Schools convocation radiates joy in Christ

TIMONIUM – With arriving teachers rocking out to the Archbishop Curley Drum Line, the St. John Regional Catholic School Choir from Frederick leading songs at Mass and several awards celebrations, the 2023 Catholic Education Convocation Aug. 24 prepared teachers and staff members for Monday’s opening of the Catholic school year.

Archbishop Borders School teachers María Rodríguez, left, Anayensi Ortiz and Gisela Aguilera take a new-school-year selfie prior to the Catholic Education Convocation Mass and awards ceremony at the Church of the Nativity. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Media)

Many came dressed in their schools’ colors. The staff from St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park sported shirts with the stylized words “The joy of the Lord is my strength,” from Nehemiah 10, which is this year’s theme for the archdiocese’s schools. The official logo for the theme was created by Amanda Abdul Saboor, a student at St. Mark School, Catonsville, who was honored with a plaque at the convocation.

The teachers from Resurrection-St. Paul School in Ellicott City wore shirts of various colors, representing the “houses” to which they and students belong, named for saints including Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, St. Thomas Aquinas and others. “Kind of like Hogwarts but better?,” one teacher was asked. “Exactly,” she said.

Staffers from Archbishop Borders School, the only fully dual-language school in the archdiocese, wore purple shirts with the motto emblazoned on the back in English and Spanish: “Two languages, many cultures, infinite possibilities! ¡Dos idiomas, muchas culturas, infinitas possibilidades!”

Lisa Blackstone-Diller, a teaching assistant for second and third grade at ABS, said the education convocation “inspires me – spiritually and physically.” The 18-year veteran of three Catholic schools hopes her students this year will get a lot of positive reinforcement in a faith-based environment.

Her coworker, Lasander Lawson, another 18-year veteran in her first year at Borders, said she already loves everything about the school – the staff, the students and that it’s bilingual. “Nothing but love surrounds the school,” she said.

Archbishop William E. Lori stumbled a bit with his homily for the Mass, when he began and then realized quickly that he had the wrong homily in his folder. He invoked the Holy Spirit to guide him and ad-libbed the first part, before being handed the correct text.

The student choir from St. John Regional Catholic School in Frederick lead the music for the Catholic Education Convocation Mass. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Media)

He said as he was greeting people as they arrived at Church of the Nativity that he sensed their joy, alluding to the theme for the year. He said he admired their commitment to “this great, wonderful, transformative enterprise that we call catholic education.”

“You recognize that your joy must be an enduring joy, a joy that helps you face the challenges,” he said.

“All of you and each of you bring immense talent, expertise and great heartedness to the ministry of Catholic education. But because it is a ministry, one more thing is needed: that we ourselves be disciples and credible witnesses, disciples who know how to listen to the Lord, who know how to encounter him in Word, sacrament, and mystery.”

He said teachers and staff of Catholic schools must be “credible witnesses who can invite unchurched and barely churched parents and families to ‘come and see’” – as Philip invited Nathaniel in the day’s Gospel reading – to meet the One who knows them better than they know themselves, the One who loves them more deeply than they love themselves.”

He said he hoped those they encounter would be open to the wisdom, both divine and human, they will offer “in the amazingly beautiful and effective ministry we call Catholic education.”

Archbishop William E. Lori brings laughter to more than 1,200 teachers when he realizes he’s holding the wrong notes for his homily at the Church of the Nativity. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Media)

In her address to open the school year, Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, noted that when we are given gifts by the Holy Spirit, they are not for the individual’s benefit.

“We are given gifts so we can use them in the service of the Body of Christ. As I look around today, I am grateful for the gifts given to each one of you.”

The convocation included lots of honors and expressions of gratitude, including the acknowledgement of dozens of teachers celebrating 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of serving in Catholic education. One marked 45 years and another notched 50 years.

Every school chose a teacher of the year, each of whom received a Chromebook to help them prepare for the year ahead. From among those finalists, Archdiocesan Teachers of the Year were chosen by members of the Department of Catholic Schools staff and a representative of the archdiocesan school board.

MaryClare Cernik, of Mercy High School, was named Independent Catholic High School Teacher of the Year; Julie Guenther, School of the Incarnation, Gambrills, Archdiocesan Elementary School Teacher of the Year; and Karen Montoya, Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Archdiocesan High School Teacher of the Year.

Mary Pat Seurkamp, vice chairwoman of the archdiocesan school board, was honored with the Doris Musil Award, named for the late assistant superintendent who as an educator exemplified vision, integrity and commitment to Catholic education.

Seurkamp, the former president of Notre Dame of Maryland University, said she has attended many convocations and is always impressed by the “dedication and obvious love for your work, which is palpable. I know this is more than just a job for you.”

Dr. Mary Pat Seurkamp, former president of the Notre Dame of Maryland University and current Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Schools board member, is the 2023 Doris Musil Award recipient. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Media)

She said the award honors all the members of the archdiocesan school board who tirelessly support and advocate for school leaders, teachers, staff members and students.

The Department of Schools presented the Maryland Catholic Conference with the Catholic School Partnership Award for its ongoing advocacy, especially in the conference’s effort in the last legislative session to salvage the BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) scholarship program.

The MCC, the public policy arm of Maryland’s bishops, worked with other nongovernment schools to push for the continuation of BOOST when incoming Gov. Wes Moore wanted to decrease its funding and phase out the program over the next several years.

By showing the positive impact for the number of low-income families that benefit from BOOST, Jenny Kraska, MCC executive director, and Garrett O’Day, deputy director, were instrumental in urging the General Assembly to keep the funding at $9 million and eliminate the language to phase out the program.

O’Day, in turn, thanked educators and parents for acting on the legislative alerts that the MCC sends while the state Legislature is in session, and asked for continued prayers for the conference’s work and persistence in contacting legislators in Annapolis.

Auxiliary Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., urban vicar, closed the day by telling the gathering that when he was pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus/Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Parish, he loved to take visitors to visit Archbishop Borders School next door. Guests always wanted to know why everyone seemed so happy. “I bet it’s the same way at your schools,” he said.

He said that Spanish has three words for joy: felicidades, allegría and gozo and that we are called to feel, live and share “the joy of Jesus in the Word, in his own Body and Blood and in each one of you.”

“We are reminded we are called to share joy every moment of every day, in and out of our schools,” he said.

As he prepared to give the final blessing for the convocation, Auxiliary Bishop Adam J. Parker said: “The doors open Monday! Every day you have an opportunity to invite people to come and see Jesus.”

Email Chris Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org

To view more photos from the Catholic Education Convocation, click through the slideshow below: