MOVING UP, IN, AND ON
CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FACULTY AND STAFF ON THE MOVE
Q&A WITH FATHER ABIDARI Since 2005, FATHER ABIDARI, Cathedral School’s chaplain, has graced our community. He retired at the end of the 2018-19 school year.
Red&Gold: Where did you go to college? FATHER ABIDARI: Georgetown University R&G: How many years did you
R&G: Who made the biggest impact on you? FA: I constantly learned from every one of my colleagues. R&G: What would you do if you weren’t the Chaplain at CSB? FA: Orchestra or train conductor. They both wield great authority. Unfortunately, I don’t have the training for the first. But I think I could do the second: “Tickets, please!” R&G: What was your favorite lunch menu item? FA: The avocado and kale Caesar salad. R&G: What was your favorite CSB activity or event? FA: Graduation! It’s not just a commencement ceremony. It’s a celebration of the year lived together in community. With the Bishop, the Dean, and the Trustees present, it is a joyful lifting up of the year past, and looking forward to the summer ahead
work at CSB? FA: 14 years.
R&G: What roles did you have at CSB? FA: Chaplain, which means planning and coordinating all the chapels, teaching all the religious studies classes for K-8, and—most importantly—pastoral care, as needed, to students, families, faculty, and administration. R&G: What was your first day like? FA: I don’t have a clear memory of my first day, but I clearly remember my first chapel. It was an All-School Monday Chapel. I read the David and Goliath story, talked about its moral of rising to challenges, and then asked for a volunteer to demonstrate David’s slingshot. Using my tippet (the black scarf of Episcopal clergy) and a tennis ball, Jackson Smith, who was then in second grade, and later a Giants’ bat boy, let ’er rip. It brought the house down. R&G: What did you like best about working at CSB? FA: Getting to know the boys outside of a school setting: Outdoor Education, Intersession, choir trips, bike trips, language trips. It got us out of the teacher-student power structure, and made for a whole other way of being together.
and the life beyond. R&G: What is next? FA: Good question!
R&G: May we call you with any problems that might arise due to your departure? FA: Of course! It’s very important that the chaplaincy, in its range and reach of activities, remain a vibrant part of Cathedral. It’s a complex job with many moving parts. I’ll be there to support in any way needed.
82 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
FALL 2019 • RED & GOLD | 83
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