January 23, 2005
No Waiting!
Catholic
Ministries Appeal
Last weekend we had speakers from Catholic Charities at all the masses
in church speak about some of the ways that our charitable contributions
to the Catholic Ministries Appeal were being used. (We’ll have
similar speakers at the masses in the school in the weeks ahead.) I
want to thank all who are returning their pledge cards -- either last
week, or this week or by mail directly to the Ministries Appeal Office.
In addition to supporting the pastoral work of the church on Long Island,
our own parish receives 20% of the donations as a rebate. (Actually
our parish has benefitted greatly over the years because of grants and
support from the diocese. For example, our school just received a $100,000
grant -- made possible because people in other parishes also supported
the Ministries Appeal.)
I’ve pledged. Have you?
You can pledge online here!
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
December 26:
A Blessed Christmas
December 19: Here comes everybody!
December 12: The Journey Continues
Columns from 2004
Columns from 2003
Columns from 2002
I’m
continually fascinated by stories of the “old days” at St.
Brigid’s when there were huge waiting lists to get into St. Brigid’s
School. Parents sometimes had to prove that they were involved as volunteers
in some aspect of parish life before their children would even be considered
for admission. Parents then joined two or three parish societies to increase
their chances of getting into the school People lined up to apply for
admission for their children.
Today things are different. Our school offers the same things it did decades
ago -- a faith-filled community, care for each and every child, Catholic
values, and a good education. But there are additions to an education
at St. Brigid’s/Our Lady of Hope School that former students wouldn’t
have dreamed of -- computers in all the classrooms, partnership with the
State University at Stony Brook, Middle States Accreditation, multicultural
festivals, enrichment clusters, character education, drama and mission
clubs -- and many more co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
With all that our school offers,
I wonder why we don’t have waiting lists these days. I suspect it
has a lot to do with tuition. Years ago the parish subsidized most of
the cost of running schools. Religious sisters made up the faculty and
worked for nearly no salary. Financially it was much easier to send children
to Catholic schools. Today, while our parishes and the diocese subsidize
the school, tuition is the substantial source of income for our school.
Our school board works very hard to find ways to keep tuitions as low
as possible, yet the reality of today’s education “market”
makes affording a Catholic Education a challenge and a sacrifice for many
families.
Yet the hundreds of students who
attend our school are proof that it’s a sacrifice worth making.
Our graduating students consistently are accepted into high schools of
their choice. Our faculty and administration are known for their care
and dedication. Our small student to teacher ratio allows more personal
attention to students and this bears fruit in consistently good test scores.
Parents: come over and visit our
school. No waiting!
You are Person
