Projects help youth incorporate Catholic social teaching in daily lives |
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Written by ANGELA KESSLER, Chronicle Editor
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Friday, 06 February 2009 01:00 |
TOLEDO— What does pizza have to do with Catholic social teaching and preparing for confirmation?
For about 35 seventh- and eighth-grade confirmation students at Toledo Our Lady of Lourdes in January, it meant taking time to think about from where the ingredients for their pizza party came and how many people were involved in making sure they were able to enjoy their dinner.
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Brian Earl, left, and Abby Dudek place toppings on pizzas during a
confirmation class at Toledo Our Lady of Lourdes. The pizza party
served as a reference to thinking about the dignity of work and rights
of workers — one of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching. The
pizza program was one of seven projects organized for the students to
learn about Catholic social teaching and how to incorporate the lessons
into their everyday lives. The program was developed to replace a fixed
service hours requirement for confirmation. (Chronicle photo by Angela
Kessler) |
From the farmer growing wheat for the flour or raising the pigs for the ham to the factory workers canning the tomato sauce to the grocery delivery person and bagger, the students were challenged to think about what it means to be connected to everyone involved in the process and the effects on these people as they make decisions as consumers.
The pizza party was one of seven different programs developed by Sharon Christy to give the students a different kind of service opportunity than what was offered in the past. The director of religious education for Our Lady of Lourdes wanted to find a way to make the required service hours more meaningful to the participants while also finding a way to link the seven social teachings of the church to the students’ daily lives.
The idea came to her last spring while reading a book published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Direction."
Until this year, Our Lady of Lourdes, like many other parishes, required a fixed number of service hours for confirmation students to complete. Coupled with the difficulty many of the young students have in finding volunteer work for their age group was the frustration of sending them out and "as soon as they’re done, they’re done," says Mrs. Christy.
Now, confirmation students take part in group service activities and then write about their experience and, in some instances, share what they have learned with the rest of the parish.
"Doing things as a group is more fun and they are more likely to attend," Mrs. Christy says.
Students were required to participate in four of the seven projects, which were scheduled between July 2008 and January 2009. Each project reflected one of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching: life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; solidarity; option for the poor and vulnerable; dignity of work and rights of workers; rights and responsibilities; and care for creation.
The projects were varied to appeal to different personalities and comfort levels: from parish festival clean-up to participating in the Right to Life Rosary on the Maumee-Perrysburg Bridge to the more traditional service projects like visiting a nursing home and helping out at a community outreach center.
Some of the projects were limited to just 10 participants while others included more than 30 youth.
"The papers are my favorite part," Mrs. Christy says. "It’s amazing to see their insights." After attending one of the sessions, the youth were required to complete within two weeks a paper stating the social teaching, details of their experience, what they learned, whether they liked the program and if they would do it again.
After praying the rosary with the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants in October, Angela Giovannucci wrote about her positive experience.
"I liked this confirmation project because when I got home I felt the Holy Spirit within me. I felt happy, very full of life," she wrote. "I would most definitely do this again."
Hannah Burner also attended the public rosary, but was not as enthused with the event. While she liked praying to end abortion, she did not like being honked and cursed at by people driving by, she wrote.
One of the positive outcomes is the fact that the program allowed the youth to try different types of volunteerism that they may have never taken part in on their own, says Mrs. Christy. In the end, she says she hopes they are able to find tangible ways to live their faith every day.
For Troy DeWitt, working at the Padua Center was positive. In his follow-up paper, he wrote, "If I had a chance to go back to the Padua Center, I would take the offer in an instant ... because I had a great time and I had a great experience there."
Confirmation preparation concludes with a dinner to which representatives from each of the organizations the youth served are invited to. They are to speak about how the work the youth did impacted their organization.
"I loved it," Mrs. Christy says, reflecting on the first year for the confirmation program. "Overall, it was very positive," she says, adding she would definitely repeat the program.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:14 |
