Christian Unity Day 2023
“Authentically Catholic and Warmly Ecumenical.” At Saint Patrick Catholic School we live by these words each and every day, but on no day is this more evident than on Christian Unity Day. When Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in 1960, he made it clear that he regarded the unity of Christians as a major concern of the Council. In this spirit of ecumenism, the Catholic Church sets one week aside each year in January to celebrate Christian Unity.
Each year, Saint Patrick celebrates Christian Unity Day by inviting our area pastors, priests, and ministers to attend Chapel so we can better understand what we have in common with our friends of other faiths. These ministers and priests work in collaboration with us to deepen the faith of our students and this is worth celebrating!
In reflecting on the day's Gospel reading and The Beatitudes, Head of School Lauren Mazzari focused on the “blessings” Jesus recounted in the Sermon on the Mount. She said, “Most of us think 'to be blessed' means to be lucky or to experience good fortune, but Jesus turned this idea on its head by presenting blessings as an opportunity for us to help someone or to seek justice for others.” This is a message for all Christians and is the way we, as followers of Jesus, live out His teachings.
We had five ministers and priests join us at Chapel on Wednesday, January 25th. Thank you to the following faith leaders for sharing their morning with us: Father Eric Ayers, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church; Father James Glass, Holy Trinity Catholic Church; Dr. Connie Jones, St. Andrews Episcopal Church; Reverend Ryan LaRock, Deep Creek Methodist Church; Reverend Dr. Jacqueline Soltys, The Episcopal Church of The Good Shepherd; Father Noah Van Niel, Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Each year, Saint Patrick celebrates Christian Unity Day by inviting our area pastors, priests, and ministers to attend Chapel so we can better understand what we have in common with our friends of other faiths. These ministers and priests work in collaboration with us to deepen the faith of our students and this is worth celebrating!
In reflecting on the day's Gospel reading and The Beatitudes, Head of School Lauren Mazzari focused on the “blessings” Jesus recounted in the Sermon on the Mount. She said, “Most of us think 'to be blessed' means to be lucky or to experience good fortune, but Jesus turned this idea on its head by presenting blessings as an opportunity for us to help someone or to seek justice for others.” This is a message for all Christians and is the way we, as followers of Jesus, live out His teachings.
We had five ministers and priests join us at Chapel on Wednesday, January 25th. Thank you to the following faith leaders for sharing their morning with us: Father Eric Ayers, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church; Father James Glass, Holy Trinity Catholic Church; Dr. Connie Jones, St. Andrews Episcopal Church; Reverend Ryan LaRock, Deep Creek Methodist Church; Reverend Dr. Jacqueline Soltys, The Episcopal Church of The Good Shepherd; Father Noah Van Niel, Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Parishes We Serve
Saint Patrick Catholic School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. Saint Patrick Catholic School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.