The Joy of Community

“The glory of God is a man fully alive.” 

- St. Iraneus

I had the good fortune to attend Mother Teresa Catholic Church’s fall parish picnic a week ago. Hundreds of parishioners showed up for some good old fashioned food, fun, and fellowship. The rain didn’t dampen their spirits in the least! Father Simpson donned a most colorful shirt spotted with pictures of St. Mother Teresa herself while he dazzled the crowd with a rendition of Friends in Low Places. There was plenty of great food and great music. Parishioners young and old had a marvelous time. If nothing else, the pandemic taught us the importance of community – the importance and inherent value of people coming together face to face, to just be.

At St. Michael Academy we will be forging a new community together! As the first regional Catholic elementary school we will be drawing from five parishes–Church of the Nativity, Holy Family, Mother Teresa, St. Luke, and St. Philip. We will welcome our non-Catholic brothers and sisters as well. We will come together to form a unique St. Michael culture, one rooted in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. We will be present to one another. We will serve one another. We will be the hands and feet of Christ to one another. Together, we will pursue academic excellence together so that our children can become the people God intended them to be. One of my favorite quotes is from St. Iraneus. He said, “The glory of God is a man fully alive.” We want our little Defenders to be fully alive!

We invite you to be a part of our Defender family. The response to our invitation has been tremendous. We have over two hundred applications in a little over one week! We will be contacting families soon to set up admissions testing dates. Please visit stmichaeltn.org to apply.

May the Lord richly bless you in the week ahead.

Yours in Christ,

Shana Druffner