American Province Ministry Connections January 2021

Cristo Rey New York High School   Dan Dougherty, President http://www.cristoreyny.org/  

Bright Futures Ahead for 2021! The Class of 2021 has been through a great deal these past few months. From transitioning quickly to remote learning as juniors and then spending most of their senior year online, life has been anything but easy. Through it all, however, they have not lost their motivation. All that hard work has yielded extraordinary results. Impressive college acceptances tell the story!

CRNYHS is thrilled to announce that we have three Questbridge match scholars in our senior class! Anell, Chanelly, and Ernie were awarded full tuition scholarships to Dartmouth College, Notre Dame University, and Boston College, respectively. For Anell, this makes “all the nights full of assignments and worry totally worth it.” Chanelly is proud to be the first CRNYHS graduate to venture to South Bend and attend Notre Dame. She cannot wait to “bring a little Bronx to Indiana!” Ernie (and his parents) are still so excited that they “almost can’t believe the news.” Anell will be joining two former Lions in Hanover, NH, and Ernie happily will be with two alums in Chestnut Hill, MA. We also have awesome early decision news. Two students were accepted to Barnard College, one to Skidmore College, one to Colgate University, and one to Fordham University. And this is just the beginning! We cannot wait to see where else our Lions will be heading next fall. In a year that has been filled with seemingly endless bad news, we are so pleased to share some of what our Lions have accomplished through it all. Congratulations Class of 2021!!

Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep    Preston Kendall, President http://www.cristoreystmartin.org/  

Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe with Red Cloud Indian School

December normally would find Cristo Rey’s Campus Ministry busy organizing annual community events: All-school TAIZE prayer services; Student TAIZE trips to the Viatorian Province Center; Celebrations of La Virgen de Guadalupe; and last but definitely not least Las Posadas or The Inns, a re-enactment of the Holy Family’s desperate search for accommodations in Bethlehem before Jesus’ birth. Director Jim Dippold would be finalizing plans for CRSM’s annual cultural exchange program with the students of Red Cloud Indian School (RCIS). Students from Red Cloud typically travel to Waukegan to experience first-hand CRSM and their families, in addition to volunteering and learning about local justice issues. Soon after, a dozen CRSM students would travel to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to experience the Red Cloud community on the reservation. The friendships and experiences that have resulted can last a lifetime. Though the pandemic has delayed the exchange program, Cristo Rey and Red Cloud are still connecting. In December, students, alumni, and faculty from both schools participated in a virtual Advent Taize prayer service hosted by Red Cloud. Venecia Rodriguez (CRSM ’18) offered a faith reflection on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and CRSM Senior Fernando Rufino performed a beautiful prayer song. Red Cloud students and staff provided scripture readings, led prayer intentions, and asked Talin, a Red Cloud High School alum, to sing a Lakota prayer. On campus, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated virtually. The rosary was led by National Hispanic Honor Society students and was live-streamed on the CRSM Facebook page.

Sponsored Ministries of the Society of Holy Child Jesus  Casa Cornelia Law Center * Providence Center Co-Sponsored Ministries of the Society of Holy Child Jesus South Central Los Angeles Ministry Project (LAMP) *  Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep * Hope Partnership for Education *  Cristo Rey New York High School * Washington School for Girls    ~ ~ ~   Ministry Connections is a monthly publication highlighting ministries sponsored or co-sponsored by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.