What We Are Willing To Do For Our Children

What We Are Willing To Do For Our Children

 

That’s the title I picked for this fundraising campaign because as parents, we will do anything for our children’s minds, hearts, bodies and souls. From exhausted 2 a.m. feedings, homeschooling and running a marathon (I was the last person on earth who thought I’d want to run a marathon) to bringing a Catholic, classical, co-ed, affordable high school to Massachusetts, I have been able to do seemingly impossible tasks because “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Phil: 4:13), for our children.  My children have always been the channel for God to work through for the past 27 years. It is our children who push us out of our comfort zone and propel us to stretch, grow, try, and accomplish things we never thought possible. 

 

I was never a runner nor a natural athlete. But when my oldest daughter had to relearn to walk at 19 after being diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, I needed an outlet for my pent-up emotions and started running to ward off anxiety. I casually mentioned to her that I wanted to run a 5K but I didn't think I could do it. She looked me square in the eyes and said, “Well, I'm learning how to walk again so you can run a 5K.” I did. I ran a 5K. Me. That was 8 years ago. 

 

The next “for our children” challenge came a year ago, when the high school my son attended, closed. This time, looking me square in the eye was the Holy Spirit. Within a month, I began working with an incredible group of people who were willing — to quote our Chesterton of the Immaculata Charter — “to give generously of their time and talent to the organization and understand that this will be an all-encompassing process.” It’s hard to say no to the Holy Spirit when He is asking you to do something for our children.

 

God has challenged us to continue to forge ahead and bring that much-needed classical Catholic education to MetroWest. I’ve accepted the challenge. I am all in. The 18 weeks of training for the 26.2-mile Cape Cod Marathon on October 13th? All in. Doing everything in my power to raise money and do everything in my power for Chesterton of the Immaculata? All in. For our children.

 

I challenge you to join me. Can we count on your support? Are you all in?  We plan to open our doors September 2025. We need your prayers…and your dollars.

Click here to learn more about Chesterton Academy of the Immaculata.

 

For our children.

 

Thank you.

 

(I am carrying your names and your prayer intentions with me on all my training runs and during the Marathon.)

Post Script:

I completed the Cape Cod Marathon of October 13. With the grace of God I achieved the three goals I set out to do: raise money for Chesterton Academy of the Immaculata, finish the marathon and not injure myself! God is so good.  

One of my children who couldn't be there supporting me from afar and capturing the moment. 

A Corner of God's Tapestry

From the Blog of Chesterton of Massachusetts

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On Saturday, February 10, the G.K. Chesterton Society of Worcester warmly welcomed three representatives from the Friends of Chesterton of Massachusetts to their monthly meeting at Immaculate Conception Church in Worcester, where we presented our hopes for and efforts towards building a Chesterton Academy in Massachusetts. This was an easy audience: they are intimately familiar with G.K. Chesterton, and they understand the importance of a classical education. (Indeed, they live out what classical education is all about: after our presentation, they conducted their regularly-scheduled book-club meeting to discuss Chesterton’s Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox, a real-life example of adult-level Socratic conversation in action!) The group was enthusiastic about the school and pledged their ongoing support through prayer, a monetary donation, and a commitment to continued partnership. Their witness to lifelong, faithful learning rooted in the example of G.K. Chesterton was truly inspiring.

However, none of this was the most remarkable thing about the meeting. The most remarkable thing was this: as I sat in the ordinary, run-of-the mill church basement, I realized that I was being given the gift of seeing the threads of the extraordinary being woven together. The familiar visual of God the Master Weaver quietly came to mind: God, who is continuously weaving the threads of our lives into a tapestry far greater than the Bayeux Tapestry - a tapestry that most of the time is hidden from us because we only see the one strand that we are traveling along.  We pray that someday we will witness the beauty and the grandeur of the whole, but most of the time we are oblivious to the intersections of the threads in our lives. However, in His goodness, God sometimes allows us a small glimpse of a small corner of a square of His masterpiece. Saturday night, in the basement of Immaculate Conception Church, God allowed me to catch a glimpse of His tapestry.  

Two years ago, the three of us who attended the meeting representing the Friends of Chesterton of Massachusetts did not know each other. One year ago, our relationship could be summed up as the “PTO,” and we felt fairly confident on how the threads were going to be woven over the next few years. Unexpectedly, our threads were severed and frayed. And yet, God picked up those frayed pieces and started weaving anew. What I was reminded of on Saturday is that along the way He is weaving in bits and pieces from all areas of our lives. We were invited to the meeting because of a friend from my days as a homeschooler.  Another member of the group on Saturday was a friend from our former school whose daughter currently attends Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope, who gave a moving testimony to the exceptional education and spiritual formation her daughter is receiving there. We were also gifted a large collection of G.K. Chesterton books from a local priest, whom I knew from my days as a young mother with several children crawling all over me at Mass - the particular thread connecting me to him is over 20 years old! 

On my ride home, I thought about all the other threads that are being woven together. All of us on the founding board are coming to this with unique and complementary gifts and talents. We come from different areas and backgrounds. Presently, our personal threads are being woven together, at this moment, for this purpose - something I don’t think any of us had contemplated before. At times we may get our threads tangled and in a knot. But if we are patient and trust God I am confident that when we finally see the majesty of God’s tapestry there will be a little corner of it with our school woven into it. Won’t that be incredible? 

Why Choose Chesterton? One Mom's Perspective

From the Blog of Chesterton of Massachusetts

Chesterton of Massachusetts supporter Lynn Somers writes of her educational journey with her children - and how her experience visiting a Chesterton Academy revealed the "more" she was always looking for.

Twenty-six (plus!) years into this parenting thing and I finally figured something out: what I want for my high schoolers in their formation and education. The education of my six children has been a winding road that has led me down many side streets and dead ends. It looks nothing like what I thought it would when we purchased our house twenty-eight years ago in a “good school district.”

Throughout the years, we have been involved with a Montessori preschool, a parochial elementary school, a public high school, public school special education walk-in services, and a small Catholic start-up high school. The bulk of our school journey has been homeschooling. But even as a homeschooling mom, I couldn’t and wouldn’t do “school from a box.” I read a ton of books - Charlotte Mason, Maria Montessori, and Laura Berquist’s Designing your Own Classical Curriculum, just to name a few. I contemplated “unschooling” but I couldn’t figure it out. We belonged to faith based co-ops, book groups, and any other fun, exciting, educational group activities that we came across. When asked about my educational philosophy, I finally settled on “eclectic and relaxed. We read a lot and make sure math and religious formation is done.” But still, I was always searching. Something was missing. I wanted “more.”

My oldest four children went to the local public high school. We live in an area that doesn’t have a strong network of support for Catholic homeschooling for high school, and homeschooling changes as children enter high school. I believe teenagers need their peers as they maneuver those four years. Parents are still essential, but they must be quietly and unobtrusively in the background to gently guide and support. The right high school can be a huge help for parents as they navigate these rollercoaster years. Unfortunately, our local high school was not that helpmate for our family. By the time our fifth child was in eighth grade, we started praying for something “more” for him. We didn’t know what that “more” was; we just knew there had to be something else.

Our prayers were answered (or so we thought) when he asked to be homeschooled in conjunction with an “a la carte” Christian homeschool that provided classes and community. However, that program abruptly closed at the end of July, sending us scrambling to figure something else out. Enter a brand new, quirky Catholic middle school/high school. We were a bit hesitant, but every door was opened for us, so we trusted in answered prayers and stepped forward. Although nothing is perfect in this life, our son thrived his freshman year and we were thrilled. We had found that helpmate institution that would support us in forming not only his intellect but his faith as well. Unfortunately, that school became a dead end as it unexpectedly closed the week before school let out for summer vacation. To say we were devastated is not being melodramatic.

Many more prayers were offered as we spent the summer looking at schools for our son.Our investigations led us to a new Chesterton Academy a little more than an hour away from us. Although it was a trek - and although we were exhausted, discouraged, and disillusioned with everything else we’d seen - I convinced our son to check it out.

The school is fittingly called Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope - because when we left I was filled with such hope and joy! As my son took the entrance exam, the headmaster and I spoke at length about the history and philosophy of the Chesterton Schools Network and the providence of how this new school came into being. I also had the opportunity to help the group of women who were working on the upcoming fundraising gala. The amount of community support for this school was encapsulated by this group of women, as I don’t think any of them actually had children who would be attending the school! Three hours later we were on our way home. I was beaming. I was full of hope, joy, gratitude, and longing for this opportunity for my son.

As he and I talked on the way home, I was having a hard time putting into words my thoughts and feelings. I was inadequately conveying the fact that I had finally found the “more” that I had always been searching for my children. The “more” that educates the whole child. The “more” that knows that there is a truth and that there is beauty and joy in that truth. The “more” that teaches a person to think deeply about the big questions of life and teaches how to answer those questions eloquently and rationally. The “more” that sees the good and knows where that good comes from. The “more” that knows we have a responsibility to share that good with the world. The “more” that realizes that to be truly Catholic is to be full of joy and hope.

As I began to explore the Chesterton Schools Network, I found that they had eloquently and succinctly articulated everything I had been trying to figure out on this educational journey with my family. I was also reminded that I am not alone in this quest. I titled this post “One Mom’s Perspective,” but in reality there are lots of other moms and dads who have the same longing for a joyful and faithful learning environment that focuses on truth, goodness, and beauty. I was also fortified to know there was a school out there that would walk with parents, in community, to help foster this truth, goodness, and beauty in their children. I had found “more “ and it filled me with such joy and hope.

If you too are searching for "more," join us as we navigate bringing a Chesterton Academy to Massachusetts.

From the Chesterton Schools Network (or what I call “the more”):

Choosing Chesterton

Ten Reasons Why Families are Selecting Chesterton Academy

1. “I want my child to be a saint.” A school inspired by a supernatural vision.

2. “I want my child to discover his or her vocation.” An educational model that forms the whole person.

3. “I don’t want my child to fall away from the faith.” An authentic, Catholic community that fosters a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

4. “I want my child to find friends who share our values.” A community where students and families form friendships for life.

5. “I want my child to learn that truth exists.” A curriculum with a point of view, where faith and reason meet in every class.

6. “I want my child to be surrounded by good role models.” Faith-filled faculty who are witnesses to the Gospel.

7. “I want my child to be a lifelong learner.” An environment that fosters a life-long love of learning and pursuit of wisdom.

8. “I want my child to be prepared for his future.” A broad-based curriculum that develops well-rounded students prepared to lead and succeed.

9. “I want my child to think critically.” An interdisciplinary education that encourages logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

10. “I want my child to be able to articulate his ideas.” An environment that encourages conversation in the classroom

Bonus! “I wish they had this when I was a kid.” Education and formation for the whole family!