When something different is proposed, we say why change when everything is going so well?
We are invited to participate with five other parish schools in our area to plan for the future of Catholic education. Catholic education has been in place here since 1856, according to parish history.
Throughout those years, a lot of changes have happened. In 1859, School Sisters of Notre Dame came and spent many years here. In 1933, we started a credited four-year high school until 1982, when a regional high school was formed, and we lost our parochial high school. In 2009, the School Sisters of Notre Dame left as teachers and we went to a total lay staff. This loss in our parish schools really changed the economics of Catholic education. For so many years, the religious received a stipend, and not a salary that affected the bottom line of parishes.
In 1894 the Jesuits left and the Franciscans came to our parish, which was met with much resistance. In 1990, the Franciscans left and the Archdiocese sent their own priests to the parishes. That in itself was a huge change; a monastery living of the religious compared to a rectory living of the secular priests. There was now now guarantee of a fulltime associate or a pastor.
As much as we do not like change, it is everywhere in our lives. Please pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the continued dialogue about the school situation.