Our Faith

"There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to everyone. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent. The Lord seeks all, he wants everyone to feel the warmth of his mercy and his love."   - Pope Francis

Our Catholic Schools

Our Catholic schools provide a faith based education rooted in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  We challenge each student to meet Ontario's Catholic Graduate Expectations by promoting their spiritual development with an emphasis on social justice and Catholic Social Teachings.  We believe that this formation will not only serve our students today, but also in the future as they contribute positively to our society in the service of others.

We are guided by the principles of Excellence, Equity and New Evangelization.  Each year we identify an essential element of New Evangelization, through a spiritual theme, to help us focus on our faith as a system.  This year's spiritual theme is one of service. 

New Evangelization

New Evangelization is the Catholic Church's response to changes in our society during the past decades. The Church is now called to bring the love and mercy of God in an environment that is not always receptive.

The Catholic Bishops of Canada recently released a document on New Evangelization, entitled "The Essential Elements of Evangelization Today." This document offers us a description of New Evangelization and strategies to promote the Gospel message.

Strategies

Through a three-year plan, our Board has identified each one of these ministries as a focus. The three main elements or spiritual themes are:

• witness (2015-2016);
• community  (2016-2017); and
• service (2017-2018).

Service

The work of evangelization takes on many forms.  Spreading the message of Jesus has as much to do with action as with proclamation.  Over the last two years, we have promoted New Evangelization by the quality of our witness and the vibrancy of our Christian communities.  Building on the foundation of witness and community, we now enter into a Year of Service.  Service to those less fortunate is a cornerstone of Catholic education, and is one of the most meaningful ways that we can demonstrate our gospel values to the world.  Service to the poor is the sign that love for all people is at the heart of Jesus' message.  Whenever we serve others, we serve our God within them.

Our symbol for the Year of Service is a statue entitled "When I Was Hungry and Thirsty", sculpted by world renowned artist Timothy P. Schmalz.  This image is inspired by the Gospel of Matthew and serves as a visual representation of charity through service.  Statues will be blessed and placed in every school to serve as a reminder of our commitment to service.  Schools and workplaces will engage in Days of Service to create opportunities to deepen and extend the ways we serve others (both large and small).  We look forward to documenting the good works of our staff and students through the social media #DCDSBService.  Please stay tuned for a special student voice video to be posted here soon.

Listen to our students say what service means to them and how we implement service in our Catholic schools.

Community

In September 2016 we launched a system focus on the theme of community.  Just as our Church is called to be an effective messenger of the Gospel, so too must our school communities mirror the message that is preached in the Gospel.  As members of a Christian community, St. Paul reminds us that all members of our communities have something important to contribute to the whole body, and Christian communities empower all members to utilize their God-given gifts and talents for the greater good.  A Christian community remains bonded together through love and understanding, despite inevitable challenges.

During this year, a statue of Jesus engaged in joyful play with children representing youth from around the world, travelled to each of our schools.  Each school received this special gift by planning a unique community celebration.  We also participated in a number of system wide Days of Community which included gathering all staff members of the Board, and all of our Catholic Graduates for special liturgies to highlight this year.

Please hear what our students have to say about how our Catholic schools build Christian Community:

Witness

In 2015 - 2016, our school board launched the three-year initiative, emphasizing the different aspects of New Evangelization, with a focus on the theme of witness.  We reflected on how, at the board level and at each individual school, we could be witnesses to the love of Jesus Christ and spread His gospel message.  Among other activities, we witnessed our faith by carrying the cross through the neighbourhoods and streets of our schools.  The cross moved from west to east, across Durham Region, as a demonstration of our belief in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Watch both our launch video and commemorative slideshow to experience this expression of faith in action.

Opening the Doors of Mercy

Watch our video and learn how Durham Catholic secondary school students share how they are opening the Doors of Mercy and helping others in our local communities.

Our parishes

We partner with our local parishes to strengthen the relationship between school, home and church.

Contact us

To learn more about New Evangelization, call us at 905-576-6150 ext. 22238.