Alliance for Catholic Education
When I saw that I would be writing a blog post for Catholic Schools Week, I knew right away that I wanted to write about community. Community is the second pillar of the ACE Teaching Fellows program, and most often it’s discussed in relation to our ACE communities. While these are certainly a backbone of the program, two other communities that are not discussed as much are our school community and the broader Catholic community. Today, I want to talk about these two communities that an ACE teacher has the privilege of entering into.
First, the universal Church. Community is baked into the Catholic life—you can’t separate the two. Walk into any Catholic church for Mass, and you will automatically be a part of the community, knowing when to sit, stand, kneel, and respond. When we join together to worship in the Mass, we see very clearly how we are all members of the same body of Christ. Catholicism is rooted in unity—just as Christ called His followers to Himself and then went out to eat with sinners and tax collectors, we are called to have the same commitment to unity. What better way to do that than to build communities that people feel welcome into? And what better way to build communities than to capitalize on our students’ desire for fun and excitement (and, if we’re being honest, distractions from class)?
Catholic Schools Week is a great example of just one way that the Church builds community. Every school across the country is celebrating Catholic Schools Week this week, whether in Tulsa, Washington D.C., or Sacramento. This means that every Catholic school in the country has been working to build our shared mission and vision this week, and that children from the ages of 3 to 18 have been eagerly guessing at what antics might happen at school each day. Will Mr. Richards wear an eye patch for pirate day? Who will have the best pajamas for pajama day? Who will win the 8th grade vs. faculty volleyball game? This week, our students will find the answers to all of these questions (although they might not like the answer to that last one) and more.
The beauty of Catholic Schools Week is that it not only brings together the national Catholic community, but also the community within each and every school. We will work together to collect items for our food drive, have paired activities with buddy classes, compete against one another, and most importantly, celebrate Mass together. In this day and time, when isolation can feel so present and so constant, what a gift to have a week in our schools dedicated to showing our students that they are not isolated and they are not alone. Instead, they are shown that they are a part of a community that extends far beyond the walls of their school and that has been built on a foundation of immeasurable love. Of all the gifts that God has given to us, among the greatest is the opportunity to share our lives with others, and this week has been a perfect opportunity to do just that.