Teaching the young to serve Christ by serving others

Good works linked to Scripture at Mary Queen of Peace Published on Thursday, 26 February 2015

 Written by Beth Donze

  Last month, young people from Mary Queen of Peace Parish and School in Mandeville didn’t just read the parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” in the Gospel of St. Luke; they were given daily opportunities to reflect and act on its teachings. When they find themselves in the Rich Man’s position, the children were asked, do they look for ways to give their time, talent and treasure to help people like Lazarus, or do they tend to ignore the poor at their doorstep? “I want to help others that don’t have a home, that don’t have shelter. God wants you to do it,” said kindergartener Lilly Vorozilchak, who rose early on a recent Saturday morning to explore Mary Queen of Peace’s January school and parish theme of “Shelter Those Who Are Homeless” by volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity’s retail store, which sells donations of new and gently used household items to fund the building of homes for low-income individuals. That day, the young volunteers from Mary Queen of Peace sorted beads into grosses for sale to Carnival krewes and made three items to give to new homeowners: a framed copy of the Ten Commandments; wall crosses fashioned out of clothespins; and flowerpots decked with their handprints. “When we help others it makes them feel so great,” said fourth grader Ellen Marie Awbrey, another volunteer. “You realize that you can do a little, but to the other person it means a lot.” The Saturday morning service gathering was part of Mary Queen of Peace’s “Christian Service” endeavor, a non-compulsory, living-the-faith program that challenges whole families from the school and parish school of religion to connect their hands-on service endeavors to the Gospel and to their personal prayer. Every month, families are asked to explore a different theme related to the call of Christian life using three methods of attack: “Pray It, Study It, Live It.” Worksheets listing the monthly theme offer reflections and biblical citations designed for three age groups: pre-kindergarten and kindergarten; first through third grades; and fourth through seventh grades. “The hope is that the family will sit down together to pray about and study (the teaching),” said Shelley Rainey, who coordinates the school side of the more than 10-year-old service program with her fellow parents, Laurie Vorozilchak and Jodi Awbrey. The worksheets list numerous service options families can pursue on their own, as well as the date and site of a monthly group activity. Group service trips, such as the one to Habitat for Humanity, are held on the weekends so all can take part. One Saturday last December, under the service theme of “Comfort Those Who are Lonely,” 20 young parishioners assembled at a Mande-ville nursing home to sing Christmas carols, play bingo with the residents and distribute homemade Christmas stockings stuffed with fruit, sugar-free candy, socks, gloves, hand cream and large-print Word Search books. Throughout that month, families were encouraged to send notes to homesick members of the military and visit neighbors and relatives who lived alone. “So often parents will ask, ‘What do we do and where can we do it?’” Rainey said. “We just kind of put it out there. We try to provide all the opportunities.” Springtime months will focus on Bible-based directives to care for animals and the earth, with those months’ hands-on, group projects exposing children to the work of the St. Tammany Humane Society and the Keep Mandeville Beautiful effort. In May they will focus on the Christian responsibility to “Promote Love, Forgiveness and Justice,” with Scripture study, prayer and service devoted to the needs of refugees, the military and the incarcerated. The program doesn’t stop at the end of the school year. In June, parish children will concentrate on the care of their own physical parish by assisting in their church’s cleaning and decoration, making welcome cards for new parishioners, volunteering in the childcare ministry, and organizing lemonade stands to raise money for Mary Queen of Peace’s sister parish in Haiti. In July and August, families will focus on vocations and education by making cards for teachers, priests, sisters and seminarians, and helping teachers set up their classrooms. “The program challenges us to live as Jesus asks: to be mindful of those in need,” said Sybil Skansi, school principal - See more at:

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