As a parish, we are blessed to have so many active ministries. Between our service ministries, the liturgical ministries, and our leadership councils, we have really embraced the path of stewardship. As a parish, our largest ministry is Christ the King School. The importance of the relationship between the school and the parish is a vital part of our mission. As we gear up for the start of another great school year, Principal Ann Bruggeman shares a few thoughts about the upcoming school year.
“The school is the largest ministry of Christ the King,” Mrs. Bruggeman says. “So it is important that the church knows what we are doing as a school and that we make sure to communicate the positive impacts that the church is making on our families. We sometimes take that for granted and don’t communicate that as well as we should. But our school and church work together and support each other. That relationship is vital to both of us serving others the best we can.”
In the last couple years, the school has been attracting more non-Catholic families. And in the last year, we have seen a lot of families that came through the school join the church — in turn, they have received their sacraments. This beautiful gift tells us that we are on the right path for evangelizing and sharing our beautiful faith with those around us.
“Additionally, we as a school continue to do the work to encourage the families of our students in the importance of our Catholic faith,” Mrs. Bruggeman says. “Unfortunately it is not uncommon to see families who are completely committed to the Catholic education, but we still don’t see them at Mass on Sunday. It is important to us to continue to form our children and their families on the importance of the faith so we can see a change in some of these areas.”
The school has started including retreat experiences for the students in second through eighth grades. These activities have been very well received by the students and are helping to promote growth in the relationships among the students, as well as teaching important life lessons outside of their regular curriculums.
“This last February, the sixth-graders had a retreat about love,” Mrs. Bruggeman says. “We focused on the importance of the love of God and how that expands out into love of self, love of family, and love in other relationships. The retreat was very well received by the students.”
The school also includes the whole parish in some of its events, such as the Father-Daughter Dance. There are also many opportunities for parishioners to volunteer within the school with various activities or events that are taking place. It is great for the students to see the parishioners taking an active interest in seeing the school thrive.
The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time as the students who have been on break fill the hallways and classrooms with life again. We look forward to another great school year and we are so grateful for the support we receive from the parish family!
For more information on our parish school, please visit www.ctkschool.net.