{"id":2197,"date":"2013-02-03T20:12:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/families-re-evnagelized-through-catholic-schools\/"},"modified":"2013-02-03T20:12:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-03T20:12:00","slug":"families-re-evangelized-through-catholic-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/02\/families-re-evangelized-through-catholic-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Families re-evangelized through Catholic schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Anchorage, Alaska, Feb 3, 2013 \/ 01:12 pm (CNA<\/a>).- In societies that have largely forgotten or abandoned Christianity, Catholic schools are often seen as vital tools for reintroducing faith to the wider culture.<\/p>\n

\tPrincipal Jim Bailey of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School can testify to this. He was in the process of entering the Catholic Church when he became the principal of the South Anchorage elementary school in 2008.<\/p>\n

\tThe children will lead<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\u201cBeing principal strengthened my desire to join the church,\u201d Bailey told the Catholic Anchor.<\/p>\n

\tHe credits the Catholic school experience and its immersion in faith with influencing him. It is a phenomena he sees occur with many parents who send their children to Catholic school.
\n\tThis year, Bailey said the school has at least three parents going through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults \u2014 the process by which adults are introduced to the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAnd that\u2019s fairly typical,\u201d Bailey said of parents who come to the faith through their contact with the school. Evangelization, he said, is the natural outgrowth of being part of a Catholic school community.<\/p>\n

\tNon-Catholics or inactive Catholics may send their children to Catholic schools for academic reasons, smaller class sizes or better discipline, but often the faith component draws them in unexpectedly, Bailey observed.<\/p>\n

\tFamily of faith<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\tStacy Reiman, the mother of a kindergartner at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage, agrees. Her young son, Nicolas, was baptized at a school Mass on Jan. 17.<\/p>\n

\tWhen Nicolas asked his mom if he could be baptized as a Catholic, she was willing because \u201cit\u2019s something I\u2019ve been gravitating towards for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRaised an Episcopalian, Reiman said she has been pondering the direction of her faith and \u201canytime I\u2019d have a question about something, I\u2019d Googled it and discover that the Catholic answer seemed to conform to my own thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBut she wasn\u2019t sure how far to involve her family \u2014 husband Robert, son Nicolas and her two preschool-aged daughters. Then came Nicolas\u2019 request, which Reiman views as \u201ca bit of a sign\u201d and clearly the result of his school environment.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFrom the first day I walked into the school, I felt embraced by a warm community of believers who welcome you into this family,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the most loving community I\u2019ve encountered since I moved to Anchorage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tShe also said she appreciates the pro-family atmosphere of the Catholic school.<\/p>\n

\tHoly Rosary principal Catherine Neumayr thinks a welcoming environment and an emphasis on prayer help draw people into the faith through Catholic education. Holy Rosary students maintain a list with prayer requests, and frequently school Masses are offered for people in need in the community. This adds an element to Catholic education that public schools don\u2019t offer. In addition to prayer for families in need, the Catholic school also offers assistance with care and casseroles.<\/p>\n

\tPower of the Mass<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\tFather Scott Garrett, pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla where Our Lady of the Valley School is located said he has seen \u201cquite a few people come into the church through their association with a Catholic school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFather Garrett is himself a convert, and his best childhood friend was also non-Catholic.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe married a Catholic, but never went to church,\u201d Father Garrett said. \u201cBut after they sent their kids to Catholic school, he became a devout Catholic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWhen people become involved with what their children are learning, they begin to appreciate the faith in a whole new way, Father Garrett explained.<\/p>\n

\tPerhaps one of the greatest conversion mechanisms is the Mass itself. Some people who attend their children\u2019s weekday Mass come because they want to see their children in a liturgical role, as a reader or cantor. They might never ordinarily attend Sunday Mass much less a weekday Mass, but find themselves drawn by the church\u2019s liturgy in ways they never expected.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhen we brought the school (from a strip mall in Wasilla) onto the church property this year some people in the parish were a little hesitant,\u201d Father Garrett recalled. \u201cBut when the school kids became involved in the Friday parish Mass, I couldn\u2019t believe the unity it brought to the whole parish and to those who attend that Mass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTom Sorci, principal of Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage, said that on the very morning the Catholic Anchor called him for comments, \u201cI had a parent come to me and say he\u2019d like to become a Catholic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tMoreover, like other school principals, Sorci has seen many Catholic parents become more engaged and active in their faith as a result of being involved with Catholic schooling.<\/p>\n

\tPlanting Seeds<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\tSometimes the Catholic school plants a seed in students and families that may bloom later, Sorci said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe have two graduates from last year\u2019s class who are now in the process of becoming Catholic,\u201d he continued. \u201cSometimes our non-Catholic graduates go off to college and discover they are more Catholic than some of the Catholic kids they meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPosted with permission from Catholic Anchor<\/a>, official publication of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anchorage, Alaska, Feb 3, 2013 \/ 01:12 pm (CNA).- In societies that have largely forgotten or abandoned Christianity, Catholic schools are often seen as vital tools for reintroducing faith to the wider culture.<\/p>\n

\tPrincipal Jim Bailey of St. Elizabeth A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nFamilies re-evangelized through Catholic schools<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anchorage, Alaska, Feb 3, 2013 \/ 01:12 pm (CNA).- In societies that have largely forgotten or abandoned Christianity, Catholic schools are often seen as vital tools for reintroducing faith to the wider culture. 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