Blessed Sacrament for Jewish family?

[Anonymous]

Hi — Thoughts on Blessed Sacrament for our kids?

We’re a liberal Jewish family (but not very religious) in the neighborhood.

Our neighbors seem to like BS, and we like that it’s nearby, affordable, and smaller than public but not too small.

We are looking for a school that will provide a good education, in a welcoming community, where our kids and we can make friends.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

[Anonymous]

You are going to get a lot of “Hell nos” here, but we’re at another Diocesan school and also very liberal (not Jewish). Know that you are going to have *alot* of discussions at home, but otherwise we love the education and community. And know that anything you don’t like or agree with will basically never change; you just have to be at full an acceptance of the rules and there are a lot of rules.

[Anonymous]

Catholic instruction, practice, and ritual are integral parts of the day and curriculum. We're also a Jewish family and I agree that the size and close-knit community are appealing -- but it would never be a fit for my family.

[Anonymous]

My Episcopal friends thought it was "too Catholic" for them, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate Catholic children. Not to be nearby, affordable, and small-but-not-too-small to non-Catholic children who will put up with Catholic teachings to escape from public school. There are several non-Catholic students at my kids’ Diocesan K-8 school and, TBH, I’m not sure why they’re there. They are excluded from receiving the sacraments and are surprised at how much parish life and school life overlap even though, once again, the purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholic children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

BS is a very old, established Catholic parish in CC/DC. Many of the families have gone there for generations. They are Catholic and want to be with their own. They will send their kids to Catholic high school. You are Jewish. They will be nice to you, but you will never fit in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate Catholic children. Not to be nearby, affordable, and small-but-not-too-small to non-Catholic children who will put up with Catholic teachings to escape from public school. There are several non-Catholic students at my kids’ Diocesan K-8 school and, TBH, I’m not sure why they’re there. They are excluded from receiving the sacraments and are surprised at how much parish life and school life overlap even though, once again, the purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholic children.

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate children. Most are Catholic because there is a lot of Catholicism baked into the school day. But there are plenty of non-Catholic kids in Catholic schools. Some Catholics are more welcoming to children than others. You are an example of less-welcoming. WWJD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate Catholic children. Not to be nearby, affordable, and small-but-not-too-small to non-Catholic children who will put up with Catholic teachings to escape from public school. There are several non-Catholic students at my kids’ Diocesan K-8 school and, TBH, I’m not sure why they’re there. They are excluded from receiving the sacraments and are surprised at how much parish life and school life overlap even though, once again, the purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholic children.

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate children. Most are Catholic because there is a lot of Catholicism baked into the school day. But there are plenty of non-Catholic kids in Catholic schools. Some Catholics are more welcoming to children than others. You are an example of less-welcoming. WWJD?

This is true for many Catholic schools especially those that are not in Catholic strong holds. BS is the wealthiest most “Catholic” parish in DC. BS is there to educate Catholic children in the Catholic faith. It’s not for people who describe themselves as liberal Jewish.

[Anonymous]

There's the Catholic thing and there's the we've been here for generations thing. Between those two, you'll be an outsider. As PP said, people will be nice to you but you'll never fit in.

Also, how could you send a Jewish kid to a school called "Blessed Sacrament"? Even explaining the name is a piece of work.

[Anonymous]

OP, there are Jewish kids at Catholic parochial schools in DC. Of the Catholic parochials, I would recommend Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Victory or St. Peter’s over Blessed Sacrament. BS is, as a PP said, more insular than most. It is also relatively conservative. I def wouldn’t send a girl there who wasn’t part of the parish.

Do you have any Jewish friends who send their kids to Catholic parochial? To Blessed Sacrament?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate Catholic children. Not to be nearby, affordable, and small-but-not-too-small to non-Catholic children who will put up with Catholic teachings to escape from public school. There are several non-Catholic students at my kids’ Diocesan K-8 school and, TBH, I’m not sure why they’re there. They are excluded from receiving the sacraments and are surprised at how much parish life and school life overlap even though, once again, the purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholic children.

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate children. Most are Catholic because there is a lot of Catholicism baked into the school day. But there are plenty of non-Catholic kids in Catholic schools. Some Catholics are more welcoming to children than others. You are an example of less-welcoming. WWJD?

In the US, Catholic schools were formed to educate Catholic children—largely poor, immigrant children—who were not welcome at public schools. No, Catholic schools don’t exist to educate non-Catholic children, and Catholicism in schools isn’t watered down to appeal to non-Catholic children. I’m Catholic. My children attend Catholic school. I would never send my kids to an LDS school, for example, because I’m not Mormon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not

NP. Care to elaborate?

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate Catholic children. Not to be nearby, affordable, and small-but-not-too-small to non-Catholic children who will put up with Catholic teachings to escape from public school. There are several non-Catholic students at my kids’ Diocesan K-8 school and, TBH, I’m not sure why they’re there. They are excluded from receiving the sacraments and are surprised at how much parish life and school life overlap even though, once again, the purpose of Catholic schools is to educate Catholic children.

The purpose of Catholic school is to educate children. Most are Catholic because there is a lot of Catholicism baked into the school day. But there are plenty of non-Catholic kids in Catholic schools. Some Catholics are more welcoming to children than others. You are an example of less-welcoming. WWJD?

This is true for many Catholic schools especially those that are not in Catholic strong holds. BS is the wealthiest most “Catholic” parish in DC. BS is there to educate Catholic children in the Catholic faith. It’s not for people who describe themselves as liberal Jewish.

I don’t disagree about BS being very Catholic but I do disagree that somehow makes BS’s mission different from all other schools. They are just not as good at that mission.

[Anonymous]

Which BS, OP? The one in Alexandria is hard even for parishioners to get into these days.

Religion really is baked into the schools- prayer before school, classes, lunch, weekly Mass (at least in the Arlington diocese) and of course a daily religion class. And in certain grades there is a focus on preparation for sacraments (First Communion, Penance, and Confirmation). If you are okay with that then you will be fine but DC will be learning a lot about the Catholic religion.

I think you will feel welcome. I had no idea who was Catholic and who was not, nor did I care.

HS is an easy answer- there are no sacraments and religion is usually a year of Old Testament, New Testament, Morality, and World Religions, or something similar to this.