Principal’s Message 10/6/19

On Sunday, September 29 ^th, SMS celebrated its first mass with the Saint Mary Parish on a Sunday in what will be a monthly event.  For a first-time event, the mass was well attended by the SMS community, and, well received by the parishioners.  The SMS families attended the mass wearing SMS apparel and their presence was very noticeable to those in attendance.  This was exactly the intent of beginning this new tradition at Saint Mary, Mother of God Parish: to let the parish know just what they support on a weekly basis when they generously drop their hard-earned money in the collection basket.
Being the principal of such a great Catholic school, you can take for granted just how blessed you are to be working in a place where you can freely speak about your faith and not have to worry about reprisal from someone not of the same belief system. 

However, this past Sunday’s mass made me realize that we cannot get so comfortable that we forget to take the Good News outside the friendly confines of our school and church.  Hopefully, coming together as a school/parish community in this fashion will embolden those in attendance to realize that the faithful come in all ages, shapes, sizes, colors, etc.  That was on full display this past Sunday.  The Church is alive and well!  You just have to open your eyes to realize it!

At a mass celebrated by Bishop David O’Connell this past Saturday, he stated that there are two necessary components for a school to be truly Catholic.  They were mission and message.  If you have one but not the other, your school is NOT a Catholic school.  A great mission without any action by staff and students to support it rings empty and hollow while diminishing the credibility of the school at its foundation.  Alternately, a great message without a sound mission to guide it will leave the message being unfocused and seeming as if its adlibbed.  This approach will only lead to the perception that the message is random and contrived.  At Saint Mary School, we are committed to delivering a message that is mission-based and consistent.  Everything we do should be about advancing the Kingdom of God while here on Earth.  Afterall, the true purpose of the school is to develop evangelists that will deliver the true message of the Gospels in an educated and thoughtful manner!  
   
Please continue to pray for our school, its staff, students and families, and our clergy as we strive to provide an education that is unapologetically Catholic, family centered, caring to others and respectful to all. Please check our website, Facebook page and the Church bulletin for updates and upcoming events that you can enjoy with us.
God bless,
 
Craig Palmer
Principal