GUEST BLOGGER: I CON SEE YOU

Today's guest blogger is 13 year old David Beatty of St. Sebastian who gave this presentation when we unveiled the new icon of St. Sebastian written by Sr. Iliana of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, in Burton, OH, to help us celebrate our 90th anniversary:

The Creation and Spirituality of Icons

The Panel

The panel is traditionally of wood. Plywood or MDF (medium density fibre board) is often used as cheaper options, especially for large panels, but the longevity of these as a support is unknown. We know that icons on wood have survived many centuries but MDF and plywood are inventions of the twentieth century so only time will tell. The board is sized with an animal based glue and allowed to dry.

The Ground

This is made of gesso, which is the Italian word for gypsum, or calcium sulphate. The gesso is made by mixing the gypsum, or whiting powder, in an animal based glue such as rabbit skin glue or gelatin. Several coats of gesso are then applied with a brush and allowed to dry between coats. Usually at least 8 coats of gesso are needed to make a good ground.
The ground is then smoothed with an abrasive paper or scraper. The resulting surface is white and smooth and is the only suitable surface for painting in egg tempera.

The Drawing

A line drawing is made of the icon to be painted and this is transferred to the gessoed panel by coating the back of the drawing with a powder pigment and tracing with a suitable instrument. The drawing is then brushed over with ink to make it more stable for painting.

The Gilding

Usually the haloes and (if required) the background are then gilded. This may be oil gilded (using transfer gold) or water gilded using layers of bole (a type of red clay) and gold leaf. In either case real gold is used. Water gilding allows tooling (embossing) of the gold and finishing with olipha. If oil gilding is used then the icon may be finished with shellac or a proprietary varnish.

The Painting

The icon is painted with pure powdered pigments, mainly earth colours, which are mixed (tempered) with egg yolk. The dark colours are painted first and then the lighter colours are added. Any very small gold details are then added. Finally the face and hands are painted – this brings the whole icon to life.

Finishing

The icon is then allowed to dry for a few weeks and is then be coated with a varnish for protection. The varnish is usually olipha, which is a mixture of refined linseed oil and stand oil.

An icon can be viewed as just a piece of art or it can be viewed as a spiritual work of grace created for the glory of God. The simple creation of an icon is not complete without constant prayer during the creation and finishing of an icon. It’s not just art and it should be viewed as such; a symbol of love for our lord.

Icons have had a place in Christian worship as early as we can establish. In the broader sense, icons may be found in basic wall paintings, graffiti of crosses and symbols on ancient tombs, to magnificent frescos, icons and stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals.

“In the beginning was the Word,” wrote St John. “He is the image [ikon in Greek] of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” wrote St. Paul. We meet him still in both word and image. Icons may be beautiful, but they do not exist just to add a little color or a special atmosphere to the rooms they happen to be in. They’re there to help us pray. An icon that isn’t being used in prayer is like a musical instrument not being played or a cookbook that never gives birth to a meal.

Praying before an Icon is just the same as praying before anything else like a crucifix or an altar. Although with the icon the preferred position of prayer is known as the Orant. This is to expose your body in heart mind and soul to the spirituality of the icon.

No icon is ever prayed the same way. As the icon is created different prayers are used specific to what the icon is an image of. The wood base is used to symbolize the cross and crucifixion of our Lord, the simple earthly colors display the pain and plainness during the time he was dead, and the gold symbolizes his glorious resurrection.

No less than the written

word, an icon is an instrument for the transmission of Christian tradition and faith. Through sacred imagery, the Holy Spirit speaks to the believer, revealing truths that may not be evident to those using only the tools of reason. And this is one of the most important aspects of the spirituality of icons, that they teach us that dogma, which is the revealed knowledge of God, is first and foremost beautiful. The icon gives us the sight of the saints, and reveals Christian dogma, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, as being extremely beautiful.

The ecumenical council of 787 AD stated that the Icon was equal with Scripture, since it instructs with shape and colour in the same way as Scripture with words. Thus, icons do not simply attempt to instruct us about the life of Christ or the saints depicted, but they instruct us in the Theology of the Church. And the eyes, posture, colour and gesture come together to point to Theological truths.

The spirituality of icons also results from the fact that the icon is silent. No mouths are open, nor are there any other physical details which suggest sound. But the silence is not empty. St Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, made the comment: “He who possesses in truth the word of Jesus, can hear even its silence.”

The above was prepared for St. Sebastian Parish by Mr. David Beatty, age 13, for the dedication of the 90th anniversary St. Sebastian icon.

HAPPY CATHOLIC ANNIVERSARY AKRON

While doing some research for a project concerning the upcoming 90th anniversary of St. Sebastian Parish, I came across this bit of information:  The first known Mass ever celebrated in the city of Akron was in a log cabin owned by James McAllister who was a contractor in the early years of the city.  The priest who celebrated the Mass was named the Rev. John Martin Henni.  He was born in Switzerland but was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Cincinnati of which this area was a part.  It would be a number of years yet before the Diocese of Cleveland would be established.  

One of his passions was to take care of the scattered Catholics in this part of the diocese which consisted largely of Germans and Irish.  It was in the year of 1833 that there is a record of him saying that first known Mass in that log cabin, four years before the mission church of St. Vincent was founded.  That makes this year the 185th anniversary of that Mass.

The pastors in this area are going to do something (yet to be determined) to mark this event.  It probably won’t be huge (the number 185, while significant, is not a number like 200) but in making it, hopefully we will be able to remember more significant anniversaries in the future.  If you have an idea on how to celebrate this event, please let me know (soon.)   

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PARISH HISTORY: 1930 - THE FLYING PRIEST LANDS IN AKRON

St. Sebastian Parish made front page, above the fold news of the Saturday evening edition of the Akron Beacon Journal on September 24th.  Father Schulte O.M.I. visited Father Zwisler at the rectory to tell of his adventures.  The reporter describes him as “adventurous in spirit, religious of mind, and powerful of body.”  He founded a missionary group whose charism it was to take care of missionaries that were far from away from medicine and science.  The group had a fleet of 300 motor cars, 15 boats, 12 airplanes and 12 wireless stations located all over the world.  See more HERE and HERE.

Fr. Schulte was a pilot and flew dangerous missions “over thousands of miles of Arctic wastes” bringing aid to those who needed it.  Of his many stories, “his longest and greatest flight, probably, was when he flew 2,200 miles to Arctic Bay to reach a French missionary brother, Father Cochard, who was dangerously ill, and fly him to medical aid,” an 18 hour plane ride away.  

It should be remembered what an extraordinary thing flight still was in those days.  Wilbur and Orville’s famous flight in 1903 was only 45 years before this interview.  This was quite a remarkable and daring feat.  Because of it, this priest was to be awarded France’s medal of heroism, an honor rarely bestowed.

The flying priest was in town trying to raise funds for another plane.  It was to be the first flying chapel in the world.  He was a colorful man with an equally colorful history.  He had made his first flight aboard the great German airship “Hindenburg,” which had met its fiery end the year before this article was written.  He had also flown in what was known then as the Great War.  “I flew for Germany, but without machine guns.  But let us not talk of war.”

But the silence on the topic would not last long.  War broke out in Europe the very next year on September 1st, 1939 and the “Great War” would no longer stand out as a unique word event, gaining for itself the numeral I to distinguish it from what would become Word War II.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PARISH HISTORY: 1937: YOU CAN'T SAY THERE ISN'T ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON

This letter was sent out to the parish “at the request and by order of the Most Reverend Ordinary of the Diocese, Bishop Schrembs.”

“The attempted marriage on Sunday morning in a local Protestant Church before a Protestant minister by a member of a well known family of the parish - an event widely publicized in the society columns of the daily papers - and the formal act of apostasy attendant thereupon, has been the cause of serious public scandal to all and where ever the party concerned is known.”

All those associated with the wedding fell under a decree of excommunication, which could only be lifted by the bishop himself.  In September, however, he lifted the censure, “from all parties concerned except the principal party who by her illicit union remains excommunicated.”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PARISH HISTORY: 1930s: A GRAVE EMERGENCY!

In a letter dated May 1st, 1933, Father Zwisler wrote to his parishioners:

“A grave emergency has arisen.  Your parish faces a serious crises, which you alone can, and, I have every confidence, will avert.  This Emergency occasions an Urgent Appeal . . . the success of the Appeal will save your parish with its efficient Church, School, and convent.”

The letter went on to describe what is later known as the Great Depression.  The parish built quickly and accumulated substantial debt during a very prosperous time in our nation.  It was thought that the fledgling community could easily handle the debt given enough time.  But before the new building was even occupied, the financial crash hit and its wake leaving four years of economic depression and high unemployment.  

The parish budget was slashed.  The pastor no longer took his pay.  About 60% of the parish was fortunate enough to be able to continue to support the parish, and money was carefully set aside to pay parish debt.  

The heaviest obligation was coming due on June 1st, $8,000, a tremendous amount of money in 1930’s dollars.  The parish had carefully saved the money and placed it in the bank.  But then the bank crashed and the money was lost.

“We must meet this obligation,” wrote the pastor.  “This cannot wait.  Parish Solvency and Credit are at stake.  You have maintained your Parish credit until now.  You cannot default.  Failure to meet this obligation (would be) disastrous.  You will not fail.  You will be generous in relieving a tense situation created by the Bank, not by you.”

The appeal was asking “each solvent adult” to give $10, the more fortunate being asked to make up for what the less fortunate were not able to give.  The money had to be raised in just three weeks time.  So he asked, “Please to bring, send or mail to the Rectory or place on Collection Plate on any of the next three Sundays.”

At the end of the letter he added, “With your very generous response, you may also make it possible for your Pastor to draw on some of his long past due allowance, and thus enable him to continue to maintain his Ford in the better interest of the parish.”

According to the St. Sebastian Silver Jubilee booklet, during this time “the pastor was driving a faithful 5 year old Model T Ford in those days to try and keep up with his many appointments.  One day he was heading for an important engagement when the “flivver” finally stopped running and he left it in its tracks.”

The campaign was not entirely successful in meeting all of the parish debts.

Every parish in the Diocese of Cleveland pays an assessment to the diocese.  This helps maintain offices and programs that serve the entire diocese.  As the dioceses offices do not generate their own funding, they rely on an assessment or tax, which is a portion of the Sunday collection, to fund them.  In September of 1934, Father Zwisler wrote to Bishop Schrembs asking for relief from having to pay the assessment due to economic hardship.

“This concerns our diocesan (assessment).  In spite of our heavy parish debt, we have never failed to meet all our diocesan obligations even during these depression years.  This includes not only the (assessment), but every diocesan campaign or collection as well.  With the help of God, we are doing so this year in spite of the fact that the parish is debt poor.  We cannot, however, meet the (assessment) until the end of this year.”

The letter goes on to explain the bank failure and the extra costs involved with meeting the extra debt incurred because of late payments.  He also explains other parish financial responsibilities:

$13,000 in salaries

$2,400 in taxes

$1,500 Diocesan tax

$600 rectory rental

$800 office expenses

$500 building repairs and renovations

$500 sacristy and sanctuary expenses

$150 telephone

$300 janitor and supplies

These amounts when added to the parish debt meant that $44,500.00 was needed to operate the parish for that year.  As a side note, it was estimated that it cost the parish about $8,000.00 a day to operate in the year 2010.

For his part, the bishop wrote back:

“I have your letter of September 20th, and I fully appreciate your financial difficulties.  Try, by all means to keep up the spirit and the morale of your people.  Surely the present depression cannot keep on forever.  Let us hope and pray for better days.

“With kindness and personal good wishes,

“Very cordially in Christ,

Bishop Schrembs, 

Bishop of Cleveland.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PARISH HISTORY: 1930: COMPETITIVE MARKET

Much of the first two paragraphs were taken from the Our Lady of the Elms website.

OUR LADY OF THE ELMS

Our Lady of the Elms was founded by the Akron Dominicans in 1923, five years before the founding of St. Sebastian Parish, having their first day of school on October 15, 1923. To get to this momentous day, a score of Sisters of St. Dominic from the Dominican Province of Caldwell, New Jersey, led by Mother General Avelline Quinn, OP, purchased Elm Court, the beautiful mansion, grounds and buildings on West Market Street.

They saw beyond its beauty as a piece of property. They envisioned it as their center of operations in Akron, Ohio. Here there would be a Dominican Novitiate to form young women into Sisters of St. Dominic who would join their ranks and share in their work. They also opened a new school for young women where the Dominican vocation of teaching the young could be accomplished through the particular charism of Dominican education. A little band of Sisters of St. Dominic led by Mother Beda, newly-appointed leader of the new Cleveland Diocese Dominican Motherhouse, in just a few months in 1923, transformed Elm Court into Our Lady of the Elms, a convent and a day school. Classes for the first thirteen students were held in the convent building. 

The school clearly proceeded the opening of the St. Sebastian Primary school and as such competed for students.  From the outset, there was tension between the two institutions.  Numerous letter were written back and forth to the bishop asking him to intervene between them.    In a letter to the Right Reverend Monsignor McFadden dated March 14, 1931, Mother Beda O. P. writes, in obvious response to accusations made by Father Zwisler:

“He insists that Sister Jeanette, the principal, has frequently proclaimed the priority rights that would seem to indicate that he had no right to establish a parish school.

“In November, having heard rumors of Father’s public attacks on private select schools, Sister Jeannette and I went over to his rectory to visit him.  When we asked him what was the trouble, he answered that there was no trouble but we had believed women’s gossip, etc.  However, during the course of the conversation, Father maintained that private grade schools should not exist anywhere in the country where the nation is dotted with parochial schools.

“We answered that this property had been purchased, with the permission of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, to open a novitiate to supply teachers for this diocese.  In order to support this novitiate, since we are only a teaching community, we had to open a school.  Then Sister Jeannette, turning, remarked, so we have priority of existence.  Evidently Father Zwisler has interpolated her remark, as Sister neither insinuated nor said that ‘he had no right to establish a parish school.’”

But that is not to say that the relationship was entirely competitive.  According to the same letter, when Father Zwisler first came to Akron the children of the Elms put on a program for him to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Armistice Day.  Father and especially his parochial vicar said Masses, instructed children, heard confessions, and even had entire classes spend a week at St. Sebastian School when preparing for First Communion, a forerunner of our current “Jesus Day.”

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THE HISTORY OF ST. SEBASTIAN PARISH: PART I: INSTALLMENT I

Today we begin a new series on Friday Potpourri.  Inspired by current events in Schneider Park and the upcoming nonagintennial (90th) anniversary of the Parish of St. Sebastian, this space will be a history of the Parish beginning with a general understanding of the area and its Catholic roots before the parish was founded.  If you find anything that is incorrect or could be expanded upon, please let me know!  I want to have this project finished for next year.  Thanks!

Today's installment was made possible with the help of the St. Vincent website.

There was something peculiar about the man walking down the trail.  He was not like the men that had walked this trail for hundreds of years.  His clothes were different, his face was different, and his language was different.  His name was Etienne Brule and he was the first known non-native American man to take the trek down the most historic ten mile trail in American History.  This expedition took place sometime just before 1615, historically just a fraction of a moment ago.  The Indian portage, known now as Portage Path and which today marks the eastern limit of our parish boundaries, was an important crossing for the Native Americans between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers and later became the impetus for the growth of Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley.  It was possible to travel from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico except for this small trek on which they would have to portage their canoes and gear.  Today, large bronze arrowheads roughly mark out the location of this historic path along Portage Path Road.

With the signing of the McIntosh Treaty and a few years later the Treaty of Greenville, Portage Path became part of the boundary between the United States and the Indian Nations of the Northwest.  This boundary held from about 1785 to 1805, a mere 123 years before the founding of the Parish of Saint Sebastian.  The City of Akron, founded by Simon Perkins, would be founded in 1825.

The first Catholic Church in the area was St. Vincent de Paul established in 1837 as a missionary church.  At the time this area would have been part of the diocese of Cincinnati, so the founding of St. Vincent, our mother parish, predates the Diocese of Cleveland by ten years.  The first record of a Catholic priest visiting Akron was in 1833.  The Rev. John Martin Henni who would later become the Archbishop of Milwaukee, came to say Mass in the log cabin of James McAllister, a local contractor.  From then, when a priest was able to make it to the area, Mass was held in the old Dunn home on Green Street and other private residences of the Catholics that lived in the area.  

The first permanent Catholic ecclesial structure in Akron was begun in 1844 (the year the first telegraph is sent and the University of Notre Dame received its charter.)  It was made out of timber cut and hauled by members of the parish.  Completed in 1845 (the year Florida and Texas became states) the frame structure located on Green Street served as the church for the parish until the current church was constructed.

The foundation for the structure on West Market Street, with which we are familiar today, was laid February 18^th, 1864, a year before the Civil war was over.  Building was then suspended most probably due to a shortage of material and/or manpower owing to the war.   It is fascinating to ponder that the foundation of the building we drive by so quickly today was also seen by Civil War soldiers, who, during the war were probably fed on oats produced in Akron, were now coming home, either walking or riding on horseback, passing that stone foundation. Construction resumed in 1866 and finally reached its completion in 1867.

A PIOUS REFLECTION ON THE LIFE OF ST. SEBASTIAN

Although today is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (happy feast day St. Paulers in South Akron) here is presented a pious reflection on the life of St. Sebastian (January 20th) which was presented as a homily for our feast day this year.

A soldier lays on his bed; a cot perhaps really.  And though he put in a full, difficult day, he is wide awake.  He cannot fall asleep.  His military brain is on alert. It isn’t that he has a troubled conscience.  In fact, his conscience is quite at peace.  Just because something is legal or illegal does not mean that it is moral or immoral.  He is a soldier and he is supposed to obey.  But what about when obedience goes against truth, love, and even God?  So he chose to be as loyal as possible without compromising his ideals, his morals, or his heart.  It was not a rash decision.  Is was born of years of contemplation and reflection.  And even though years later he would be depicted as a young man in his prime, in actuality, though soldier tough, he was an older, wiser man with a heavy white beard.  And so he spent much time considering the consequences of this very day.

Finally came the noise for which he was waiting.  The sound of men coming down the corridor attempting stealth.  But he could hear them.  He was a soldier after all.  And he knew that someone had betrayed him and that it was only a matter of time.  So he gets up and sits on the edge of his bed, already in full uniform save for his weapons to show that he was both ready and that he possed no threat.  He was prepared for this night.

The door didn’t explode open as if they guards were coming to capture an enemy.  He was, after all, the head of the Praetorian Guard, charged to protect the emperor, which he did to the best of his ability.  He was their leader, their father figure, and friend.  No, the door slowly opens, almost politely, and there were his men with conflicted looks on their faces.  Only one word is spoken.

“Sebastian.”

He stands and joins them and they walk down the corridor.  It has begun.

There was no man handling.  No binding.  These strong, proud men shuffle their feet and avoid making eye contact.  No words are spoken.

It is an ugly scene before Dioclesian the Emperor.  Right now it doesn’t matter if he is right or wrong, moral or immoral, if he is good or if he is evil.  What matters now is that he has the power to enforce his will and a soldier is condemned to death.

It is kind of a grotesquely gruesome death.  Not the arrows that will come, but the friends, the comrades, the fellow men-at-arms who suddenly find themselves on the opposite side of the law.  Friends must lead their friend, their authority and father figure, the person they respect to death.

Their own hands must strip the dignity of his uniform from his body, bind him to a stake and stand off at a distance and pull back arrows on the string in the direction of this great man.  Everything is said with their eyes.

“Why did you make us do this Sebastian?  We are soldiers.  This is our duty.  We follow the emperor even when we don’t like it.”

But Sebastian’s eyes convey their own message.  “You have to understand.  I am Christian.  I have a duty to the One Who so loved me.  This is what it is to love; to be able to sacrifice everything for the one that you love even when the consequences are not what you want them to be.”

Now, his friends are expert archers and the also know the human body well and they know where to pierce the body so as to not cause death.  The first flurry of arrows whisper through the air and puncture Sebastian's body causing him to buckle in pain and fall to his knees.  But he looks up and some mysterious glow shines on his face and he now knows how much he loves God and so fills with hope and begins to rise.

You can imagine the soldiers thinking “Just stay down Sebastian.”  But he doesn’t and they are forced to let go another volley of arrows that devastate his body and Sebastian collapses to the ground and they leave him to his death.

They must go on.  But someone else comes by; a woman by the name of Irene and her companions.  She has come to take Sebastian’s body to prepare it for burial.  But there is something odd here.  As she moves the body the wounds well with blood and bleed.  He is not dead!  He is alive!  

So she has him brought to her home where she cleans and tends to his wounds, bandages him, giving his nourishment, and when he is feeling a little better they begin to talk about his adventures in helping Christians.  

But one day the conversation becomes a little more serious.  Sebastian begins to speak about how important it is for all Christians to risk even their own lives for the faith.  "If we do not this, thing swill ever get better."  

“But seriously Sebastian, and don’t take this the wrong way, but how can we realistically accomplish by this?  Even being identified as Christian can lead to our death.  Look what happened to Marcillious, and Markus - look what happened to you Sebastian.  We all risked everything just tending to you.  A lot of good our mission will be if we are all dead, or jailed, or even just ridiculed.

“And of course it is easy for you to rest on your laurels and say, ‘all of you should go out and fight for the faith.’  The risk is over for you.”

That stung like another arrow.  

Once again, on a night after his body sufficiently healed, the soldier lay awake again on his bed.  And this time he was wrestling with his conscience.  He thought to himself, “If you perform a great enough act to show the person you love that you indeed love him, are you then off the hook?  When a mother goes through such great pain giving birth to her child, does that mean she doesn’t have to sacrifice anymore for her child to prove er love?  If a man gives up everything to marry the woman he loves, does that mean he mean he never need sacrifice for her again?  And if we love God and we perform one great act of love for Him, does that mean we need never risk again for the rest of our lives?  Can we even call it love if that is our mentality?”

So once again, Sebastian sits up on his bed, stands, and sets out to go before Dioclesian.  He comes across him on a set of stairs somewhere out on the Apian Way outside the walls of Rome and gives a prophet’s warning to the Emperor.  “You are mistreating God’s people and breaking his holy law!  Hear this from Sebastian who you tried to put to death!  God spared me and sent me to you to give you fair warning.  Repent of your ways and turn to the Lord and save you soul!”

Dioclesian is petrified.  Is this a ghost come to haunt him?  His bowels turn to jelly and his heart races.  But soon he recovers when he realizes this is Sebastian in the flesh.  Somehow he had survived his execution.  Pulling his wits together he orders his guards to bludgeon Sebastian to death and this time in his presence so that he can be sure that he is finally dead.  He orders the body to be thrown in the gutter and left like so much rubbish.  Then the procession continues.  The fury blows on like a storm passing through after it has done its damage.

The noble heart that loved so much, that was willing to risk everything for God and for his brothers and sisters to prove his love is thoughtlessly left by the side of the road.  A gift rejected.

Dioclesian wins.

Or did he?

The rule of Dioclesian is long over.

Rarely is his name spoken other than in reference to St. Sebastian.

There are no buildings named after him.

Nobody tries to imitate his life.

His name is not on our lips in supplication.

He is not remembered fondly.

He is nor respected for his nobility, his leadership, his love.

And one wonders where he is spending all of eternity.

He is a shadow in the brilliance of our patron, St. Sebastian who has a privileged place in heaven and who like to interceded for us.  

Lord, fill us with that spirit of courage 

which gave your martyr Sebastian 

strength to offer his life in faithful witness. 

Help us to learn from him to cherish Your law 

and to obey you rather than men. 

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

HERO PORCH ROBOTS UNITE!

The entire world has been divided into 3 meter squares.  In each of those squares, three words have been assigned in a particular order.  The purpose of this is to address the world in a non-complicated way that gives addresses or locations to all people and places.  By knowing your three words, anybody can have an address even if they are somewhat homeless.  

Living in a box in an alley?  Know your three words and somebody (with the app from what3words.com) can find you.

So it’s pretty cool.  And being that your home is divided into 3 meter squares, if you don’t like the three words assigned to your front door, move 3 meters into your living room and use those three words.  Or move three meters into your kitchen . . . 

Here are the three words assigned to St. Sebastian church I am using for our address:

HERO, PORCH, ROBOTS

I like it. 

And almost equally as cool is the address for the rectory:

HURRAY, BEING, ENGAGE

The school is a huge piece of property so there may be a better one than the one I found, but so far I am sticking with

MOST, CHEER, WINNER

I so see some T-shirts coming our way . . .