On August 29, 2024, Bernadette Rudolph, Cranaleith’s Director for Facilitation and Strategic Partnerships, facilitated the start-of-the-school year retreat for the faculty of American Martyrs School in Manhattan Beach, CA. Bernadette had facilitated workshops and retreats on synodality for the parish in March and pastor, Msgr. John Kelly, had been so pleased he recommended that the school administrators invite her back for their fall gathering. Vice-principal Beth Hirschmann, a Philly native who attended schools run by the Sisters of Mercy, was excited to make the connection with Cranaleith.
American Martyrs School is a PreK-8th grade Catholic school of over 700 students. There are three sections of each grade and a waiting list for every grade. Like the parish, the school community is alive with co-responsibility. The parish and the school work together to integrate religion and spirituality into all aspects of the students’ lives; school families are also expected to participate in the parish.
The theme for the day of reflection and prayer was “Rediscovering Your Vocation of Ministering in a Catholic School.” After an inspiring mass and friendly breakfast, seventy-one teachers, aids and administrators created timelines of their ministry and used deep listening skills to share their timelines with their peers. This led to a rich large-group conversation about the qualities of the teaching ministry and how it is ultimately about the relationship we have with God and the relationships we have with students, peers and families. Using poetry, lectio divina, song and journaling, the faculty unpacked their encounters with students and the stories they brought to the classroom. The whole faculty brainstormed ideas for increasing the depth of relationships with all members of their community. At the closing ritual, each person read aloud to their small group a letter of thanksgiving they had written to a student whose story had touched them in a significant way; then each person was blessed by the rest of their small group.
One teacher said, “This was a perfect start to the new year. I feel ready to begin.” Another expressed how the focus on relationships resonated with her experiences. “Teaching is about who we meet and how we meet them.”
