The primary Mission of the Shop is to help all people, no matter where they are starting from, to:
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Increase in their knowledge, love and trust in the Holy Trinity
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Understand and fully receive the Graces God makes available to them through the Roman Catholic Church (both sacramentally and through its teachings and activities)
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Assist, encourage and support them in their efforts to live out Our Lord's prescription through the struggles of their daily lives.
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We added Ministries to our organization's name because, while we follow generally accepted internal controls and business practices appropriate for our organization's size and activities, the design of these controls need to be flexible enough for us to optimize the accomplishment of our organization's primary Mission. It reminds us of our priorities and that we must not become so risk averse that we can no longer be the "fools for Christ" , from a worldly perspective, in our approach to running these Ministries that was one of the main reasons the Shop had been successful in the past.
Can we still use our "old" St John's Religious Shoppe Gift Certificate at the new Shop?
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Yes.