KEEPING THE FAITH INITIATIVE

Dear Parishioners,

In August 2022, IHM Elementary School will welcome wholeheartedly eighteen students (at the time of writing this letter and most assuredly more students to register in the next few weeks, probably totaling forty students) from Saint Joseph’s Elementary School which will be closing its doors after almost one hundred years. PLEASE NOTE Saint Joseph Church/Parish is NOT closing its doors, just the mission of educating children in their elementary school building. What will become of the school building is yet to be determined.

While sad as history takes shape for Saint Joseph School a keeping the faith initiative is being created in Cuyahoga Falls. The area parishes, its pastors and principals that surround Saint Joseph, are collaborating to creatively keeping alive the memories and attachments of belonging to Saint Joseph School within the minds and hearts of its school children who will be registering in either IHM School or HOLY FAMILY School this year and beyond.

Parents of Saint Joseph School children had the opportunity this past week to attend an Open House or privately “tour” these two new schools to assist them in making an informed decision about registering and enrolling their child(ren) in either of our catholic schools. These “tours” and Open Houses are most revealing and helpful in providing a visual of the school building and meeting some children (“Ambassadors”) who, in their own words, talk about their individual experiences in the school classrooms and with the teachers.

I have always said that CHANGE IS DIFFICULT, but CHANGE IS GOOD. All of us want to make the best of this situation for keeping catholic faith in our parish elementary schools.

What is especially important for you to know is that IHM School and Parish, nor HOLY FAMILY School and Parish, want to come across as “raiding” parishioners away from Saint Joseph Parish! Both, IHM and HOLY FAMILY have encouraged these incoming catholic families to our schools, who had been registered at Saint Joseph Parish, to remain as their registered parishioners, participating in the life of Saint Joseph Parish even as they register their children at IHM or HOLY FAMILY Schools. This, we believe, makes the “CLOSING” of the building, just a “closing” of the building and keeping alive allegiance to what it means to be a Saint Joseph parishioner. While not an easy task, we are all willing to try to make this happen.

Many blessings,
Father Jim