Religious Education

By Sister Donatella Merulla and Mary Attilia Todaro

As was the case with many other aspects of parish life, Nativity inherited a religious education program that had already been established at St. Mary of Sorrows (St. Mary’s) for several years.  In a document dated August 1, 1972, St. Mary’s Co-Pastor and Director of Religious Education informed the parishioners that the parish would be divided into three communities: Hunt Valley (which would eventually become Nativity), King’s Park West, and St. Mary’s (based on the historic church).  Each community would decide how to organize its own religious education program.  For Hunt Valley (Nativity), that meant that the pre-school and kindergarten children would have their own Liturgy of the Word during the 9:00 am Mass and would join their parents for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  The elementary grades (1-6) would meet from 10:00 to 11:00 am in the Hunt Valley School, and the intermediate grades (7-8) would meet in homes on Sundays from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.  High school students would meet with their age cohort from the other two communities on the second Sunday of each month for a longer presentation, dialogue in small groups, and a meal.  The time would be from 5:30 to 9:00 pm.

Once Nativity became a reality in 1973, under the leadership of the Pastor, Reverend Frank J. Ready, the religious education program was directed by Sr. Louise Donnelly, Minister of Religious Education.  Religious education classes were held on Sunday mornings at 9:00, 10:15 and 11:30; students ranged from age 4 to high school age.  Special education classes were offered for children facing learning challenges and a Youth Effectiveness Training workshop offered high school students the chance to improve communication skills with family and peers.

Nativity’s religious education program called itself “… community-centered, since it is only in the context of community that doctrines and services are possible or make any sense.”  In practice, this meant that the entire congregation had to be involved in religious education.  In particular, teaching by example was the model for parishioner participation.  Grades 1-3 learned about Christ as the full meaning of life, developed an understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and learned about the doctrine of creation.  Grades 4-6 explored the formation of conscience, the total Catholic community with special emphasis on the sacraments, and began the study of the Old Testament.  Grades 7 and 8 studied the meaning of faith and the Articles of Faith, while high school students were allowed to explore specific topics according to their personal interests and needs.

Almost from the beginning the program suffered from a lack of adequate funds.  The annual registration fee was set at $30.00 per child; by November of the first year some $660.00 had still not been collected; by February 1974 the amount was still $470.00.  The program’s director was forced to ask parishioners to donate Green Stamps and Betty Crocker Coupons as a way of paying for audio-visual materials.  And virtually every year the program’s director had to plead with parishioners for volunteers to teach or to assist with classes.

In 1984, Reverend Salvatore Ciullo (Fr. Sal) arrived at Nativity as the new Pastor and the leadership of the religious education program was transferred, first to Sr. Joanne Campanini, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and then, in early 1986, to the Religious Teachers Filippini, whose headquarters was in Norristown, New Jersey.  In May, 1986, the parish acquired a residence at 9523 Lyra Court in Burke to provide housing for the three Filippini nuns who joined the parish staff.  The sisters arrived and the convent was dedicated in November of that year.  The newspaper photo below shows Fr. Sal with Mother Mary De Bacco (second from the left) the provincial superior of the nuns’ order (photo currently unavailable).  Other Sisters who were assigned to religious education at Nativity between 1986 and 1989 were Sisters Angelina Intelisano, Marion Bruno, Elizabeth Parente (deceased), Anita Sibilia (deceased), and Dolores Toscano.  In 1989, the Filippini Sisters returned to New Jersey and the program was administered by lay persons for a year.

Nativity’s religious education program entered a new phase in September 1990 with the arrival of its new staff: two Sisters from The Handmaids of Reparation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious community of women from Italy. The Sisters were assigned by the superior general of the order, Mother Antonella Gulino, at the request of Fr. Sal, who stressed the great need the parish had for help in its religious education program. The parish anticipated an enrollment of 1,700 students in its religious education program in the fall of 1990. Sister Donatella Merulla, who had obtained a degree in elementary education from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Ohio, where the order opened its first house, in 1958, was appointed Nativity’s Minister of Religious Education. She was assisted by Sister Mary Wendy McMenamy, a native of Florida, who also had a degree in elementary education. In the newspaper photo below, Sister Donatella (left) and Sister Mary Wendy (second from right), join Fr. Sal and a visiting Sister from Steubenville, Sister Ernestine Vitello (right), in a visit to the Arlington Diocese chancery in 1990 (photo currently unavailable). Sister Mary Wendy left Nativity in 1991. Sister Mary Attilia Todaro, who also received a degree in Elementary Education from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Ohio, joined Sister Donatella as Nativity’s Minister of Religious Education. In 2000, Sr. Donatella and Sr. Mary Attilia earned masters degrees in Education Leadership from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The opening of the Spiritual Formation Center in 1992 was of great importance because it meant that classes for the religious education program could be moved out of the church and into regular classrooms. This was a welcome change since classes conducted in the church required a great effort of many parishioners to set up and remove partitions and chairs for the weekly classes. Since the 1990s, the religious education program has not changed much in structure or overall size. Enrollment during the 1990s was about 1,600 per year, declined somewhat to about 1,200 after the new St. Raymond of Penafort parish opened, and then experienced regrowth to 1,500 after 2010. The most significant change during this time has been the great increase in teaching volunteers. Where one teacher per class had been the norm in the 1990s, now the Sisters are able to assign two teachers to a class, which makes for a more vibrant learning environment. Parent and community volunteers who have answered the call to this special service for the Lord must qualify by receiving a cleared background check. The fact that so many have responded to this need of the parish’s children exemplifies the great leadership the Sisters of the Handmaids of Reparation provide with the support of Nativity’s Pastor, Reverend Richard C. Martin, Parochial Vicar, Reverend Wilson (Bill) Korpi and the parish staff.

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