SAVE My Alma Mater - Cardinal Gibbons HS

An Open Email:

To Pope Benedict XVI, BenedictXVI@Vatican.va
To Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, archbishop@archbalt.org
To Cardinal Gibbons Development Office, cgdevelopment@cardinal-gibbons.org
To My Classmates of 19-apathetic-71,
To the CG Alumni and Staff,
To the Crusaders, and
To all Concerned Saints of the LORD:
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 1:7)

“If the Human Spirit is the Body of the Paraclete, School Spirit is His Wings.” (TedtheRabbi 3-6-10)


Spread your wings dear Crusaders, ye Saints of the LORD!
Rally around! Flap your wings! Raise your tongues! Take flight!
Most Reverend Edwin Frederick O'Brien:
This day ye shall know how the Crusaders will fight!

A few thoughts:

1. Letter Writing Campaign is a good idea. I have added three (3) important addresses in the “Cc” section above.

2. Pay off or pay down of the CG debt is a good idea. It might win us a reprieve. But a reprieve is only a postponement. We need a long term plan.

3. Where are the instant texting cell phone donations when you need them? Can anyone get text link going?

4. With 13 schools closing and CG with an outstanding debt, this could be an Archdiocese conspiracy for a capital funds drive.

5. More likely it could be a covert operation to sell Church property to raise funds to settle or to pay off abuse lawsuits. (Credit Dan Rodricks of The Baltimore Sun – Letter ‘I’ below)

6. Two Community public meetings have been advertised by the print and local TV News media: one at Mt Saint Joseph’s HS and one at Catholic High, both at 7 PM on Monday March 8th. Oddly, according to the Cardinal Gibbons website, the Baltimore Archdiocese has also called for a meeting at the Cardinal Gibbons Auditorium on the same night at the same time. I wonder if the Church administration intentionally scheduled the CG meeting at the same time in an effort to pull energy away from the more volatile public community meetings!? I plan to attend the meeting at St. Joe’s, but if I get solid feedback from some of the ~700 members on this email list, I might change my mind and attend the Gibbons’ meeting.

7. I don’t mean to be negative towards the administration, but it seems to me that our new Archbishop, the Most Rev. E. F. O’Brien, might have a philosophy different from that which we were accustomed in our retired Cardinal Keeler. Archbishop O’Brien appears to be over concerned with localized financial accounting issues, like bottom lines, balanced budgets, bad debt write-offs, and investment losses from the collapsed economy, and it is my impression that he is less concerned with the world wide movement of the HOLY SPIRIT, Whom I believe is moving to educate and to reveal to the global masses the eminent Coming of the Kingdom of GOD.

8. What is really going on here? What is the world coming to? What is GOD up to now? Pray for insight (and indwelling) of the HOLY SPIRIT. Ask: WWJD? But also ask: What is the HOLY SPIRIT acting on right now? HE is the Spirit of Truth (NKJV: John 14:17, John 15:26, John 16:13). Don’t worry. HE is the Comforter/Helper (KJV/NKJV: John 14:26, John 15:26). Follow HIS advice. HE is the Counselor (NIV: Isaiah 9:6, John 14:16, John 16:7). Ask to see GOD’S Master Plan and HIS Will for you (NIV: Mark 3:35, John 7:17, Romans 8:27, Romans 12:2).

9. Maybe “...the time is near” (Revelation 1:3)

10. You know the Scripture where “Jesus said ... do you love Me ...? ...Feed My lambs ... Tend My sheep ... Feed My sheep” (John 21:15-17). In Bible Study-groups I often hear the interpretation of “lambs and sheep” as “children and adults.” If we agree to love JESUS, we agree to feed His lambs and His sheep – or people of all age groups. As the command to “tend My sheep” falls in between the command to feed His lambs and feed His sheep, another age group is said to be included with the tended sheep – young adults and adolescents. ‘Tend’ is defined as “1 archaic : to attend as a servant 2 a : to apply oneself to the care of : watch over b : to have or take charge of as a caretaker or overseer ...” (from Merriam-Webster Online). In addition to providing food, clothing, and shelter, ‘tending’ would definitely include – an education of GOD’S Kingdom.

11. If there are empty seats in our Catholic schools, then the Archdiocese is not tending Jesus’ sheep. If there are empty seats in our Catholic schools, it is not because Jesus’ sheep do not want a Christian education. Surely, we are lacking financial aid for the sheep that would fill those seats, or we are lacking the proper marketing mechanism to acquire and to distribute funding to fill those seats. Look into any food pantry in Maryland and you will not find an empty seat. The waiting room seats are filled with hungry lambs and sheep – all age groups. Catholic Charities and other Christian food pantry ministries are doing a pretty admirable job of feeding the sheep – for free. Should not the task of ‘tending’ the sheep be met with the same resolve as feeding the sheep? How do the food pantries continue to operate?

12. Closing down schools is a bottom line or budgeting decision. The emphasis is on money, which is to put money before GOD. The ‘Holy Spiritual’ needs of the Christian Community should come before the financial budgetary needs of the Church administrators. I know it is hard to balance a budget, but Jesus says not to worry; “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33; NIV). So, what actions can we take?

13. Civil disobedience worked pretty well in the 60’s and 70’s and brought the Vietnam War to an end. But some demonstrations got out of hand and people got hurt and property got damaged. I do not recommend holding rallies that are destructive in nature, nor ones that easily could be spoiled by the stupid actions of a few hyper charged or spirited demonstrators. It is senseless to destroy the property you are trying to save. There are other radical ways to make a difference.

14. Escrow your tithe.

15. ‘Designate’ all Church donations to the school funds.

16. Personally, I have not held membership in a Catholic Church since I dropped out of the St. Charles Seminary in 1973 (after a six-week effort). Currently, I am ‘in between’ Protestant Denominational Church affiliation and I am committed only to the Church I founded in 2001 – The Cyber Church Corporation & Interfaith Learning Center – also known and operating as www.CyberChurchCafe.org. The CC Cafe is not an income producing entity, but I more than tithe my personal income and assets to the Cyber Church Cafe as needed to keep alive the ability to serve the LORD through this venue. As the Spirit blesses me, I also support the local Church organizations where I am actively involved in various capacities. I am going to pledge today to reduce my commitment to the local Church orgs and to defer my surplus tithe to the efforts of the ‘SAVE Cardinal Gibbons’ initiative. Believe me, it’s not much! I’ve been disabled since 2001 and only recently returned to work part time at a low wage. I am nearly broke and could lose my house within a year or so if the economy and my situation don’t both turn around soon. But I continue to tithe and the LORD provides everything I need.

17. My pledge to CG is only a pledge. I will hold the funds in the accounts of the CC Cafe. I have not supported CG for all these years; there’s no use starting now if it is a lost cause. I might make one or two single donations to help pay off the Gibbons’ debt and overturn the Archbishop’s ill-fated decision.

18. Stage a ‘walk-out’ of school and church. Try to skip all Catholic activities for a weekend – Thursday through Sunday.

19. Instead of exiting Church right after Communion, walk out before Communion. Or walk out during the sermon.

20. Boycott the Catholic Church with picket lines on Sundays.

21. Transfer our students to Lutheran schools. Or home school them. Maybe this is the age to reunite and to renew our resolve to be One Holy Catholic (Universal) Church. There is only One Body of Christ! “There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.” (1 Cor. 12:5)

22. We could just throw in the towel on the Catholic Church, like the Archdiocese has thrown in the towel on our beloved schools.

23. Are the alumni collectively successful enough to purchase and to operate our school independent of the Church, or maybe as a subsidiary? Cardinal Gibbons could become owned and operated by the Alumni, student families, and staff.

24. Maybe privately owned educational companies would be interested in buying into a franchised Christian education system.

Some links of interest:

A. Office of the Archbishop
     320 Cathedral Street
     Baltimore, Maryland 21201
     Phone: 410-547-5437
     Fax: 410-727-8234

B. http://www.archbalt.com/about-the-archdiocese/annual-report.cfm

C. http://www.cardinalgibbons.com/Cardinal-Gibbons-Contact-Us.aspx

D. http://www.cardinalgibbons.com/ Development Office – (media Requests, press releases or public relations) cgdevelopment@cardinal-gibbons.org

H. News Article, Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun, 3-7-10: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.gibbons07mar07,0,347436.story

I. News Article, Dan Rodricks, The Baltimore Sun, 3-7-10: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.rodricks0307,0,491170.column

J. Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators http://www.machemd.org/default.asp email: info@machemd.org

K. Baltimore Lutheran School (Missouri Synod) (7 to 12 grade) (est. 1965) - http://www.baltimorelutheran.org/

L. Carroll Lutheran School (ELCA) (K to 8 grade) (est. 1999) - http://www.carrolllutheranschool.org/

Glory be to God,

Rev. Ted Miller, Jr. (a.k.a. TedtheRabbi)
(Class of 19 apathetic 71)
www.CyberChurchCafe.org
www.TedtheRabbi1000.blogspot.com