Church of the
Annunciation

When John sees Jesus coming to him, he says: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Notice the moment: Jesus is coming to John! During this very difficult time we must imagine Jesus coming to us as the Lamb of God. On Wednesday morning at 11 AM when I saw Sr. Carol Cimino coming to the parish door I knew it had to be bad news i.e. that Bishop Malone had decided to close our school. Sr. Marilyn, Deacon Jim and I responded by expressing our disagreement and our profound disappointment. We conveyed to Sr. Carol a sense of our betrayal by the Diocese. We asked about other schools being closed. Sr. Carol announced that St. Vincent de Paul will be closing too. We immediately told her that by closing two schools in Elma (Springbrook) that there will be insufficient room in neighboring Catholic Schools to accommodate the influx of students and parents choosing to continue in Catholic Education. She nodded agreement and said we will have to deal with this concern. We met with teachers at lunchtime to convey the diocesan decision. They were more concerned about the students and parents than their own circumstance. We had planned an afternoon assembly for our children supervised by our Youth Faith Formation Director, Associate Director and catechists. At the end of the day the children were given a sealed letter for their parents. Following a strict protocol parents informed their children at home of the closing. We informed parish leadership by e-mail. Sr. Marilyn and I met with our Education Advisory Council on Wednesday evening and with the Home School Guild on Thursday.  

On Friday morning we had a meeting with the principal and Home School Guild officers from St. Vincent de Paul at Annunciation. We agreed that we must respond to the Bishop respecting his office and authority. We have responsibility to make him aware that our parents, when they make inquiries, are discovering that there is insufficient room in neighboring Catholic Schools; major busing issues and loss of services provided by the Iroquois Public School system. Both Home School Guilds are surveying parents to document these real hardships and to ready a report for the Bishop and the Catholic School Department. When we present this report substantiating our contention that many of our families will not be able to continue in a Catholic School, we will propose the concept of our two faith communities in Elma coming together to support one Community School.

On Thursday, the day after receiving the difficult news of closing, at morning assembly, I asked the students if they can remember a very bad, sad for Jesus. A girl raised her hand: “The day when Jesus died.” Another girl added: “Good Friday.” We cannot understand “Good Friday” without “Easter Sunday.” In the Gospel of John, when Jesus is dying on the cross, lambs are being sacrificed and offered in the temple in preparation for Passover. Annunciation parish school is experiencing the “Passover of the Lord.” We are entering more deeply into the Paschal Mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May we see and say with John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”