Blessed Sacrament for Jewish family?

[Anonymous]

I was raised Catholic and am now agnostic. We tried Catholic school (not BS) and it did not work for our family. The kids hated it. They thought it was too strict and complained how boring school was. DH and I were not in any of the cliques bc we weren’t parishioners and didn’t go to all the parish events. We moved to an Episcopal independence and it was a much better fit for us all.

[Anonymous]

I took a quick look at the Blessed Sacrament website and they literally say "our primary goal is to direct the child toward a mature Christian life." That kinda answers your question.

We're Jewish and belong to a reform synagogue – and we were real uncomfortable at an Episcopal school (only stayed one year). The issue wasn't the social/political leanings of the school or anyone there – people was kind, open, chatty, my kid got invited to birthday parties, etc.

The issue was, at the end of the day, the heart of the school and its traditions came from a religion that wasn't ours. And when you're from a minority religion in a majority space, many people won't even realize how infused those traditions are into school life. Other parents, who absolutely meant well, told us the school was more spiritual and not that religious – and I'm sure that's true from their perspective! But to us, it felt VERY Christian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Agree. I never heard of Jews who want their kids in Catholic schools.

I'd happily send my kids to a Jesuit college. Parish schools, definitely not.

[Anonymous]

Why has no one stated the obvious? Catholics think that all non Catholics are going to to h4ll. Why would you want to put your kid in that environment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Agree. I never heard of Jews who want their kids in Catholic schools.

I'd happily send my kids to a Jesuit college. Parish schools, definitely not.

I went to a Jesuit college after 13 years of Catholic schooling. It was so eye opening to me. The Jesuits taught me that that Bible isn’t true. It’s parables. It was life changing.

[Anonymous]

BSS isn't just a school, it's a way of life. If you send your kids there you are part of a clique that vacations at Bethany, belongs to Columbia, drives a huge American SUV and raises lax bros and gals to play at Gonazaga and Visi. You're either all in or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BSS isn't just a school, it's a way of life. If you send your kids there you are part of a clique that vacations at Bethany, belongs to Columbia, drives a huge American SUV and raises lax bros and gals to play at Gonazaga and Visi. You're either all in or not.

Who says OP and her family have to go that route if her kid attends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

We toured a few schools in Arlington and weekly mass was pretty consistent across all of them. Granted, we were looking at more conservative-leaning schools.

A good indicator of how conservative a particular parish is would be the confession/reconciliation schedule--if it's offered daily, likely more conservative; if it's offered only once a week probably more liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BSS isn't just a school, it's a way of life. If you send your kids there you are part of a clique that vacations at Bethany, belongs to Columbia, drives a huge American SUV and raises lax bros and gals to play at Gonazaga and Visi. You're either all in or not.

Who says OP and her family have to go that route if her kid attends?

Of course they don't have to "go that route".

But the PP's point is that the overwhelming majority of their classmates and their families will be on that path (or not far from it). The current in the stream is extremely strong.

Public schools typically have a wider range of families. Catholic schools in upscale neighborhoods like BS do not.

So there will be more than a religious difference, there will be a cultural one too. (Or cultural "gulf"). It depends on your tolerance for being different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

look at Milton. It has a liberal parent body (many are not religious) and offers sicnifigant financial aid to many families. It sounds like you and your family would fit in well there. Good education, welcoming community (many in Chevy chase), not super far away, will be a place for you and your kids to make friends for sure. It is also pretty diverse.

+1 for Milton. There are lots of non-religious families there and it is a great community

[Anonymous]

Not sure where you live but Milton Jewish Day school gives a lot of aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

We toured a few schools in Arlington and weekly mass was pretty consistent across all of them. Granted, we were looking at more conservative-leaning schools.

A good indicator of how conservative a particular parish is would be the confession/reconciliation schedule--if it's offered daily, likely more conservative; if it's offered only once a week probably more liberal.

Is it typical for a larger parish to offer daily mass? I thought most had Sunday services and maybe two other days of the week. Looking at a parish connected school and the church has mass services Sun-Fri and Reconcilation on Sat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

We toured a few schools in Arlington and weekly mass was pretty consistent across all of them. Granted, we were looking at more conservative-leaning schools.

A good indicator of how conservative a particular parish is would be the confession/reconciliation schedule--if it's offered daily, likely more conservative; if it's offered only once a week probably more liberal.

Is it typical for a larger parish to offer daily mass? I thought most had Sunday services and maybe two other days of the week. Looking at a parish connected school and the church has mass services Sun-Fri and Reconcilation on Sat.

Almost all Catholic parishes offer daily Mass (with rare exceptions for the priest being away at a conference or something). Sunday services and maybe two other days of the week would be pretty common for an Episcopal or other protestant church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

We toured a few schools in Arlington and weekly mass was pretty consistent across all of them. Granted, we were looking at more conservative-leaning schools.

A good indicator of how conservative a particular parish is would be the confession/reconciliation schedule--if it's offered daily, likely more conservative; if it's offered only once a week probably more liberal.

Is it typical for a larger parish to offer daily mass? I thought most had Sunday services and maybe two other days of the week. Looking at a parish connected school and the church has mass services Sun-Fri and Reconcilation on Sat.

Even tiny parishes have daily mass. It would be unusual for a church not to offer it.