Prayer for schools

Eternal God Bless all schools, colleges, and universities, especially St. Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. Michael the Archangel and St. Mary Catholic Central High School, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen
Book of Common Prayer, USA, 1979

 


We need your input!


January 2010

  • Dear Parishioners of St. John, St. Mary, and St. Michael Parishes,

    A little over a year ago, the Monroe Catholic Schools Commission was formed by the Pastors and Administrators of St. John, St. Mary, St. Michael parishes, and St. Mary Catholic Central (SMCC) High School. The task of the Commission is to assist the Pastors and Administrators answer this question: How can the Monroe Catholic Community ensure effective stewardship of our shared resources as we strive to provide quality Catholic education for our children?

    Over the past year, the Commission has:
    • gathered financial and statistical information from the parishes and schools
    • solicited input from Principals, teachers, and parents
    • studied demographic information
    • examined collaborative educational ventures in other communities
    • reviewed publications and studies about the future of Catholic education
    • spent countless hours analyzing the information

    The Commission has come to a few conclusions:
    1. While all of the schools are viable, enrollment in our three grade schools has been declining for several years.

    2. Tuition and school fund-raising at our grade schools has never been sufficient to pay the cost of the running each school. Each parish has subsidized the costs of operating its school by providing between 20 and 25 % of parish income for school purposes. This is not a new development. The parish school has been part of the parish mission to teach the faith for over 150 years in Monroe. Religious Education programs, Faith Formation for Adults, Evangelization, Parish Outreach, Health Ministry, etc. are not self-supporting either. Parish income from our Sunday collections helps pay the cost of all of these programs. The subsidy for school purposes, however, is much larger than the amount needed to sustain other parish programs.

    3. Parish income has declined over the past few years, at least in part due to the economy in southeast Michigan.

    4. St. Mary Catholic Central High School serves the parishes of the Monroe Vicariate and other surrounding parishes as a regional high school. While the local parishes do not subsidize the cost of operating the high school, they support the school in many ways, including providing pastoral support, use of facilities, and board leadership. The continued viability of the three city parish schools is vital to SMCC because approximately 60% of SMCC’s students come from the three city parish schools. The Pastors and Principals of all four city schools, upon the recommendation of the commission and on their own initiative, have collaborated more regularly and more extensively than ever before in providing a coordinated curriculum, adopting common business practices, and marketing and enrollment efforts. We believe that we are better stewards by doing these things. Parish-Wide Survey Before considering any additional collaborative recommendations, the Commission recommended and the Pastors agreed that there should be a Parish-Wide Survey. We are looking for input from parishioners on the importance of Catholic schools as a part of the mission of the Church. Is the Monroe Catholic Community willing to continue to support Catholic education financially? How important is the tie between the parish and the school? Would parishioners consider/support a school not exclusively run by the parish? We include the survey so that you can start thinking about these questions.

    The survey will actually be conducted at the conclusion of all parish Masses the weekend of January 30th-31st. However, you may complete this survey and return it to the parish office, an usher, or the collection basket at any of the three churches before that weekend if you so desire. We ask each parishioner over the age of 18 to complete and return the survey. This letter (and the survey) may raise plenty of questions. We hope it does just that. WE LOVE QUESTIONS!

    More information about the commission and the work done thus far can be found at monroecatholicschoolscommission.com. We need informed parishioners to provide input. If you would like to discuss these matters with a commissioner, the Pastor, or the Principal, we urge you to do so.

    The commissioners are:
    St. John - Lou Bonanni, Jean Foster, and Gabe Martin
    St. Mary - Lyric Hodgson, Bill Kipf, Jack Ready, and Donna St. Pierre
    St. Michael - Jim Bellestri, Mary O’Lear, and Molly Roehrig
    SMCC - Kenyon Calender and Renee´ Darrow

    The bulletins of December 19th & 20th included a joint letter from our pastors to the Monroe Catholic Community about their hopes for the future of Catholic education in Monroe. A copy of that letter is posted on the commission website. They asked us all to join in hope and prayer as we explore creative ways to preserve and improve the rich heritage of Catholic Education in the city of Monroe. We join them in asking for your prayerful reflection and response. Click here to read the pastors' Advent letter
    Thank you.
    Jack Ready,
    Chairman Monroe Catholic Schools Commission



>>>Click here to view and print the parish survey.<<<