ATTENDING A SCHOOL OF A
DIFFERENT FAITH >>> Religious Schools Welcome Students of Other Denominations
COURTESY OF BISHOP MCNAMARA HIGH SCHOOL
The ultimate goal at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville is to “educate the mind and heart and create individuals who can live in the world with the love of Christ, whether they believe in Christ of not,” said Adam C. Greer, Theology Department chair.
BY KAREN FINUCAN CLARKSON Rosie Allen-Herring and Allan G. Herring raised their daughters as Baptists. Yet, when it came time for high school, the two girls enrolled in a Catholic school. “We are not Catholic and not looking to convert,” said Allen-Herring of Upper Marlboro, “but what we found at Bishop McNamara was a nurturing environment with shared values.”
4
What she also found at the Forestville high school was a diverse student body where Catholics are in the minority. As a result, her daughters have been “exposed to other religions, beyond what they had experienced all of their lives,” said Allen-Herring. “It’s good for children to be exposed to different faiths,” said Athena Groves, a Baptist whose two sons attend Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School in Bowie. “I’m comfortable with how their religious learning at
PRIVATE SCHOOLS | JANUARY 2014 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE GAZETTE
“TOGETHER, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS EXPLORE AND COME TO UNDERSTAND
THE MANY SIMILARITIES AMONG RELIGIONS AND WHERE THE DIFFERENCES FALL.” Adam C. Greer, Bishop McNamara High School Theology Department chair