Holy Messiness: A Catholic Schools Week Reflection

Classroom

Empty Classroom

The following reflection was written for Catholic Schools Week 2013 as part of a series for ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools.

An empty Catholic school is a lonely place, and when students go home for the summer the atmosphere changes drastically. It’s quieter, of course. There are no screaming kids at recess, no buzz of conversation down the halls, no tramping of feet before the beginning of daily Mass.

And it’s cleaner, too. The desks are empty, the lockers are bare. The remnants of the year get swept away into piles and then carried out to the trash–leftover tests, forgotten lunch boxes, old pens and pencils. The floors shine again, white boards sparkle, the bathroom walls glisten.

A parish, too, feels different. There’s a certain peace and quiet in a parish when school lets out for the summer. But there’s also a certain hollowness. When Catholic school is in session there’s an unmistakeable liveliness, an energy, a vibrancy in the parish. It’s as unpredictable as the Holy Spirit, this mass of children who descend upon a parish school each autumn. They come like a mighty wind, waking up the community, bringing new life.

Sometimes we like Church to be neat and tidy, but Church is a wonderfully messy reality. Church is the messiness of St. Francis of Assisi walking with the animals; it’s the messiness of St. Catherine of Siena wrangling Pope Gregory back to Rome from Avignon; it’s the messiness of Mother Teresa on the streets of Calcutta.

It’s also the messiness of finger painting, glitter, and spilled milk. It’s student lectors who don’t read loud enough, and servers who fiddle with their robes, and kids who poke at each other during Mass.

It’s the messiness of a young baby lying in a straw-filled manger; it’s the messiness of Christ carrying a bloody cross to Calvary.

Amid all the mess, noise, and chaos, the Holy Spirit is at work.

The quiet of summer is all well and good, but there’s a deep holiness in the tumult of watching children come alive in faith each day at a Catholic school.

Thank God for children, thank God for our messy Church, and thank God for Catholic schools.

101 Ways to Support Catholic Schools

Support Catholic Schools

Gandalf Loves Catholic Schools

It’s Catholic Schools Week 2013, and to celebrate I’ve compiled this list of ways you can support Catholic education. The most important way to support Catholic schools is through prayer, but your Time, Talent, and Treasure are also of great benefit. I’m sure there are at least 101 more ways to support Catholic schools. Leave your ideas in the comment area. And Happy Catholic Schools Week!

Prayer

  1. Attend a school Mass.
  2. Start a Catholic school parent prayer group.
  3. Say a Rosary for Catholic schools.
  4. Pray for all Catholic school students.
  5. Pray for Catholic school teachers around the world.
  6. Pray for principals and vice principals.
  7. Pray for secretaries, custodians, and all support staff.
  8. Pray for pastors with parish schools.
  9. Pray for Catholic school parents, that the sacrifices they make for their children bear fruit.
  10. Pray for diocesan secretaries of education.
  11. Pray for bishops, that they find creative and successful ways to strengthen Catholic schools in their dioceses.
  12. Pray a novena to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for the success of Catholic education.
  13. Visit the Blessed Sacrament for Catholic schools.
  14. Light a candle for Catholic schools.
  15. Offer a Mass intention for Catholic schools.
  16. Start with Kindergarten, and each day pray for a different grade level at your local Catholic school.
  17. Get a class list or yearbook and each day hold up a different student in prayer.
  18. Pray for a different teacher each day.
  19. Attend a school’s Stations of the Cross service.
  20. Bless your child’s school supplies the night before the new school year starts.
  21. Pray for all students who might have a test today.
  22. Pray for the financial stability of Catholic schools.
  23. Pray for students with special needs, that the Catholic schools in their area have the financial resources to meet their needs.
  24. Pray that the Holy Spirit guide parents, teachers, and administrators to work in unity to build up the Kingdom of God in the school community.
  25. Pray that Catholic schools be available for anyone that wishes to attend, regardless of economic background.
  26. Pray that Catholic schools continue to help students recognize their vocation.

Time

  1. Join or launch a local organization like the Nazareth Guild or the Fulcrum Foundation to raise and distribute funds to support Catholic schools.
  2. Join the ACE Advocates.
  3. Volunteer in the classroom.
  4. Attend a local Catholic school Christmas Program.
  5. Volunteer in the school cafeteria.
  6. Drive students on field trips.
  7. Make treats for class parties.
  8. Volunteer for a school fundraiser.
  9. Write a thank you letter to a Catholic school teacher, administrator, or staff member.
  10. Organize an appreciation luncheon for the staff.
  11. Make a positive comment on a Catholic school’s Facebook page.
  12. Chaperone a school dance.
  13. Help out at the school picnic.
  14. Serve on a school committee.
  15. Volunteer to read a story to a class.
  16. Be a room mom or dad.
  17. Help teachers by laminating or photocopying.
  18. Help out in the lunch room.
  19. Help out on the playground.
  20. Volunteer to build and paint sets for the school musical.
  21. Offer to do simple maintenance in the summer.
  22. Help give classrooms a new coat of paint.
  23. Give young children practice reading aloud by volunteering to listen to them read.
  24. Volunteer in the school library.
  25. Tutor students after school.
  26. Be a buddy family for a family that is new to the school.

Talent

  1. Make a career change: become a Catholic school teacher.
  2. Be a guest speaker/teacher.
  3. Play the piano for school liturgies.
  4. Offer to have a class visit your place of employment as a field trip.
  5. Write a grant proposal.
  6. Artists: Offer to teach an art lesson.
  7. Athletes: Volunteer to coach a Catholic school sports team.
  8. Business Owners: Donate a product or gift certificate to the school’s auction.
  9. Computer techs: Help maintain the school’s computer infrastructure.
  10. Dermatologists: Give the junior high students a lesson on skin care.
  11. Doctors: Offer free sports physicals once a year.
  12. Electricians: Check to see if the school needs an electrical upgrade to handle more computers.
  13. Event Planners: Lend expertise to the Development Director.
  14. Farmers: Bring a class out to the farm on an agricultural field trip.
  15. Foreign language speakers: Translate school documents or volunteer to be an interpreter for students whose second language is English.
  16. Gardeners: Help the school create a Mary garden.
  17. Graphic designers: Help with school branding and logos.
  18. Musicians: Hold a benefit concert for the local Catholic school.
  19. Nurses: Volunteer to help with hearing and vision screening.
  20. Painters: Create and paint a mural for the side of the school building.
  21. Photographers: Take pictures of school events for promotional materials.
  22. Software Engineers: Design a mobile app for a Catholic school.
  23. University Professors: Give an inservice to the school faculty.
  24. Web designers: Offer to design/maintain the school webpage.
  25. Writers: Present a writer’s workshop to students.

Treasure

  1. Donate to the school’s annual giving campaign.
  2. Go wild at the school auction!
  3. Adopt a student and pay his or her tuition for the year.
  4. Give an unrestricted donation.
  5. Find out if your company matches donations and donate.
  6. Purchase an item from a teacher’s classroom wish list.
  7. Donate a computer.
  8. Bring in a latte or coffee for the school secretary.
  9. Provide financial support so a teacher can attend the NCEA convention.
  10. Donate books to the classroom or school library.
  11. Buy new uniforms for one of the school’s sports teams.
  12. Purchase religious statues for classrooms.
  13. Help defray the cost of a school field trip.
  14. Buy new software for school computers.
  15. Donate a printer, TV, or dvd player.
  16. Buy magazines, candy, or whatever else the students sell as fundraisers.
  17. Support the school’s scrip program.
  18. Help the school purchase a new set of textbooks.
  19. Donate stock from your investment portfolio.
  20. Offer to pay for consumable workbooks for students.
  21. Purchase a document camera or interactive white board for the classroom.
  22. Offer to purchase Bibles for each student.
  23. Help the school purchase an electronic tablet for each student.
  24. Include a bequest to a Catholic school in your will.

A Phone Call from God: Vocations and Catholic Schools

telephone cross

The following reflection was written for Catholic Schools Week 2012 as part of a series for ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools.

Phone Call from GodIn the Spring of 1990, I got a phone call from God. I wasn’t home to get the call, but my answering machine picked it up. It’s a good thing, too. Brenda and I were about to be married, we were moving to Boise, Idaho, and I had no job. God had called to offer me a teaching position at Sacred Heart Catholic School. (Click here to find out what God sounds like.)

Ok, so the call was from Marge Ransley, the principal at Sacred Heart; but one of the most important things my Catholic education has taught me is that God speaks to us through other people. That answering machine message may have sounded like Marge, but it was really God calling me to begin my vocation as a Catholic educator.

Catholic schools are in a unique position to help students hear the voice of God in their lives. Today’s young Catholics are bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of different messages each day. From tweets to text messages, from TV shows to YouTube videos, God’s call can get lost in a cacophony of misleading and distracting noise. Kids need help discerning God’s invitation to wholeness and holiness, and that’s where Catholic schools come in.

Catholic schools nourish and strengthen the gift of faith present in each student so that he or she can trust that God’s call will lead them to fullness of life.

Catholic schools provide the academic background students need to pursue their call and respond to God’s invitation.

Catholic schools show students how to place their vocation at the service of the world to care for the least among us and help build up the Kingdom of God.

Faith. Academics. Service. These have always been the hallmark of a Catholic education. Catholic school students don’t learn how to make a living, but how to make a difference.

This summer, God willing, I will be ordained a deacon, and the prospect is both exciting and frightening. It has been the same with all my vocational calls. Before Brenda and I got married, before our first child was born, and before I first stepped into that classroom in Boise twenty-two years ago, I wondered if I knew what I was getting myself into. Of course the answer was no, I didn’t really know. How could I? How can anyone? But the faith, academics, and service I received from St. Pius X Elementary School, Billings Central Catholic High School, and Gonzaga University prepared me for each of those vocations in ways that are impossible to measure.

Every child has a vocation, a particular call from God. The Holy Spirit whispers the call deep in their hearts, quietly beckoning them to a way of life that will lead them to ultimate holiness, happiness, and eternal life. Perhaps they are called to marriage, perhaps to the priesthood; maybe the whisper leads them to consecrated religious life or to serve the poorest of the poor.

How sad it would be to miss that call. With all the noise and confusion in the world, isn’t it comforting to know there is a sacred place kids can go to learn how to hear God’s invitation, trust it, and act on it? This is the mission of Catholic schools: Faith. Academics. Service.

Catholic School Teacher Begins Career with Miracle

Kolleen MurrayOne of the great pleasures of teaching in Catholic schools is the inspiration I receive daily from my colleagues. It’s a privilege to work with such dedicated, faith-filled people who tirelessly strive to build up the Kingdom of God. One of those witnesses to faith is my teaching partner, Kolleen Murray. Kolleen and I have worked together for over a decade teaching eighth graders at All Saints Catholic School in Spokane, Washington. This year Kolleen received the NCEA’s Distinguished Teacher Award, and was featured in an article on Catholic Schools Week by Our Sunday Visitor:

Murray, 50, is one of 12 current National Catholic Educators of the Year, recognition given by the National Catholic Education Association, and she represents five Western states. She has been a teacher for 12 years and currently teaches an eighth-grade class at All Saints Catholic High School in Spokane, Wash.

And it began, she said, with somewhat of a miracle.

Murray was hired in May 2000, and in June, she wrecked on a bike, sustaining a traumatic brain injury that landed her in the hospital for two weeks and in rehabilitation for months. During that time, teachers brought food and cleaned her house. Kathy Hicks, her principal, came to walk with her arm in arm.

“I told her that she needed to hire someone else,” Murray said. “But she told me that she would teach my classes, and her colleagues would teach my classes, until I got better. That is the miracle of this ministry, that Kathy would not hire someone else. I came to this ministry with a very grateful heart. Can you imagine so much support and so much love? It was beautiful.”

Murray could teach for only two hours each morning when classes resumed, and by October, her strength returned.

“The students knew from Day One that I had a brain injury, and that it would be we as a community, we as the body of Christ, that would facilitate the learning,” she said.

Read more about Kolleen and Catholic schools, including an interview with our superintendent Duane Schafer, at Our Sunday Visitor.

Powerful Video Shows Students How a Dollar Can Change the World

Change

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” So says Galadriel to Frodo in Peter Jackson’s film of Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. The same sentiment could be applied to the money that gets donated in the following short film Change for a Dollar. Even the smallest amount of money can change the course of the future.

I am sorely tempted to list discussion points or viewing questions that you could use with this video after showing it your students, but I think this time I’ll just let the video speak for itself. I’d love to hear how you would use the video, or what you would focus on with your students. To share, leave your suggestions and thoughts in the comments section.

Thanks to CatholicTV for posting this video on its Facebook page.

Poignant Video Shows Students True Service

Get ServiceAs the prospect of my ordination to the diaconate draws ever closer (9-10 months away, God willing!), I am becoming more sensitive to articles and videos having to do with service. The following video expresses beautifully what it means to be a true servant. It would make a powerful statement during a service retreat with your students, or even as a way to begin a lesson on what it means to be a disciple of Christ.