Cover story

BY NANCY COOKE

The gymnasium of St. Peter School in Huron, Ohio, is buzzing with anticipation. Dozens of parents and volunteers have assembled to assist Principal Anne Asher with their sixth annual walkathon, a school fundraiser. While snacks are being arranged in the kitchen, exuberant children scramble from their classrooms onto the bleachers. I watch the children’s faces as they spot “Mrs. A,” their affectionate nickname for Anne. One thing becomes apparent immediately – they love her.

St. Peter School’s fundraiser always bears the same theme, taken from the Bible scripture found at 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We Walk by Faith.” But walking by faith was not something Anne understood or believed in many years ago. Back then, she was a child growing up in Syracuse, N.Y., attending Erwin Methodist Church – only because her parents required it. She could not see or feel the value in, or the reason for, her attendance. It wasn’t long before Anne decided two things: one, she was “not into the God thing,” and two, she wanted to be a teacher.

Both of those decisions coexisted peacefully until 1975, when Sr. Mary Rebecca entered the picture. Anne, by then a college sophomore, was assigned to be Sister Mary Rebecca's teacher’s aide at St. Mary’s Elementary School, in Syracuse. But her heart was hardened to God and faith, so the very idea of teaching at a Catholic school was upsetting to her. She decided to go to her education advisor’s office with a decree – she would not do it.

Anne recalls, “As I walked to the school, I formulated what I thought was a respectful, wellreasoned explanation - while I admired holiness, I didn’t do the “God thing,” so it would be best if I did not become an aide.” Her advisor told her that her decision was no problem – but she would first have to speak with the principal of the school, Sr. Bodwin. Armed with her speech about not being “into God,” Anne thought she did a wonderful job explaining her position to Sr. Bodwin, who just smiled at the end of hearing it. Anne is still unsure of how she got her to agree, within ten minutes, to give the teacher’s aide position just one week of effort. Anne says, “Obviously, I was no match for Sr. Bodwin!”

The agreement was that if, after one week, Anne still wanted to leave, she could do so with their prayers and best wishes. But within a few short weeks, she had become Sr. Mary Rebecca’s teacher’s aide and she was sitting with 10 nuns at the 7 p.m. daily Mass. She completed her student teaching at St. Mary’s and went on to her first teaching job in Syracuse, at Blessed Sacrament School. Anne began attending the Catholic Church in 1976 and was confirmed at Blessed Sacrament Church, in Syracuse, N.Y., on September 30, 1979. Since 1986, she has taught at St. Peter School and was named principal in 2016. Anne and her husband, Kevin, have been married for 41 years and are parents of a son and a daughter.

When I ask Anne how becoming Sr. Mary Rebecca's teacher's aide drew her into the Catholic faith, she says, “It wasn’t because she was an awesome teacher – although she was – it was because she was a willing and open vessel for Christ’s love. And that is what makes our Catholic schools so special. Yes, we have outstanding academics, but it is the heart that matters. We get to share the awesome and powerful God we call Father all day, every day.”

Anne says, “What matters most is that when children leave our classrooms and our schools, each one feels they are loved by an awesome and powerful God, and by us. We are family to children whose families may be broken or struggling – we are called to fill their hearts with the steadfast confidence that they are children of God – and part of a family that never fails.”

Her advice to Catholic school teachers is clear: “At a time in education when test scores are paramount and published, that fact can easily derail our mission. We can’t just be great academic schools that teach the Catholic faith. We must be Catholic schools with great academics. This is because our mission is to bring hearts into the light of Christ. Students with great SAT and ACT scores may go on to an excellent university, but if we have lost their hearts, we have failed mightily.”

Anne’s path to embracing the Catholic faith began quite humbly. She says, “I was brought into the Catholic faith by one religious sister and I didn’t want to be there. Just imagine what you can do with willing participants!”

Her most heart-felt message is simple, “When the pressures and challenges seem insurmountable and that kid with the hardened heart sits in front of you, whether they are 9 or 19 years old, remember – you are Christ’s heart and you have the power to save souls. I know – because you saved mine…and for that, I am eternally grateful.”