Mark Kulewicz, the St. Francis “Sign Guy”

St. Francis’ sign, updated monthly by Kulewicz, quickly alerts drivers on both sides of Clay Pitts Road with important updates.

One day a year and half ago, I was driving past St. Francis and I noticed the sign on the street in front of the church that provides messages to passing motorists on Clay Pitts Road was a little out of date. I passed by a week later and the message was still there. It occurred to me that it would be a good idea to update the sign a little more frequently. After all, there is always “good news” to deliver and there is so much going on at St. Francis that people want to know about.

Upon reflection, I realized that this was an opportunity for me to help my church. After all, I’ve been working with traffic signs during my long career at AAA, and I understand the power of a clear message on a well-placed sign.

I occurred to me that I was being tapped on the shoulder to be the “Sign Guy,” and so I mentioned that I would take on the job of updating the sign to my friend and fellow parishioner Mike Mordarski, who put it in motion with the pastoral advisory council and, ultimately, Father Peter. Happily, everyone was on board—so long as I didn’t put up a message “Let’s Go Mets.” I agreed.

My goal is to update the sign at least once per month. Father Peter gives his blessing to the message, and I put it up. The messages can be short (“He is Risen”) or longer, as long as they’re within size limits.

Since it is an old-fashioned sign with cut-out plastic letters, it presents some challenges—particularly on cold, windy days.

Also, sometimes I’m missing a letter or two, which is why you may notice an upside down “W” serving as an “M.” Hopefully you can read it nonetheless.

The good news is that I’ve only made one spelling error, which I quickly corrected. The better news is that I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to my church and look forward to delivering the “good news” each month.

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