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Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Casey Buckstaff, principal of St. John the Evangelist School in Severna Park, and Father Erik J. Arnold, pastor, are shown on the first day of the 2019-20 school year, which required creative ways to maintain the school’s Christ-centered identity. (Courtesy St. John the Evangelist School)

Severna Park school sustains Catholic identity through pandemic


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Catholic Review Filed Under: #IamCatholic, Coronavirus, Eastern Vicariate, Feature, Local News, News, Schools

Count priests among the educators who missed having children on campus – and in their churches – last spring.

“I’ve really missed the presence of students, and the way the Mass feels when we celebrate with them,” said Father Erik J. Arnold, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park. “When I’m with them, any tangible prop that can be used, I’ll do it. With the livestream (of Mass), it’s not the same, I struggle to bring it to life for the children.”

Father Arnold and Casey Buckstaff, principal of St. John the Evangelist School, foster an environment that earned the school honors for its Catholic identity from the National Catholic Educational Association last spring.

With Catholic schools gingerly reopening after being closed since March 16 and  Masses geared for students still on hold for now, pastor and principal continue to nurture the school’s foundation in faith.

“Our identity is not just in good academics,” Father Arnold said. “Our identity is in Christ, not just to teach the faith, but to experience it. I’m ready to be as creative as I can be. I’ll need to be in the classroom more. This is why the school exists, to form the students’ hearts and minds in the Gospel.”

He became pastor of the parish in the summer of 2019. Buckstaff said she was “just getting to know” Father Arnold when quarantines were imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that his commitment to Catholic education was evident.

“To know that the pastor is supportive of your school is just so vital,” she said. “It’s important to me as a Catholic school leader, and faith leader, to know that your pastor is on the same page.”

Collaboration includes staff.

“That’s something we always talk to folks about when we’re hiring,” Buckstaff said. “You absolutely know if someone’s faith is genuine. Most applicants know what they’re signing up for. When the pandemic hit, we were able to hit the ground running on remote learning because of our crackerjack staff.”

While weekly Mass for three different grade groupings and monthly liturgies for the entire school remain on hold, other routines and rituals that ground the children have been a constant. Announcements were “kid-centered” and recorded, to make on-demand viewing possible.

The Selba children, from left, Luke, Ada and Joe, sat still on Mother’s Day just long enough to take in a livestreamed Mass from St. John the Evangelist School in Severna Park, where the boys attend the parish school. (Courtesy Selba Family)

“We maintained our morning traditions,” Buckstaff said. “Our kids know ‘it’s best to start the week with a song.’ Every day I do a little meditation. I treated all of that as if we were in the building. We prayed, said the Pledge (of Allegiance) and announced that days’ birthdays.”

The Selba family was among those who embraced the opportunities offered by the school. Lindsey Selba said she and her husband, Joe, are fortunate, “in that we’re both able to work from home.” Their sons, Joe and Luke, are in the third and first grades, respectively. Ada, their 2-year-old sister, joined them.

“She (Buckstaff) made wonderful recordings, and we were able to access them on the web,” Lindsey Selba said. “Every Monday, there’s a song and the prayer and the pledge, and we began doing them as a family, before breakfast. It got our week off to a good start.”

When the school’s daily offerings  came to include a decade of the rosary, she said, “The kids and I would do that together; it re-centered our day.”

Hybrid learning might include similar solutions, but Father Arnold is counting the days to when students resume gathering together in his church.

“When the students are at Mass, you can really tell that you’re engaged in what the Lord is asking us to do,” he said. “As a spiritual father, what priest doesn’t want to see that, when their face lights up at the Gospel?”

Email Paul McMullen at pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org

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