St. Brigid's Church

Day 6 blog post of the 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge.

On our free day during Catholic Heart Workcamp, we visited Lexington, MA.  The town/site of the first shots fired during the Revolutionary War. 

I had no idea what discovery was in store for me as we wondered around the town and took in the historical sites. 

As we came upon one of the Catholic Churches in town, the words on the sign jumped out at me.  Church of St. Brigid. I almost ran to it, after all, my patron saint that I choose twelve years ago at my confirmation was St. Brigid.  It was a really neat unexpected surprise that I am thankful for.

 

 

 

I may tell the story here someday about why I choose St. Brigid. Finding her was an emotional journey that involves events that happened in my life, but just know she means a lot to me.



 



Theme Thursday: Askew

Day 4 of 7 Posts in 7 Days

So, I really got next to nothin' so I thought I would use Cari Donaldson's Theme Thursday as a filler.

Anyway, my askew picture is going to be of me.  During the adult skit at CHWC, this was taken and pretty much fits the bill.

me, askew :)

That's it for today...see ya tomorrow.

Reflecting on my week at Catholic Heart Workcamp

Day 3 of the 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge

Well another amazing week has come and gone.  We had the opportunity to bring several youth with us this year that had never been to Catholic Heart before.  It is always a joy for me to see them grow over the six short days that we have at camp. 

They start out a little nervous about the unknown and a little hesitant about having to work with a group of people they have never met before. As the week progresses, they come out of their shells, they smile and laugh at inside jokes with kids from their work teams, and they shine with joy and praise as they join in the songs and dances during praise and worship time.

And then there is the straight out shock and surprise that all of us adults get when we see their reaction to adoration. They are reverent and lost in prayer in Christ’s presence, many of them long after they are allowed to leave.  We are further shown their devotion to their faith as the line for confession continues through the allotted time and then more time for confessions has to be set up for the next day. 

Part of the last night is reserved for the residents that have been helped all week to come and express what the work that has been done for them has meant to them.  It is such a powerful testimony for the kids to see how much it really does mean to give just a little of themselves for another. 

The funniest thing happened this year at the portion of the program where the residents get to speak.  The first lady got up to say thank you for the hard work her team had done and how she had the very best group of kids at her house.  As she finished, another lady who had been helped got up and said we would probably not like to see two little old ladies fighting but she was up to it because her group of kids was the very best.  Everyone laughed as she finished talking about how grateful she was for the work that had been done for her.  The next lady got up and promptly called each of the other two ladies by name and said she would have to jump in the fight because she had the best group at her house.  It was hilarious, and maybe you had to be there, but love and gratitude was lying across the auditorium like a ton of bricks.

As the final day of work, then praise and worship winds down, we all get ready to pack up and head out the next morning. We leave very different people than who we arrived as having given of ourselves, having shared in prayer and worship, and having been filled with God’s grace. 

The kids leave filled with feelings of sadness because they don’t want to go home just yet; but they also leave with lots of new social network friends.

Because the group that we had this year, very few of them knew each other before the trip, now I believe they would consider each other as good friends.  New connections in Christ are an amazing thing for young people to have.  It’s so good for them to know that they are not alone in their beliefs and values.  And it is so good for them to see that they can make a huge difference in someone’s life.

My prayer for them is that they remain close to God in their personal lives and that they always remember to “Be Seen” in Christ.

 Me, sweaty and dirty working on the walkway.

source

 

Final group shot before our trip home.

 

Commissioning Day

My commissioning for lay ministry is today. I choose ‘catechetical leadership’ as my ministry. I will be teaching the Confirmation class starting next year.

So many people are asking what this is so I am adding the following clarifications. (thank you to a classmate who first posted this)

Lay ministers serve in many different capacities; their duties can vary according to their denomination. According to the Catholic Bishops of the United States, lay ministers are "co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord."

Lay ecclesial ministry is the term adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to identify the relatively new category of pastoral ministers in the Catholic Church who serve the Church but are not ordained.

According to the USCCB, this ecclesial ministry includes:
• Authorization of the hierarchy to serve publicly in the local Church
• Leadership in a particular area of ministry
• Close mutual collaboration with the pastoral ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons
• Preparation and formation appropriate to the level of responsibilities that are assigned to them including; human, spiritual, pastoral, and theological dimensions.

 

Home from the Commissioning ceremony. 

It was a beautiful service and again I am reminded of how lucky we are to have such an amazing Bishop. He makes such an effort to have something to say to every single person he talks to.  He even remembers when he saw you last. 



It's pretty dark, but this is Fr. Martin handing me my certificate.





Congratulations to all my wonderful classmates from the Malone site, and also from Ogdensburg and Ticonderoga.  What a great group of people. I am so glad I got to meet you all and look forward to seeing you around the Diocese.

Obviously not the official picture, but I liked how half of everybody was laughing.

 Donna, Fr. Martin, Cassie, and me.

 

Now on to the rest of the week. 

I will be heading to Boston tomorrow to join the rest of our group that left bright and early this morning on our annual service trip to Catholic Heart Workcamp.  It is an amazing week filled with service work, and praise and worship. 

I’m excited for all of our new group members that are joining us for the first time this year.  I know the week will be an amazing time for them, spent surrounded by other youth that have the same beliefs and values as they do.  This week they will get to see what service to others really means. They will learn that there are people in the world that have so much less materially then they do, but that these people are so full of love and thanksgiving for what we as a group have done for them in just a few short days. 

They will get to see a glimpse of how much love Jesus has for them through the testimony of the other campers by their active participation in the activities, including daily Mass, adoration, reconciliation, and prayer. The Holy Spirit is active all week.

I find such joy in seeing our youth so filled with God’s grace. I can’t wait to join them.