Gathered Together
“Authentically Catholic and Warmly Ecumenical.” At Saint Patrick Catholic School we live by these words each and every day, but no day is this more evident than Christian Unity Day.
Each year, in the spirit of ecumenism, the Catholic Church celebrates the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and each January we celebrate Christian Unity Day by inviting our area pastors, priests, and ministers to attend Chapel to celebrate them and recognize 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!
We also celebrated the start of the Diocese of Richmond’s Bicentennial Celebration with a special Liturgy of the Word - a reading form Matthew 18: 15-20. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Our ecumenical and interfaith spirit is part of what makes Saint Patrick so unique. Principal Steve Hammond shared, “This is one of the most special chapels that we have throughout the entire year. Good things happen when we come together and embrace truth and love.”
We came together in numbers. Our guest priests were joined on stage and introduced by students who attend their respective churches. We would like to thank the following guests for sharing joining us at Chapel on Wednesday, January 15th: Father Eric Ayers, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church; Father James Glass, Holy Trinity Catholic Church; Reverend Andie Rohrs, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church; Father Scott Hennessy, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; Reverend James Medley, Church of the Good Shepherd; Pastor Melody Tanner, Ghent United Methodist Church; Pastor Jack Howell, Trinity Presbyterian Church; Ms. Van Leeuwen, Freemason Baptist Church; Reverend Randall Timmerman, Larchmont United Methodist Church; Father Win Lewis, Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; Pastors Rick and Diana Hocker, Freedom Fellowship Church.
