St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church

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webmaster — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Revised Building Plans Presented to Parish Includes New Design

webmaster — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 15:35:31 +0000

In a series of presentations after Sunday Masses on July 17, 2005 Jim Schellinger of CSO Architects presented to the parish a revised Phase I outline for a master building plans. Click here for details!

Father Larry Crawford Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Ordination

webmaster — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:43:15 +0000

Fr. Larry concelebrates with
Fr. Jim Bonke & Fr. John McCaslin

Congratulations
Father Larry
on the 40th anniversary of your ordination

Photos from Celebration Mass
May 21, 2006

St. Gabriel in the News

webmaster — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 10:51:39 +0000

Christmas Day Mass at St. Gabriels was featured on WISH TV Channel 8 news at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Click the image to see the video.

2006-2007 Accountability Report Available Online

webmaster — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:07:20 +0000

St. Gabriel's annual accountability and finance report on now available for viewing here. Click here for the entire 14 page report or click the links below to view individual portions.

Easter Vigil Photos Online

webmaster — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:11:55 +0000

Check out our photo gallery for photos of this year's Easter vigil. Congratulations to all of our newly baptized and confirmed members of St. Gabriel Parish

VIRTUS Training Session Information

webmaster — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:16:19 +0000

As a part of an archdiocese program to keep our children Safe and Secure, all adults ages 18 and up who work with children and youth are required to take part in a Virtus Training Session went to fill out the volunteer registration forms. To register for a session at any location in the Archdiocese sign on the Virtus Website: www.virtusonline.org. Click on registration. Once you have attended the training session you will periodically receive online bulletins.

St. Gabriel will be conducting two session in English and one in Spanish

English Sessions: July 31 and August 13, both at 6:30 P.M. in the Fr. Frey Room.

Spanish Session: August 26 at 6:30 P.M. in the Fr. Frey Room.

Pre-registration is suggested in that space is limited.

You may download forms here: English or Spanish

Click here for more information on St. Gabriel's Vitrus Policy

VIRTUS Online Bulletins

Volunteers are to complete the Virtus training bulletins so to be up to date on Child Protection status. One cannot rely on the online Virtus email notification to be reminded of the bulletins. Therefore, you need to check online to see if you are current. You should be reading a bulletin about once a month. To find the bulletins go to www.virtusonline.org. Sign in with your username and password. On the next screen go to "My Training". On the right hand side of the My Training page look at "Training Bulletin Report" box. Click on "click here to see your complete report." On the next screen, go to the training bulletins box and on the line which reads Protecting God's Children for Adults, click on the "click here for details." Clicking will take you to links for each missed bulletin.

Questions about Virtus and St. Gabriel policy, please contact one of the following individuals: Teresa Keith 291-7014 #27 or email: tkeith@stgabrielindy.org, Sarah Watson 297-1414 or email: swatson@stgabrielindyschool.org, Susie Macias 291-7862 or email: smacias287@aol.com.

Youth Ministry Calendar Updated

webmaster — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:20:54 +0000

Lots of exciting and fun spiritual, social, service activities have been planned for our parish youth in the months to come. Click here for a calendar of upcoming events throughout 2008-2009. webpage or printable PDF

Complete Index

webmaster — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:07:20 +0000

New Additions to Our Photo Gallery

webmaster — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:17:06 +0000

Photos of our Youth Ministry Car Wash Fundraiser are now available in our Photo and Video gallery. Click on the Photo and Video button on the menu on the left. Many thanks to all who participated. Our youth raised $249 which will be used to support youth ministry activities.

Also check out photos of a flag football game at our parish picnic and our youth ministry movie night.

Mission Statement Proposal

webmaster — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:56:50 +0000

For several months we have had a committee working on a revised mission statement for St. Gabriel Parish. A proposed new mission statement was presented to the parish council at their last meeting. The committee and council would like your feedback on this proposal. The new mission statement is as follows...

"Inspired by our baptism into the Body of Christ, We, the Catholic Family of St. Gabriel, come together in our diversity to celebrate the Gospel through worship and service to others. We prayerfully seek spiritual growth through the sacraments, faith formation, education, and stewardship.

You can submit your comments to the committee and council two different ways. You can click the Comments link below this article and submit a public comment that all will be able to see. Alternatively you can send an e-mail to mission@stgabrielindy.org and your comment will be forwarded to the committee.

Respect Life Sunday 2008

webmaster — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:46:14 +0000

This Sunday, October 5 was, in all Catholic churches in the United States, Respect Life Sunday. On this day we pause and reconsider and we pray about the reality of what we refer to as the Consistent Ethic of Life. Very simply it says that all human life from conception to natural death is a reflection of the Divine Life of God and therefore is to be respected as such. Click here for a message from Father Larry on Respect Life Sunday. Look for other social justice resources including an "Election Novena" which we will be praying before mass each day leading up to the November 4 elections.

Election Novena

webmaster — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:11:36 +0000

An Election Novena will be prayed at all Masses at St. Gabriel October 26th through November 3rd. prior to the election on November 4th. The novena is based on the U.S. Bishops’ reflection, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” (www.faithfulccitizenship.org) which addresses the themes of Catholic social teaching and lay participation in political life without endorsing political parties or candidates. Copies of the novena for home use will be available in the bulletin October 26. If you would like to use this prayer prior to then, click here for a web version or click here for a printable PDF version. It is deliberately not copyrighted. You are invited to use it as you see fit and share it wherever you like. In addition to the novena itself, you will also find many useful resource links related to faithful citizenship and the teachings of the church on social justice issues.

GoodNewsOnTap.com Premieres

webmaster — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:29:25 +0000

Today St. Gabriel is launching a new feature on the website—“Good News on Tap.” It is a weekly video reflection on the Sunday scripture readings. The two to four minute video commentaries will reflect on the meaning of the scripture and offer practical suggestions of ways to incorporate the gospel into daily life. It is meant to provide a brief positive message of hope for people of all faiths. Please invite your friends and family to check it out at www.GoodNewsOnTap.com or parish website www.StGabrielIndy.org. If you would like to help create these videos by writing and/or reading a reflection on the Sunday scripture contact Chris Young at webmaster@stgabrielindy.org.

New Spanish Mass Saturdays at 7 PM

webmaster — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:21:21 +0000

St. Gabriel is proud to announce that starting this Saturday, December 13 we will have an additional Mass in Spanish. Our 5 PM Sunday Spanish Mass is overflowing so we are starting this new vigil Mass each Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Click here for our entire Mass schedule.

Christian Unity Week Jan 18-25

webmaster — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:35:10 +0000

During the week of January 18 -25 we are celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This occasion is celebrated by many denominations of Christian churches throughout the world. The task for us as people of different churches and traditions is to come together to pray for unity as Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one. We must come face to face with the challenges we share and celebrate the commonality of our mission to be the Body of Christ on earth. This year's theme is "Reconcile Your People".

In the United States this week we mark three significant events: the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our Presidential Inauguration Day, and the 35^th Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. All of these days illustrate this years Christian Unity theme of reconciliation.

We are distributing a series of daily reflections and prayers which challenge us to come “face to face” with themes and situations in our world where reconciliation is needed and that cry out for a united response by people of all faiths. The prayer will be distributed at Mass or you can download your own copy in PDF format and print one for yourself or forward them to friends and family. Click here to download.

New Photos and Videos Available

webmaster — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:02:24 +0000

A new slideshow of photos and some YouTube videos have been added to our Photo and Video Galleries. Check out the slideshow of images from our Youth Ministry Christmas party which included lots of food, fun, games, fellowship. Click here to check it out. Also on the last day of school before Christmas vacation that students and staff of St. Gabriel School had a surprise at the Friday morning Mass for Father Larry. They turned it into a pastor appreciation Mass. When he turned around to face them after the opening prayer they had all donned masks of his face as he has looked throughout the years. They also presented him with other gifts and tributes. You can see it all in a four-part YouTube video. Click here to check it out. Also don't forget our weekly video blog reflection on the Sunday Scriptures available at GoodNewsOnTap.com is updated every week. And click on the Photo and Video button on the left any time to see other slideshows and videos.

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Our Continuing Commitment to Catholic Education

webmaster — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:36:12 +0000

STATEMENT OF OCTOBER 11, 2009 In a letter called, RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT TO CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, the United States Bishops wrote the following: “Young people of the third millennium must be a source of energy and leadership in our Church and our nation. Therefore, we must provide young people with an academically rigorous and doctrinally sound program of education and faith formation designed to strengthen their union with Christ and his Church. Catholic schools collaborate with parents and guardians in raising and forming their children as families struggle with the changing and challenging cultural and moral contexts in which they find themselves. Catholic schools provide young people with sound Church teaching through a broad-based curriculum, where faith and culture are intertwined in all areas of a school’s life. By equipping our young people with a sound education, rooted in the Gospel message, the Person of Jesus Christ, and rich in the cherished traditions and liturgical practices of our faith, we ensure that they have the foundation to live morally and uprightly in our complex modern world.” “Ongoing faith formation and professional development programs must also be available so that administrators and teachers in Catholic schools can continue to grow in their ministry of education. These programs will introduce new and effective initiatives, educational models, and approaches, while always maintaining a sound Catholic identity in our schools.” We have followed the Bishops mandate to review “effective initiates, educational models and approaches, while always maintaining a sound Catholic identity in our schools.” It is the responsibility of each Pastor in collaboration with the educational leaders of the West Deanery and the guidance of the Office of Catholic Education of the Archdiocese to ensure that the precious children entrusted to our care by God and by generous parents are receiving the very best educational opportunity. To that end, discussions have been ongoing at the leadership level to 1) assess our current programs and resources, and 2) to review all of the options for ongoing growth and improvement and 3) to ultimately make a recommendation to the Archdiocese. Our discussions have been very much aware of the nature of change and how difficult it has become in our society. We also recognize that often change is mis-perceived as a negative comment on the past or those who have gone before us. Nothing could be further from the truth. We stand on the shoulders of our current and past Pastors, administrators and faculty who have shown nothing but dedication and service as we try to shape an even better future for our children. We are about polishing the gem. We are about providing the sort of curriculum and learning environment that will allow us to move from excellent to extraordinary. Our entire focus during these discussions has been on the children and their future. How might we serve them better with a seamless faith-filled curriculum P-K through 12^th grade with potential for being P-K to 16? We believe in a faith filled curriculum PK-12/16 committed to preparing its students to succeed in a global and equally dynamic community; a curriculum whose outcomes inspire students to be discerning believers, problem solvers, innovators , communicators, collaborators, media literate, self-directed and globally aware. How do we best address issues related to insuring that the educational program is available, affordable and accessible? How do we best serve varying student needs based upon age and experience? We want an educational community that seamless provides Gospel based faith formation so that all that is learned in school will be seen in the light of service and social justice. We want an educational community in the West Deanery that is safe, caring and where students are known by name. We want an educational community where age-appropriate academic challenges are made and achieved so that we graduate students who are successful and confident of future success – personally and academically. While all of the details have yet to be worked out, it is now clear in what direction our vision is taking us and it is time to share it with you. As of July 1, 2010, a new and exciting educational program will be introduced that will include contributions from Cardinal Ritter Junior-Senior High School, St. Michael’s and St. Gabriel’s elementary schools. The vision also includes greater collaboration with Marian University. St. Gabriel’s will no longer serve as a center for elementary education. The many exciting ministry options for the use of the building will be reviewed through a discernment process by parish leadership including the Parish Council. The building which currently houses St. Michael’s students will be reconfigured to welcome the students currently enrolled at St. Gabriel’s. All of the new programs will be directed and overseen by a single board and administration yet to be named. Transition issues related to faculty and staff, tuition, financial aid, student placement and facility use will continue to be addressed in a spirit of justice. Names of participants:

Father Crawford
Father Varghese
Steve Padgett
Paul Lockard
Jo Hoy
Sarah Watson
Eve Gill
Lisa Zetzl
Matt Goddard

All of the questions you may have in your mind right now may not be able to be answered today. As soon as more details are available, more will be shared with you. As we continue to develop what will be a new experience for our Deanery, we certainly ask for your prayers and your patience. May God bless you all!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Future of St. Gabriel School

webmaster — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:47:27 +0000

What you really want to know about the partnership of Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School, St. Gabriel the Archangel School and St. Michael the Archangel School Is Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School closing? Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School is not closing. The students attending Saint Gabriel now will have the amazing opportunity to be part of a new school. The opportunities there will be afforded to our students are countless. This is a brand new school, based on 21^st century education. Because of the proximity of the two schools, it only makes sense that we will use St. Michael and Cardinal Ritter High School’s current buildings, at 30^th and Tibbs. The resources we will be able to provide number many more than our current resources. We will be able to have a school counselor, more equipment, a streamlined curriculum, spiritual opportunities, social advantages, athletic opportunities, and much more; and we can do this all while maintaining a similar class size. Is Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish closing? Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish is not closing. Saint Gabriel Parish will have ownership in the new school. This new school will be the Catholic school for the Saint Gabriel Parish families. The Saint Gabriel Parish will continue to operate. Where will our students be receiving sacramental preparation? Parishioners of Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish and their families will still have Sacramental Preparation at Saint Gabriel Parish. The program for Sacramental Preparation will continue to operate out of each parish’s faith formation offices. The Saint Gabriel program currently operates in this manner. Is the plan for Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish to become a Hispanic parish? Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish will continue to honor and hold dear its multicultural community. We will continue to welcome anyone who would like to be part of our parish community to join. What does the new school mean for our students? The students of Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School will attend school in a new school building. Each student at Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School, no matter their educational ability will continue to be taught with the same compassion that is provided to them currently. In addition, we will be able to better serve those with special needs, both for remediation and acceleration. What will the name of the new school be? The name of the new school is one of the many still unanswered questions. How will the staff be hired for the new school? Staffing decisions for the new school have not yet been made. Once these are made, they will be shared with the communities. Is there a major plan/vision that you are not sharing with us? There are still many unanswered questions about the new school. There are a number of people working to get questions answered. During this process, we are bound to hear things on the street that may not be true. As facts are settled, we will be sharing them with you. One of the reasons we are bringing families onboard now as opposed to after all decisions are made is that we want to get you involved by serving on committees helping to make some of the decisions. It is our hope that everyone feels that the new creation is in fact ours. As opportunities arise, we will be contacting people to sit on committees to help with the task at hand. What happens to the existing Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School building? Do I need to transfer parishes? There have been no decisions made as to what will happen to the current Saint Gabriel the Archangel Catholic School building. There are many possibilities yet to explore. A committee of parishioners will be gathered to begin these discussions. What will the tuition be at the new school? Tuition and other financial questions regarding the new school have not yet been settled. When this information is available, it will be shared. Who will be in charge of the new school? The new school will have a board of directors, a president, and principals. The individuals who will fill these positions have yet to be named.

From the Pastor's Desk - Oct. 18

webmaster — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:16:33 +0000

Dear Parishioners: A bit of past/current history might be helpful. In the Council of Baltimore the first bishops of the United States said that a Catholic School should be attached to every Catholic Church to deal with the immigrant population. Some people today still remember when it was required that if they did not send their children to a Catholic School they had to get permission of the Bishop through their pastor. That model of Catholic Church/School has been the one that we have been familiar with all our lives. In recent years we have seen many Catholic Schools enter into consolidations or even close. St. Gabriel, St. Michael and Cardinal Ritter Jr/Sr. High School have chosen to take a proactive stance, and by partnering to create a new entity do much more educationally than any one institution could do individually, and to take our children into a Twenty-First century educational experience. I understand that it is more than a saying that there must be a Good Friday before there can be an Easter Sunday. Each of us has to grieve the loss before we can move on to the new and exciting. But the educational program being offered to these communities is an incredible opportunity. It is a concept in which a child can potentially enter the educational program and end up with a bachelor or master degree in 16 yrs. And as the partnership unfolds in the next few months, you will be kept informed and some of you will be asked to serve on committees (some already have). It will be a program where every individual student’s needs are met. And next fall St. Gabriel will be in partnership with an educational program that others nationwide will be looking at. And St. Gabriel will continue to be a parish for many people of a variety of cultures and traditions. Please know that the rumor mill is working overtime right now. It used to be that we had to deal with word of mouth, and written word. Now we have email, twitter, and everything else. And everyone is an authority. But know this. The only official word will come through Fr. Larry Crawford and/or Sarah Watson. Anything, including what “downtown” says will come through us and only through us. Right now we need to focus on all the life and things that are happening this year at St. Gabriel.

We have just finished two incredible and great weeks at St. Gabriel with the two missions. Many people grew in their Hope in Christ.
Our Faith Formation program is growing incredibly this year.
- Sunday Morning Religious Ed (grade 1-6) has 123 students.
- Thursday Youth Classes (7 grade through high school) has 50 students
- Sacramental Prep which includes 1^st Reconciliation (in January and 1^st Eucharist I May has 59 students
- There are 18 high school students who are asking for Confirmation
- RCIA has 7 people in the English class and 6 in the Spanish for a total of 13 candidates.

Our parish is thriving. We are looking to the future. We sometimes grieve as we see the child grow into maturity; but we know it must. We know the tomorrows we face will in fact be better than the yesterdays that were wonderful. Sincerely, Fr. Larry Crawford Pastor

Q & A About 21st Century Education

webmaster — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:08:06 +0000

We've been referring to our new school partnership between St. Gabriel, St. Michael, Cardinal Ritter, and Marian University as providing "21st Century Education." Our school website now contains an article which provides some questions and answers about what we mean by 21st Century Education. Click here for the article about 21st-century education. For more information about the new school partnership see the articles below titled "Frequently Asked Questions About the Future of St. Gabriel School" and "Our Continuing Commitment to Catholic Education"

Archbishop Approves Education Partnership

webmaster — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:47:27 +0000

Archbishop Buechlein has approved our plans to go forward with the educational partnership between St. Gabriel School, St. Michael's School, Cardinal Ritter High School, and Marian University. Below is the text of a letter he sent to Father Larry outlining the steps that will occur to facilitate the transition. More information will be forthcoming soon. Most Rev. Daniel M.Buechlein, O.S.B. Archdiocese of Indianapolis P.O. Box 1410 Indianapolis, IN 46206-1410 317-236-1400 February 2 , 2010 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Reverend Larry Crawford Saint Gabriel Catholic Church 6000 W 34th St Indianapolis IN 46224 Dear Fr. Crawford: I have reviewed the latest recommendations for enhancing Catholic education in the West Deanery. I thank you for your hard work and time. I appreciate the sacrifices you have made to attend the meetings and to consider prayerfully and carefully the best options for guaranteeing the success of Catholic education in the West Deanery. After consulting with Monsignor Schaedel, Father Crawford, Father Varghese, and Mickey Lentz and our Office of Catholic Education staff, I believe we are all in agreement that it would be best for the schools and parishes involved if we proceed in phases. Phase I Based on the committee's recommendation, the Archdiocese approves the following:

The Archdiocese will appoint an outside coordinator to assist and oversee staffing, curriculum administration, and other related transition issues. This position will start in early February of 2010 and will end with the opening of the 2010-2011 school year.
The governance of St. Michael School for us 2010-2011 will be by a newly fanned commission made up of five members from St. Michael School. three members from Sf. Gabriel School. the two pastors, the Dean of the West Deanery, and the newly appointed out.side coordinator. This new commission should be in place as soon as possihle.
The 7th and 8th grade programs at St. Michael School and Cardinal Ritter High School will continue to work in close collaboration with one another during the 2010-2001 school year and will continue to be operated out of both sites.

Items of priority to be addressed:

Smooth and effective integration of students, parents, and faculty/staff St. Gabriel to St.Michael Schools for the 2010-11 school term
Further collaboration of the 7th and 8th grade programs at Sf. Michael and Cardinal Ritter schools
Begin the marketing and communication of the collaboration with a focus on the advantages
Continued discussions and planning of the curriculum
Implement professional development program for instructors Pre-K to 8
Identify and implement actions to provide a phasing in of curriculum

Phase II Based on the committee's recommendation, the Archdiocese approves the following:

A new Board of Limited Jurisdiction for Cardinal Ritter High School and St. Michael the Archangel School will he established that ensures representation and expertise by January 1, 2011.
The Chief Executive Officer of this new Board of Limited Jurisdiction is the President of Cardinal Ritter High School

Items of priority to be addressed:

Establishment of administrative structure for this new union of schools
Implement active marketing and advancement plans to increase enrollment and resources
Continued discussions with Marian University on increased collaboration

I am pleased that these efforts are continuing to move forward. There is still much work to be done and I encourage everyone involved to continue to stay focused on what is best for the children of the West Deanery. Again, I would like to give my sincere thanks to the committee members from St. Gabriel School, Saint Michael the Archangel School and Cardinal Ritter High School for all of your hard work, time and innovative ideas. May God bless you and your continued work to strengthen Catholic education in the West Deanery. Sincerely yours in Christ, Most Reverend Daniel M. Buechlein, O.S.B. Archbishop of Indianapolis

Message from Consolidation Coordinator

webmaster — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:34:34 +0000

February 19, 2010 To: St. Gabriel and St. Michael Parishioners and Parents Dear Parishioners and Parents, In an effort to communicate with you regarding the uniting of St. Gabriel and St. Michael, the Archangels, Schools, I offer the following information. My name is Virginia Suttner and I have been involved in Catholic education for a total of 31 years as teacher, principal and educational consultant for the Office of Catholic Education. On February 10, 2010, I was officially appointed as coordinator to assist and oversee staffing, curriculum, administration, and other related issues in this transition process. Thus far in my short tenure as coordinator, I have interviewed the faculty and staff of both schools in order to better understand their strengths and the challenges they have faced in this unification process. I have had individual meetings with both principals to learn more about their school’s unique profiles. Additionally, Father Larry Crawford and Father Varghese Maliakkal met briefly with me to provide their perspective of this rapidly approaching merger. A West Deanery Commission has been established with three members from St. Gabriel, five members from St. Michael, both pastors, the Dean of the West Deanery and the newly appointed coordinator. The members of this Commission are committed, involved and excited about this incredible opportunity to take part in the creation of a preschool through grade 12 Catholic school. The Commission first met on February 16, 2010 to discuss four critical issues that must be addressed immediately: tuition, staffing, registration and communication. At the next Commission meeting on February 23, we will determine the tuition rates and registration fees for the next school year, 2010-2011, discuss hiring processes for administrators, faculty and staff, and review marketing materials. An Open House has been scheduled at St. Michael the Archangel School, Sunday, February 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We would like to invite all interested parents to an informational meeting immediately following the Open House. We want to be open to your concerns and will do our best to answer any questions that you may have. I ask for your prayers and cooperation as I work with all of you on this new educational opportunity for your students. Sincerely, Virginia Suttner West Deanery Consolidation Coordinator

More News on Education Partnership

webmaster — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:19:29 +0000

March 10, 2010 To: St. Gabriel and St. Michael parents and parishioners The West Deanery Unification Commission met on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 to discuss the appointment of an administrator for the newly unified parish schools. After considering several options, all members of the Commission agreed to hire both Matt Goddard and Sarah Watson as principals, who have shared responsibilities for the coming school year, 2010-2011, at St. Michael the Archangel School. As was stated at the parent meeting at St. Gabriel School on February 28, having administrators from both schools will be advantageous in blending two programs. The ongoing interest and support of the Archdiocese to help assure the future of Catholic Education in the West Deanery continues as this new partnership unfolds. Over the next two months the Office of Catholic Education, in conjunction with Matt and Sarah, will determine the distinct roles and responsibilities of each position. However, this will not affect the process of hiring teachers, which needs to take place as soon as possible. Guidelines have been drafted by the Commission that will enable the current principals of both schools, along with Matt Goddard, to make faculty and staff decisions by mid-April. This unification of two Catholic parish schools and Cardinal Ritter High School provides a unique opportunity to develop a Pre K – 12 program in the West Deanery that will prepare students for the challenges they will meet in an ever-changing world. Again we ask for your prayers and support as we move forward in this transition phase. Sincerely, Ginny Suttner West Deanery Unification Coordinator

Introducing the Principals

webmaster — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:33:47 +0000

March 19, 2010 Dear Parents of St. Michael and St. Gabriel the Archangels Catholic Schools, When the Archdiocese asked us to be part of the amazing educational opportunity being presented to our children, we were very excited. Through this unification process, we know our personal collaboration throughout the rest of this school year and during the 2010-2011 school year is of the utmost importance. Because of this, we started meeting immediately to work on the coming year. Both of us are dedicated to making St. Michael School a school which continues the current excellent programs and enhances the education of all students. This coming year will be a year of great excitement, opportunity, and academic excellence. We hope you will come on the journey with us. We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you. Mr. Matthew Goddard As a life-long member of St. Michael Parish, I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to work with Miss Sarah Watson as the leaders of the school I grew up supporting. My parents (Dave and Jeri) chose this parish/school for my two sisters (Traci and Jenny) and me to enrich our Catholic faith. I attended St. Michael, kindergarten through eighth grade, graduating in 1995. I continued my education at Cardinal Ritter High School. During High School, I participated in many sports and other extra-curricular activities. After graduating from High School in 1999, I selected Franklin College to major in Physical Education, and to play tennis at the collegiate level. I transferred to IUPUI after 2 years and graduated from there in 2004. I then started my professional life as a physical education teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes and All Saints. In the 2005-2006 school year, I became the physical education teacher at St. Michael. As my years went on at St. Michael I took on more and more duties and realized I wanted to become an administrator. Therefore, I enrolled in the IUPUI Urban Principal Program and finished my classes last summer with my degree and license coming this May. That program, along with the current principal of St. Michael, Steve Padgett, helped me develop my own leadership and educational philosophies. These have established who I am as a principal. I married my wife (Nichole) in the summer of 2006. God graced us with a baby boy (Quentin) on April 11, 2009. We are also the guardians of Nichole’s brother (Tyler) who is currently a junior at Cardinal Ritter High School. My family resides in Wayne Township. With this opportunity to work with Miss Watson, who is a dedicated child-centered leader, we will make this transition as smooth as possible. Miss Sarah J. Watson As a native west-sider, I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with Mr. Matt Goddard as shared administrators at St. Michael School. Both St. Michael and St. Gabriel are close to my heart. One set of my grandparents were founding members of St. Michael Parish, followed by the second set joining in 1953. Both of my parents, their siblings, and all of my siblings attended St. Michael School, and my parents both taught at St. Michael in the early 1970s. I graduated from St. Michael in 1993. After St. Michael, I followed a long line of family members to Cathedral High School, graduating in 1997. In 2000, I graduated from Purdue University with degrees in Special Education, Psychology, and Social Studies Education. I received my Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Indianapolis in 2007. After graduation from Purdue, I came to St. Gabriel School and began my teaching career. While at St. Gabriel I taught fifth grade, fourth grade social studies and language arts, resource, and acted as the lead teacher for the school. During this time, I also was the youth minister at St. Michael Parish. In 2006, I was hired as principal at St. Gabriel. I see education as my true vocation. Spending my day teaching, learning, and leading is what God calls me to do. It is my privilege to be able to give back to the Catholic Education system my parents struggled to make a part of my life. I am honored to be at St. Michael and share this position of principal with Mr. Goddard. Mr. Goddard and I believe that children are the reason we are at school each day, and we desire to continue the student-centered approach that is at both schools now. We know that over the course of the next few months several questions will be asked and answers to longstanding questions will be given. Please feel free to contact either or both of us with your questions, comments, and concerns. Mr. Goddard may be reached at mgoddard@indyarchangel.org and/or Miss Watson may be reached at swatson@stgabrielindyschool.org. We look forward to seeing those we know and meeting those we do not know at the open house on April 15, 2010, from 5:30 PM-7:00 PM. The staff for the coming year will be present at this open house, too. Sincerely, Mr. Matthew Goddard Miss Sarah J. Watson

New Blog about our New Church

webmaster — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:28:32 +0000

We are pleased to announce that there is a new blog available on our website that will keep you up-to-date with all the latest information about our exciting new church building project. Currently it contains older articles from our homepage about the early stages of our plans including video of the public meeting where we approved the building project. The latest entry is a link to a slideshow that shows floorplans, blueprints, and artist sketches of proposed stained glass windows for the new church. More photos and information will be coming in the weeks ahead. The new blog is available at http://www.stgabrielindy.org/newchurch/. You can always find the latest articles in the sidebar of this main webpage on the right-hand side of your screen under the title "New Church Building News".

West Deanery Unification Update

webmaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:24:45 +0000

Hello, my name is Connie Griffith. I am the chairperson of the St. Gabriel School Commission, and along with Dennis Dininger and Kerry Balding am a member of the West Deanery Unification Commission. Like many of you, we currently have children attending and children that have graduated from St. Gabriel. I personally graduated from here many years ago. Our love for this school is unwavering and like you we have spent a good portion of our lives and resources here. We will be sad when this school year comes to a close, but we rejoice in the knowledge that these changes, while difficult, will open the door for our children to experience an education that will become a model of educational excellence in the Archdiocese. Since this unification is new and unprecedented, it has created some misunderstandings. As a West Deanery Unification board member, I wanted to communicate this process. The first phase was to unify St. Gabriel School and St. Michael School into one school for the 2010-2011 school year. We were to accomplish many tasks quickly in order to be ready for next school year. Those tasks were to appoint a new principal, create a tuition and fee schedule, approve a school budget, and provide guidelines for hiring teachers. The first task was to appoint a new principal of the unified school. With much deliberation, we chose two individuals, Sarah Watson and Matt Goddard, as co-principals. The reason was that the members of the West Deanery Unification Commission felt very strongly that we wanted individuals who understood and supported the K-12 model with the 21st Century Education. The Archdiocese actually suggested and is financially supporting a 2nd principal in order to accomplish our goals. We have created and published a tuition and fee schedule and we have already approved the school budget. As of this communication, Sarah Watson and Matt Goddard are working together to provide our school with the best teaching staff for our children’s education. The second phase will start the 2011-2012 school year, when the elementary school with a new name (yet to be determined) will be joined with Cardinal Ritter High School to create the K-12 model. The schools will be under the direction and budget of Cardinal Ritter High School. This concept will continue to support Catholic education, provide educational excellence and prepare our children for a successful future both spiritually and intellectually.

School Newsletters Available Online

webmaster — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:00:33 +0000

The two most recent monthly school newsletters are now available online. They contain lots of great information about our new educational partnership with St. Michael's School. The April and May newsletters are available in PDF format on these links.

360° Panorama "Before" Images Available

webmaster — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:01:25 +0000

When our church renovation is complete, we are going to want to compare the old and the new. We came up with the idea to take "before" and "after" images of the church. On Friday, May 28 we took a series of 11 photographs from a tripod in the center of the church. The photos were assembled into a 360° panorama that is over 34.5 megapixels. When our renovation is complete we will make a similar panorama for comparison. Click here to see this amazing image. We hope to have lots of images posted during our construction and in December when the project is complete we will create another panorama to compare with this one.

International Festival June 17-19

webmaster — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:37:19 +0000

St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish Welcomes you to our Annual International Festival

Thursday -- June 17th	5:00 pm -- 12:00 midnight
Friday --June 18th	5:00 pm -- 12:00 midnight
Saturday-- June 19th	5:00 pm -- 12:00 midnight

Note date change: Thursday-Saturday rather than our usual Friday-Sunday

Click here for photos & video of previous festivals

Raffle Tickets & Advanced Sale ride tickets on sale now in the Parish or School Offices. Call 291-7014 or stop in during office hours. Pardon our dust! Due to our construction, poker and other adult games will be outdoors in a tent subject to weather Free parking at Northwest High School 3200 Moeller Rd with free shuttle bus to festival Advance ride tickets are good June 17-19, 2010 Must be purchased before noon June 17

Featuring:

Carnival rides
Variety of international food
German Biergarten
Monte Carlo
Kids Games
Bingo
Music
- Thursday:
- Friday:
- Saturday:

Raffle Drawing Total of $12,000 in prizes Each ticket sold will be entered in all 3 drawings:

Grand prize $10,000
Additional prizes $1,000 & $500

$500 to seller of Grand Prize winning ticket Donation: $10.00 per ticket; 3 for $25.00 Need not be present to win No limit Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments Each Night

Date/time	Entry fee
June 17 - 7 p.m.	$30 ($20 prize pool, $5 bounty, $5 house)
June 18 - 7 p.m.	$40 ($31 prize pool, $1 high hand $8 house)
June 19 - 6 p.m.	$50 ($39 prize pool, $1 high hand, $10 house)

Note earlier start time Saturday Thursday night bounty tournament! Win $5 bounty for every player you eliminate! Additional prize for high hand of the night Friday and Saturday Registration for all tournaments begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 17 in the Monte Carlo tent. Registration is limited to 80 players for each tournament. Entries are on a first-come first-served basis. Click here for details and rulesfor the tournament Indiana Charitable Gaming License #120886

New Entrance for Mass

webmaster — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:46:35 +0000

Beginning Wednesday June 9 the entrance for Mass and other church celebrations will be the far doors of the school building. (All the doors to the former church and the doors into the school lobby are now off limits because they are a construction area.)

Daily Masses will be in what is now the library (just off the cafeteria)
Weekend Masses will be in cafeteria
During the construction servers will dress in the sacristy (what has been the teachers lounge) which is off of the cafeteria

Catholic Education at St. Gabriel Parish

webmaster — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:10:19 +0000

St. Gabriel Archangel Parish has from its first day been committed to lifelong Total Catholic Education. For many years we operate in our own elementary school that has served our parish community extremely well. We have also continuously supported our West Deanery High School which is Cardinal Ritter High School and provided a variety of other educational opportunities. These include sacramental preparation, adult education programs, Sunday morning religious education (CCD), youth ministry and vacation Bible school. However the face of education is changing in the 21st century and with it we are changing the way we meet the educational needs of our parishioners and the community. The 2009-2010 school year was the last year for St. Gabriel Elementary School. Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year we have begun a partnership with St. Michael's Catholic Elementary School that will eventually include partnerships with Cardinal River High School and Marian University. This new partnership will provide high-quality 21st century educational opportunities for our students. We continue to provide sacramental preparation, Sunday religious education, and adult education programs, youth ministry and Vacation Bible school here at St. Gabriel. However our elementary students now attend St. Michael's Catholic Elementary School which we support with our time talent and treasure. We are very excited about the quality of program which our students will receive as a result of this new partnership. As our pastor has often said, the children we are educating today will have jobs and challenges which do not even exist today. So our educational system has to adapt to the future and this new partnership can better meet their needs while maintaining the tradition of excellence which Catholic schools have always had as their hallmark. Click here for St. Michael's School website. Click the "Programs" button on the menu at the left to learn about other educational programs at St. Gabriel Church.

Festival Winners

webmaster — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:34:39 +0000

Congratulations to everyone who was a winner at our International Festival last month. This photo is of Father Larry congratulating the Gorman family who were the winners of our $10,000 raffle. Here are our other winners

$10,000	Ben Gorman
1,000	Joycelin Flores
500	Maria Enriquez
Quilt	B. Steinmetz
Afghan	Jan Randolph

and here are the results of all poker tournaments... Thursday night results

1st tie	Larry Jines	189
1st tie	Rodney Adams	189
3rd	Kim Lane	79
4th	Jennifer McLauchlen	65

Friday night results

1st	Josh Dinkel	405
2nd	Kathy Carder	225
3nd	Craig Bradham	162
4th	Amy McClellan	107
hh	Edith Pelayo 9,9,9,10,10	29

Saturday night results

1st	Lecil Perrin	449
2nd	Larry Hoopingarner	269
3rd	Richard Baldwin	179
hh	Jim Barr KKKKA	23

Construction Photos Online

webmaster — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:29:11 +0000

Our photo gallery now includes a brief slideshow of some construction photos taken June 15, 2010. Click the image on the left to see the slideshow. The photos show the church nearly completely gutted. The pews are gone and many of the interior features have been removed. This is the first in a series of photo galleries of our church renovation project. We are now using the Google Picasa photo album service to store our photo galleries. This new format will allow you to view a slideshow from within our website or you can click a link to go to the Picasa photo album page which will allow you to zoom in on the photos for a closer view. The photos are captioned and you can comment on each photo from Picasa webpage. We hope you enjoy this new format for presenting our photos. We have a backlog of more construction problems ready to upload over the next few days so keep checking the photo gallery button at the left side of this page to see what's new.

Hello world!

webmaster — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:55:35 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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