Fond farewells, warm memories mark events at ISJ school
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
From the size of the crowd, the generations in attendance and the obvious love conveyed at recent farewell gatherings, the six decades of Catholic education at Incarnation-St. James School, Ewing, will not go unremembered.
To see photo galleries on this story, click here and here.
Before the school closed June 12, two major celebrations on May 31 and June 7 drew hundreds of alumni, students, faculty and community members to Incarnation Church and Incarnation-St. James Parish social hall.
In his homily at the May 31 Mass, which honored the legacy of the school, Trinitarian Father Santhosh George, pastor, spoke of the gifts and blessings that it had bestowed upon the community. He described the building as “so much more than a set of classrooms.”
It was a place, he said, where the children learned not only their academic lessons, “but, most important of all, where they learned to love God and one another.”
Father George commended the parents down through the years for their dedication and devotion, the hours they spent volunteering in a host of ways, including as catechism teachers and the PTA. He asked for the blessing of the community on the present students and their parents as they prepared to set out on uncharted waters.
At the June 7 Mass, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters who staffed the school throughout its history, he thanked the “dear sisters,” commending them for all that they had given to the school and the community.
He said, “Continue to know that we are thankful. … That we thank God for sending the sisters to us as we thank the sisters for living their vocations within our midst for the last 59 years.”
During their visits, students, past and present, and the school community and parish communities, shared treasured memories, swapped stories and shed tears as the institution that formed generations in scholarship and more importantly, faith, prepared to pass into history.
In the social hall, heavily festooned with memorabilia, it was as though walls could talk. Everything from carnival posters from years past to school uniforms, class photos, pictures of the sisters who taught them adorned the walls, drawing sighs and stimulating chatter among the visitors.
Among those who toured the school were Amanda Alexander, a 1989 graduate, and her sister, Althea Alexander Williams, class of 1991. They shared their memories of the good educational foundation they received along with the profound spiritual nourishment.
“Incarnation (St. James) provided me with a great nurturing foundation and with tools that I use to this day,” said Althea. The teachers, religious and lay, “gave me the skills and great foundation for who I am. The respect I (got) and learned to give at Incarnation is the same tool I use in my life and work.”
Her sister Amanda, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and a reader at the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, said, “It gave me discipline in so many ways. What I learned allows to me live out the Gospel even with my work in the schools,” said Alexander.
Jennifer Simon, who worked at the school in advancement, is an Incarnation alumna. She attended from K-6th grade in the 1980s, and recalls an active school “with so many kids... like a family. I made a lot of friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with.”
Her four children, Benjamin, 13, Andrew, 11, Abigail, 8 and William, 6, all attended Incarnation-St. James. They will be attending Trenton Catholic Academy in the fall, where, she hopes, they will continue to build lasting relationships.
At the June 7 Mass, each of the sisters attending received a plaque from the Knights of Columbus. Grand Knight Tom Voorhees conveyed the community’s admiration as he handed out the plaques, saying “you have sown the seeds” of knowledge, love and dedication “here in rich soil. … Today is a sorrowful day, but also a day of thanks,” for a legacy that “will not end here.”
During the catered luncheon in the sisters’ honor, many of the students over the years reached out to thank them. Among them was Frantz Massenat who described himself as a “K-8 attendee” who couldn’t wait to seek out Sister George Mary Brolly.
When asked what being taught by Sister George Mary meant to him, he simply replied “everything.”
“She would see me walking in the halls and she would talk to me about how to live my life.”
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Events
By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
From the size of the crowd, the generations in attendance and the obvious love conveyed at recent farewell gatherings, the six decades of Catholic education at Incarnation-St. James School, Ewing, will not go unremembered.
To see photo galleries on this story, click here and here.
Before the school closed June 12, two major celebrations on May 31 and June 7 drew hundreds of alumni, students, faculty and community members to Incarnation Church and Incarnation-St. James Parish social hall.
In his homily at the May 31 Mass, which honored the legacy of the school, Trinitarian Father Santhosh George, pastor, spoke of the gifts and blessings that it had bestowed upon the community. He described the building as “so much more than a set of classrooms.”
It was a place, he said, where the children learned not only their academic lessons, “but, most important of all, where they learned to love God and one another.”
Father George commended the parents down through the years for their dedication and devotion, the hours they spent volunteering in a host of ways, including as catechism teachers and the PTA. He asked for the blessing of the community on the present students and their parents as they prepared to set out on uncharted waters.
At the June 7 Mass, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters who staffed the school throughout its history, he thanked the “dear sisters,” commending them for all that they had given to the school and the community.
He said, “Continue to know that we are thankful. … That we thank God for sending the sisters to us as we thank the sisters for living their vocations within our midst for the last 59 years.”
During their visits, students, past and present, and the school community and parish communities, shared treasured memories, swapped stories and shed tears as the institution that formed generations in scholarship and more importantly, faith, prepared to pass into history.
In the social hall, heavily festooned with memorabilia, it was as though walls could talk. Everything from carnival posters from years past to school uniforms, class photos, pictures of the sisters who taught them adorned the walls, drawing sighs and stimulating chatter among the visitors.
Among those who toured the school were Amanda Alexander, a 1989 graduate, and her sister, Althea Alexander Williams, class of 1991. They shared their memories of the good educational foundation they received along with the profound spiritual nourishment.
“Incarnation (St. James) provided me with a great nurturing foundation and with tools that I use to this day,” said Althea. The teachers, religious and lay, “gave me the skills and great foundation for who I am. The respect I (got) and learned to give at Incarnation is the same tool I use in my life and work.”
Her sister Amanda, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and a reader at the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, said, “It gave me discipline in so many ways. What I learned allows to me live out the Gospel even with my work in the schools,” said Alexander.
Jennifer Simon, who worked at the school in advancement, is an Incarnation alumna. She attended from K-6th grade in the 1980s, and recalls an active school “with so many kids... like a family. I made a lot of friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with.”
Her four children, Benjamin, 13, Andrew, 11, Abigail, 8 and William, 6, all attended Incarnation-St. James. They will be attending Trenton Catholic Academy in the fall, where, she hopes, they will continue to build lasting relationships.
At the June 7 Mass, each of the sisters attending received a plaque from the Knights of Columbus. Grand Knight Tom Voorhees conveyed the community’s admiration as he handed out the plaques, saying “you have sown the seeds” of knowledge, love and dedication “here in rich soil. … Today is a sorrowful day, but also a day of thanks,” for a legacy that “will not end here.”
During the catered luncheon in the sisters’ honor, many of the students over the years reached out to thank them. Among them was Frantz Massenat who described himself as a “K-8 attendee” who couldn’t wait to seek out Sister George Mary Brolly.
When asked what being taught by Sister George Mary meant to him, he simply replied “everything.”
“She would see me walking in the halls and she would talk to me about how to live my life.”
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