Missionary Spirit in our Catholic Schools!

Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle are on the cutting edge of a movement to recapture the missionary spirit of our Church. The call to be a Church of missionary disciples is at the heart of the religion curriculum and Goal One (Catholic Identity) of the strategic plan for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. Mission is our baptismal call to share God's love. As Pope Francis says, we do this “above all” with “the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked” (Evangelii Gaudium, 48). Catholic educators lay the foundations that enable this mission of love without exceptions to be passed on to the next generation.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and the Missions Office of the Archdiocese are collaborating with the Office for Catholic Schools in work that is beginning to serve as a model for dioceses around the country. This includes a new religion curriculum that strengthens the emphasis on mission and service, taking teachers on professional development immersions to Guatemala and Bolivia, and a Teacher Mission Partners (Teachers.Maryknoll.Us) program that began with teachers locally and has since gone national.

To continue to resource our local Catholic schools in mission education, we want to alert you to upcoming events and opportunities taking place from Maryknoll and your Missions Office:

• This May and June, Kevin Foy of Maryknoll and Kelly Hickman of the Missions Office will be visiting briefly with principals and other key contacts in over twenty schools to ascertain your needs in mission education and global solidarity, and how we can help. We are still available for visits this spring and fall—contact us to arrange this.
• We are offering workshops at Teacher Excellence Day (both sites) to help teachers understand the new curriculum guidelines for Missionary Spirit and Service, and to assist in developing a framework for service learning.
• We are offering teachers our Mission Education Training Program (up to ten teacher clock hours) to help educators teach mission and global solidarity from the standpoint of Scripture, Church teaching, history, and current best practices.
• We will again offer a summer immersion experience geared towards professional development, missionary faith formation, and bringing a stronger sense of missionary spirit and global awareness into the classroom

For questions about how you and your school can take advantage of the resources that Maryknoll and the Missions Office are offering, please contact Kevin at the local Maryknoll Mission Education Office (kfoy@maryknoll.org) or Kelly Hickman at your Missions Office (kelly.hickman@seattlearch.org).

We look forward to working with you and your community!

Kevin Foy
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers

Kelly Hickman
Missions Office of the Archdiocese of Seattle