If God is for us...

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"


This line comes from Romans, chapter 8 , and I was caused to think of this after a parent's meeting at our local Catholic school where my son attends Kindergarten.  His school is facing closure after the loss of a large benefactor.  What is frustrating is the lack of coordination in trying to raise the funds needed ($320,000) and the enrollment (which we have not been told a target number but which I learned through other means is around 140).  His school currently has 114 students and only 89 of those pre-enrolled for next year.  We currently have a May 1st deadline from the Diocese to raise both the funds and enrollment.

Well you can't blame those parents who haven't re-enrolled.  There is no guarantee the school will be open next year.  If you find out in May (that the school will be closing), every other school in the area has already held an open house and they only have so many slots available.  You don't want to be left without a chair when the music stops.  Here is the most frustrating part:

We were told at a meeting Thursday that there would be a presentation at all of this weekend's services, talking on behalf of the school because an appeal letter for weekly donations would be given out to the parish congregation in their bulletins.  We were to bring our children in their school clothes and be a "presence" to let those parishoners know what would be sacrificed if the school closed.  Our parish priest who sounds resigned to the school closing and who never stays for the full length of any of our meetings left this meeting early because the finance committee was meeting at the same time.  Apparently the finance committee, with the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools from the Diocese in attendance, decided such an appeal during Holy Week and the weekend of Easter would be "unseemly."  Father will "mention it" but that is all.

500 families tithed approximately $550,000 last year, so roughly $1,100 per family, or less than $100 per month.  Only $142,000 of that went to the school, per Diocese rules. We are asking them to commit to donating $20 more per week which if you break that down over 52 weeks works out to $1040, effectively doubling what they tithe.  And you think in a down economy, in an aging parish, in a community whose average household income hovers around $50,000 per year, you will get these people to part with an additional $80 per month by "mentioning" it???

We like our school, it is 5 blocks away.  It offered us an alternative to an underperforming public school with questionable kids attending it.  It had class sizes which granted our son individual attention and we have met some great, devoted people.  Apparently no efforts from the church hierarchy are being made to save it, and instead (it appears to many of us) efforts are being put forth to undermine what the parents are doing, or planning to do.  I don't think these people realize without supporting us what it will cost them.  Families who are active in this church will leave, because they are not from this parish but only attend because of the school.  Families from better school districts than ours will simply send their children to their local school, rather than pay a higher tuition in a strange school.  This means the parish church will also eventually close, since over 30% of those in attendance are from other areas.

So I guess the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is:

The Pittsburgh Diocese
The parish priest
The economy
An indifferent congregation

I thank God that as Christians, "we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
So we will survive this, too.

Take that, Father Rich!