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This Wednesday evening, January 29th, we will honor and celebrate all of our parish volunteers with an appreciation reception at the Parish Center at St. Mary’s from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. If you are involved in any of the sacred ministries, or volunteer in any way in the parish, you are most welcome to attend. All of our parish staff are also honored at this celebration for all that they do. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to join me in thanking you for all of the assistance you provide to the staff as we work together to make Holy Spirit Parish truly alive in the Spirit of Christ!
Speaking of celebrations, this week is also Catholic Schools Week. We are extremely blessed to have our own Catholic school in this area of the diocese. St. Vitus School has hung in there for many years and I am very excited to announce that we have turned the corner and are very encouraged about the future of our school! Many good things are happening.
The turnaround began with Mr. Justin Venasco who, as acting principal, reinvigorated the Catholic identity of our school. Many of his initiatives formed a solid foundation upon which our present principal, Mr. Ed Sharbaugh, could build. During this past academic year, the academics have been strengthened with a state of the art technology program which includes the new STREAM Lab and well developed Google classrooms. The Student Life Program has expanded with guest speakers, clubs, field trips that support education and additional extracurricular opportunities. The school has partnered with outside universities and colleges to support growth and to put us on par with the best schools in the area.
The ownership of the school has shifted from one parish to the merger of seven parishes into one. Because it is no longer the parish school of St. Vitus, but the parish school of Holy Spirit, we are petitioning the Bishop to change the name and send a message to the wider community that we intend to stay! The new name of the school, with the Bishop’s approval, will be Holy Spirit Academy.
One of the biggest obstacles to the life of the school has been a feeling over many years that the school was going to close. We want to obliterate that type of thinking. The school has a priest chaplain now in Fr. Brendan Dawson. He is a new addition to the school and a very important one. We intend to do everything we can to keep Catholic education alive and active in Lawrence County. We hope and pray that you, and many of the young families in our region, will join us in this goal.
God love you,
