Do you have a student who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall?  I want to personally invite you to join us on Monday, April 4 @ 6:00pm for a "Sneak Peek" into Kindergarten at St. Patrick School!

Kindergarten at St. Patrick School is an active place, with children engaged in a variety of real activities. You will see children engaged in the noise of learning (blocks falling, negotiation over materials, acting out stories) and the quiet of concentration (assembling a puzzle, solving a problem, practicing learning skills). We believe Kindergarten should be the appropriate mix of building a child’s imagination and creativity along with learning and practicing basic academic and social skills.

St. Patrick School believes that small class size is the key to a child’s success. Our Kindergarten class ranges between 10-15 students. The class size will never exceed 15 students. This benefits our students in many ways. They receive more individualized attention, less distractions, more time for hands-on learning, and they develop deeper friendships with their classmates.

We hope you can join us on April 4 to meet our Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Reichert, and learn more about the unique education your child will receive at St. Patrick School!

​TUESDAY, MARCH 8 2022 
The Rev. Brian Wallace ’06 

SCRIPTURE:  Genesis 37:12-24 - 12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” - that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

DEVOTIONAL Dreams are powerful. Whether actual brain activity during sleep or a more figurative imagining of what could be, dreams can help unlock new God-breathed possibilities in our lives. For Joseph, the dream he had (and shared) was one that threatened much of what his brothers understood as normal in their time and place. And yet, the dream he had would be a critical piece in the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to the Hebrew people and the world. In many ways, Joseph’s dream was part of a larger dream—a divine dream—to heal the separation between God and the people. 

In Lent, we spend time reflecting upon who we are and who God is in preparation for rejoicing in what God did in raising Jesus from the dead. Lent is a time in which we prepare to celebrate the fulfillment of the dream that Joseph carried. In the midst of this Lenten season, is there space for us to dream? To think about God’s call to places we may never have considered because they would threaten our understanding of what is “normal”? Which would push and stretch us into new places and new situations? That at points along the road we might find ourselves at the bottom of a pit, wondering if we got the dream wrong? 

PRAYER God, this Lenten season, may we have the courage to dream about what you might have for us on the other side of Good Friday. After all, echoing Tony Campolo’s famous line, even on Friday, Sunday is still coming. Amen.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples:
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailiy bread; 
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

The Gospel of the Lord.

This most famous of all prayers is rather a formula for prayer. Its movements include acknowledgment and praise of God as creator, hope for the kingdom, affirmation of the importance of life on earth, petition for our needs, and requests for forgiveness of sin and protection from evil.  This passage concludes with a sobering reminder that our experience of God's forgiveness is contingent on our own willingness to forgive.

Spend a few moments with each line of the Lord's Prayer, adding your own prayers to each verse.  When you ask for your daily bread and for forgiveness of your sins, be specific in your requests.

We have our own version of March Madness at St. Patrick!  Each Friday, all students in grades 3-8 who wish to participate are added to a team.  Each team plays 4 quarters of basketball each week until we get to the finals at the end of the month!  It's a great time of friendly competition and a whole lot of fun!

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One of the awesome things that our teachers do is to partner up with another class as Book Buddies.  Today, our 4th grade students partnered up with their 1st grade buddies to practice reading together.  It's a great way to practice reading in a non-threatening way and have a little fun, too!

 Today, our 1st, 6th, and 7th grade students led us in the Stations of the Cross.  This is one of our favorite traditions of the Lenten season.  Feel free to join us on any of the remaining dates listed below!

March 25 - 2:00pm - led by 4th and 5th grades
April 1 - 9:00am - led by 2nd and 3rd grades
April 8 - 2:00pm - led by Kindergarten and 8th grade

Every Tuesday and Thursday of lent, I'm opening up the church to our staff for early morning prayerful meditation time.  Father Matthew has created a list of readings and prayers, and I've created a reading and devotion for the day.  Our staff can stop by for as little or as long as they would like to pray and start their day off in a positive way!

Each Tuesday and Thursday, I will share our devotions for the day here so you can join us in our prayers for the day.

March 3, 2022
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 
Anne Malone, Registrar and Student Support Specialist 

SCRIPTURE Philippians 3:12-21 12:  Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. 16 Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. 17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

DEVOTIONAL Paul’s language in this passage brings to mind the image of a race and of a competitor waiting for the starting gun to go off so they can go for the prize. I am not a racer, but I enjoy watching a lot of racing events. I am an Olympics junkie, and I am always tuned into the swimming, track and field, skiing, skating, and other events that involve striving for the gold, achieving the fastest time, or breaking world records. I love hearing about how the athletes prepare for their events and overcome obstacles that might interrupt the achievement of their goals. There are a number of reasons why individuals may enter a race. For many, their goal is to win and set records. Others race to achieve a personal best, or simply to be able to say they did it. What matters to some is not winning, but finishing. 

Paul is not an athlete. He sees himself in a different kind of race, and he is in it to win it. He tells us in verses 13-14 of today’s passage that he is ‘forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” He is focused on the finish line. Paul presses on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” But what is his race? What is his goal? To answer this, we must look a few verses earlier in the chapter. Paul has given up everything in order to gain Christ and his righteousness, to know the power of his resurrection, to share in his suffering and resurrection (3:7-11). Then he invites us in 3:17 to join him, to imitate him in pursuit of this goal. And the prize is not earthly—it is heavenly. 

The Lenten season is a time for each of us to reflect on our kingdom calling. What is it we are striving for? What is the goal we are straining to reach? Is it “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” or something for our own glory? Are we looking behind or striving toward the prize? If we’re not striving forward, how do we get into this race?

PRAYER Lord God, there are so many things which can interrupt and keep us from reaching our goal to serve you. During this season, help us to reflect on our calling and strive to know you and the power of your resurrection more fully. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

March 3
A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"

The Gospel of the Lord.

Jesus tried to help his disciples realized that his commitment to them would lead hi into a fatal conflict of with the authorities of his day.  Dying to ourselves for the sake of love will lead us, with Jesus to a new life.

* Make a list of those personal traits which you need to change for the sake of love.  Which of these most frustrates your efforts at loving.

* Pray for the grace to change destructive behaviors.

I was amazed to see our brave 3rd grade students led the Ash Wednesday service today in front of school families and parishioners!  It's so hard to get up and speak in front of such a large crowd, but they showed no fear!  

Father Matthew reminded us that God is always with us. He told us a story from his childhood where he and his mother had a plan to meet up at the end of the Fall Parade.  When he reached the end, his mother wasn't there.  He was afraid, worried, and even a little mad, because his mother had not followed the plan.  What he didn't know was that though his group had finished their parade route, his mother was still watching the rest of the parade!  It was an innocent mistake, but as a young child, he felt far away from his mother and even felt some hurt coming inside of him.  This, Father said, is much like our relationship with God.  Sometimes, we feel far apart from God.  We let our fears and worries and struggles keep us away and over time those things create distance in our relationship.  The good news, however, is that God is ALWAYS with us and waiting with open arms for us to return to Him.  

Lastly, Father kicked off the Lenten Challenge and reminded us of the 3 things we can do during Lent to bring a little "light" back to our world.  It might not seem like much for us to individually do these 3 things, but together, we can make a BIG change!

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The Lenten season is upon us and with lent comes a time of reflection.  This year, Father Matthew Brumleve and I are challenging our Parishioners and School Families to "lighten up" their lent!  I invite you to join us in this challenge and help spread a little positivity and hope in our world.