As we prepare for Catholic Education Sunday and Week (October 19–25, 2024), let us come together to reflect on how we can embody this year's theme, "Testify! Share the Reason for Your Hope," in our schools and communities.

GrACE invites you to please

• Share Your Ideas: Send suggestions or plans for activities, lessons, and events that align with this year's theme.
• Get Involved: Consider volunteering your time or resources to help organize and support our upcoming celebrations.
• Stay Connected: Keep in touch and stay tuned for updates throughout October.
• Participate in diocesan revitalization initiatives: Help bridge the gap between home, school, and parish, strengthening the Catholic education network.
• Engage in the home, school, and parish partnership: This partnership serves as the catalyst for improvement, enhancing processes and fostering cooperation to ensure that the mission remains dynamic and relevant.

Positive change begins in our homes, schools, and parishes and extends outward. We must first transform ourselves; only then will the culture around us follow. God must be at the centre of this transformation, guiding us to align more closely with His will rather than with fleeting trends.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to Catholic education. Together, let’s make this Catholic Education Sunday and Week a memorable and impactful experience for everyone in our community!

Please save the date—October 25, 2024—and join us in a day of faith, dialogue, and dedication to Catholic education. Your attendance and contributions will be key to shaping its future and affirming its vital role in our community and around the world.

What: GrACE Summit: “Testify! Share the Reason for Your Hope”

When: Friday, October 25th, 7:15 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Where: Catholic Parish of St. Luke 1566 Northmount Dr. NW Calgary AB

Who: Trustees, educators, parents, students, clergy, and parishioners

Why: We are called to uphold the significance of Catholic education and its transformative impact on individuals, families, and society as a whole. Through our collective efforts, we celebrate the rich heritage and enduring values of Catholic schools while ensuring that publicly funded Catholic education continues to thrive for generations to come.

Cost: $75.00

Please click here to Register

GrACE SUMMIT 2024 Program

Our Trustee Boards who were unable to attend previous GrACE Summits in person requested an option for online participation.

We are now offering this opportunity for distant communities to join our Calgary GrACE Summit on October 25, 2024, via Zoom for a fee of $150 per Trustee Board. If you’d like to include other groups from your community, that’s no problem—the cost will remain $150 for each additional group, organization, school, etc.

Naturally, we are prioritizing this option for our distant communities, and I apologize for any disappointment for those closer to the venue or those we are unable to accommodate.

As Catholics, we share a unified mission and a rich legacy. Our journey is not just about fulfilling a duty but about planting seeds of hope, faith, and love, trusting in the unseen growth of God’s kingdom. Through our collective efforts in Catholic education, we pave the way for future generations to embrace and live out our faith. Let us embody grace, mercy, and unwavering commitment to this sacred mission.

Reaching Catholic Parents, Parishioners, and Supporters

Regardless of their perspectives or questions reaching Catholic parents, parishioners and supporters is essential. By consistently highlighting the impact and value of Catholic education, we collectively contribute to raising awareness and fostering support for the mission and values it upholds.

Transformational Leadership and Advocacy

As with much of GrACE’s strategy, efforts must come from the ground up. Grassroots engagement, rooted in prayer and the desire to fulfill God’s will, is essential. Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). We must enter the deep waters of political engagement, attend school board meetings, write letters to editors, and let down the nets of our Catholic values and traditions, trusting that God will do the rest.

Responding with Respect

As Catholics, we are called to respond to frustration, anger, and disrespect with respect. We have the gift of speaking confidently in God’s love for us, rooted in our personal relationship with Jesus, our Savior. By living our Marian consecration, we can embody patience, peace, and gentleness, just as Mary did, as true children of God.

Promoting Free Speech and Expression

Catholic parents and parishioners have the legal right to speak out in defense of Catholic educators and against matters that contradict the Catholic faith. Nothing can curtail, restrict, or censor the lawful free speech rights of parents, parishioners, and Catholic elector delegations. If you don’t feel confident speaking individually, support GrACE and other Catholic advocacy organizations.

Blessings and much love.

'Jesus, I trust in You'!

Kate

Executive Director | GrACE

Advocating for Catholic Education

GrACE ensures the success of Catholic education by guiding parental engagement and advocacy. It offers parents and parishioners the opportunity to be part of a movement that not only promotes but actively protects Catholic education.

GrACE's advocacy guarantees that parents' voices are heard, reinforcing the prominence of Catholic education in Alberta. It provides valuable resources to help navigate the education system and support student achievement through faith celebrations, learning opportunities, networking, and community building.

No other organization champions parental engagement and education policy in Alberta and beyond like GrACE. Its unwavering dedication ensures that parents have a significant voice in Catholic education and are equipped with the information and resources they need to support their children's success in school. GrACE stands alone in its mission, making a profound impact on the preservation and advancement of Catholic education across Alberta and beyond.

Advancing Parental Involvement

Parental engagement is essential for ensuring the best performance and well-being of students. Recognizing that parental involvement is integral to student success, GrACE works to increase parent participation in the education system by promoting initiatives, collaborating with education partners (bishops, superintendents, trustees, and teachers), and hosting the annual GrACE Summit for networking and knowledge sharing. These strong relationships are crucial in promoting and safeguarding publicly funded Catholic education for future generations.

If you are interested in starting your own local GrACE Parent Team to advocate for Catholic education and provide a parent perspective, ensuring that the collective parent voice is heard at all levels of decision making, please contact Kate at gracedirector7@gmail.com.

Alternatively, if you are passionate about becoming a local GrACE parent representative and serving as a vital liaison between local parent school councils, regional councils, and GrACE provincial, please contact Kate at gracedirector7@gmail.com.

As a grateful advocate for Catholic education and a leader in our Catholic education system, celebrating, showcasing, and highlighting the faith of your school is a wonderful way to strengthen our community and share your mission with others.

Through advocacy, fostering unity, and reflecting on the rich history of Catholic education, we ensure lasting relevance and enduring success throughout Alberta and beyond.

Follow GrACE on Facebook and Twitter (X). Post your pictures and tag us so we can share them and celebrate too. Thanks for being a grateful advocate of Catholic education!

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrACE4cathed
• Email: gracedirector7@gmail.com
• GrACE Twitter (X): @GrACE4cathed
• Instagram: @grace4catholiceducation

• Sign up for GrACE’s monthly newsletter
• Share GrACE’s monthly newsletter
• Celebrate Catholic schools and Catholic education
• Provide information to share in GrACE’s monthly newsletter
• Tell your positive stories and benefits from your Catholic school(s) and Catholic education
• Subscribe to GrACE’s Facebook; Twitter (X), and social media pages
• Encourage parents to become more actively involved in GrACE
• Support local GrACE group in your parish
• Share current contact information to help update GrACE database
• Encourage a sense of collective responsibility in upholding the mission and values of Catholic education in our shared society
• Make a stand for Catholic schools and Catholic education in Alberta and beyond
• Assert your choice in favor of Catholic schools/Catholic education and its values
• Champion the benefits of Catholic schools and Catholic education, alongside its broader implications for the spiritual, intellectual, and social development of individuals and society as a whole
• Be active in the GrACE movement
• Post your pictures and tag us so we can share them and celebrate too

Student volunteers are warmly invited to represent their school in GrACE’s

social media campaign, new outreach, and database development.

Students, how we can we better utilize technology platforms to ensure timely and effective communication within the wider Catholic education family and beyond? Your ideas will be gratefully received.

Please email gracedirector7@gmail.com to express interest and suggestions.

• 'Instruction of the Congregation for Catholic Education, ‘The identity of the Catholic school for a culture of dialogue, from the Vatican, 2022
• Growing in Faith Symposium — 5 Marks of Catholic Education
• CCSSA Catholic Leadership Quality Standards
• 5 Marks of an Excellent Catholic Leader
• The Excellent Catholic Teacher
• Calgary Catholic Schools
• Redeemer Revelations

Upfront with the Archbishop is a weekly podcast with Archbishop Richard Smith that seeks to bridge the gap between the hierarchy and the faithful by discussing the beauty, truth, and challenges of our Catholic faith.

The emphasis on truth, justice, and healing highlights the Church’s ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful change within communities. It's inspiring to see how Catholic values are woven into the call for action, urging us to extend these efforts not just as symbolic gestures, but as authentic steps toward unity and peace

Covenant Health is one of Canada’s largest Catholic health care providers.

The founding Sisters laid the foundation for Covenant Health’s 150-year legacy of delivering high-quality, innovative Catholic health services to Albertans.

Covenant Health’s mission is to continue the healing ministry of Jesus by serving with compassion, honoring the sacredness of life at every stage, and caring for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit.

As a Catholic organization, Covenant Health is committed to serving people of all faiths, cultures, and circumstances, guided by the values of compassion, respect, collaboration, social justice, integrity, and stewardship.

Covenant Health focuses on key areas such as seniors' care, palliative and end-of-life care, mental health, and rural care

.

• Covenant Health employs around 900 physicians and 11,000 staff members.
• A further 1,500 physicians have privileges to care for patients and residents in Covenant facilities
• +2500 volunteers support the work of Covenant Health.

Together, let us celebrate the value and impact of Catholic health care and embrace the calling to care for all with compassion and humanity.