To Teach as Jesus Did:

Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

October 2012

The Year of Faith:  Living Our Missionary Call

Who of us has not been somewhat anxious when preparing for company or hosting an event:  planning the menu, shopping for food, counting and recounting RSVP’s, and attending to every detail of hospitality?  As those who will welcome guests, either at home or elsewhere, we work hard and often worry more than a little in our efforts to ensure that there’ll be ample space and food for everyone, and—more importantly—that all who come to us will feel at home in our midst.

October is Mission Month.  This year’s theme as established by the World Mission Ministries Office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is Setting a Place at the Table:  Living our Missionary Call. 

Every weekday morning, as Catholic educators, we open the doors of our school buildings and welcome students from diverse backgrounds and with differing abilities and needs.  During the 2011 – 2012 school year, for example, overall student ethnicity in our 119 schools was 65.1% White, 19.4% Hispanic, and 9.8% African American.  Statistics for 2012 – 2013 will be available soon.

Many of our schools embrace a highly non-Catholic or unevangelized population.  Many meet the needs of single parent, broken, or hurting families by compassionate outreach beyond the school day.  All are “missionary” in quiet and often unacknowledged ways, living out in varying circumstances and locations the Gospel command to “make disciples of all nations.” 

During this Year of Faith, and especially during Mission Month, let’s also give increased attention to thinking and caring beyond our borders.  This is a perfect time to focus on global awareness in individual classrooms and in schools as a whole.  Please consider collaborating with our dedicated World Mission Ministries Office by

• Subscribing to the monthly Mission in Motion e-newsletter that contains monthly lessons for the classroom, mission intentions, mission resources, and inspiring mission practices in schools around the Archdiocese.  Contact howayecke@archmil.org to receive this valuable resource.
   
• Celebrating Mission Week 2012, October 15 – 19, with suggested daily themes and activities.
   
• Participating in the World Mission Sunday Mass for Youth and Families on World Mission Sunday, October 21, at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Joseph Chapel, 1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee.  Bishop Donald Hying, who served in the Dominican Republic for three years, will be the celebrant.  Small and large groups from schools will be welcomed at the Eucharistic table that day, and participation from families is especially encouraged.

We celebrate and give thanks for our missionary calling, both local and global, during October 2012 and during this entire Year of Faith.  Symbolically and literally, we set places at our tables each day for all who look to us for hope.

Kathleen A. Cepelka, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Catholic Schools