Called to Give Aid

First, thanks be to God for our brother Evan in Massachusetts who has been accepted to one Ph.D. program and wait-listed at a second. He is still waiting and weighing his financial options, but this is great new for him.

Here in Northern Kentucky, the Wisemans continue to struggle to get things off the ground. We would still like to work with the University if that is at all possible, but COVID and icy weather have delayed Matthew's opportunity to present a lecture on Newman's Idea of a University to the faculty which we had hoped would be a jumping-off point for further collaboration. We have a new bishop in the diocese, as well, and feel we should attempt to initiate contact with his office, but have also been a little worn out by other duties and are struggling to find the time and energy to commit to that important work.

As a result of these delays and the uncertainty of their outcome, we are considering other ways that we might get started on our long-term work. We were inspired by what seems to be a common experience among college professors over the last two years, that while we have always complained that the high schools are not properly preparing students for college, the new classes of Freshmen whose last years of high school were interrupted by the corona virus are even less prepared than before. Their test scores, while not a perfect indicator, are overwhelmingly lower than previous classes, their reading comprehension is poorer, and even their ability to read and follow basic instructions is significantly worse. We wanted to look for aids or solutions to this challenge.

Our proposal is to create a Christian Educational Resource Center, consisting of a small staff and a library of resources. Through such a center we hope to provide educational support in the following ways: we want to offer free and inexpensive text- and work-books, whole books and study-guides for those interested in homeschooling, and during school hours we want to offer both a space and potential teachers for home school co-ops. After school hours and on weekends we want to offer and support free and inexpensive tutoring for students of traditional schools, as well as a Great Texts class on weekends and in the school breaks to supplement traditional schools. In the evenings and on weekends we also want to offer free and inexpensive university-level continuing education courses in the seven classical Liberal arts, Philosophy, and Theology for adults who are dissatisfied with their high school and college education.

This work is particularly important to under-served rural populations who have comparatively few resources to help students who are falling behind. We also believe this is a great missionary opportunity, which is why we want it to be a "Christian" rather than a "Catholic" resource center, where Protestants will feel comfortable and where we can witness through our lives, our prayer, and our work. So, we are still considering eastern Kentucky, particularly Lewis County, as a possible location, but we have also begun considering an alternative.

Matthew and Carrie recently stumbled upon an article on the demographic crunch which has led to cheap and sometimes free land and housing in central and western Kansas. Like eastern Kentucky, these areas are economically depressed, educationally under-served mission territory. But the lower cost of property and cost of living would considerably reduce our needed start-up funds.

We will be reaching out to the Bishop of Salina in Kansas soon to explore this possibility, though we are still hopeful about starting a living-learning community in Northern Kentucky. Before the end of this semester we should have enough clarity to move forward with fundraising and begin a GoFundMe or KickStarter.

Please get in touch if you would like to be involved in our ongoing work. You can email us at fellowshipofstcolumbanus@gmail.com or you can find us on Facebook or Instagram. If our audience is interested in more direct interaction and discussion of Catholic academic reform, we are willing to start a Discord server, please just let us know if that is something you would like to see.

May you be blessed in this time of preparation in nomine Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Amen.

Christi Simus, Non Nostri.