Let's back track:
Day 18, Wednesday
Day
Got to school and it wasn't until I went to say good morning to the secretary that I realized I lost my voice. So that was shocking to both of us! As a teacher, that's about the worst thing...not having a voice. My students were pretty excited when I whispered to them that they'd be watching a movie! With that they watched "Light of Love" which is a documentary on the lives of religious sisters. Most of them have never met sisters, at least sisters that wear habits so they were filled with questions! I answered their most pressing questions which were:
"Why do they wear those things of their heads?"
"What do they wear for pajamas?"
"Do they really have to pick a new name?"
"What happens if they don't want to be a sister anymore?"
There were some pretty funny ones that made me laugh hysterically. That was a interesting sound!
Anyway, so classes during the day were pretty chill. Being the people watcher I am, I couldn't help but watch their reactions to the sisters in the documentary. They laughed when they laughed, and looked so engrossed when the sisters spoke about their vocation and their wisdom about life and God. It was so cool to witness, since none of them have actually met a sister! I contained all of my stories that day... I just wanted to go on and on about the Nashville Dominicans but let the documentary do the talking.
Night
Tonight was the first night class. St. Paul not only offers a day program, but also a night class. I am one of 5 adult catechists that will teach 60 9th-12 graders. We hold class on Wednesday nights from 7-8:30 and we have the big Parish Hall and School Gym. It's a great space.
The first class was called "Jesus Jam" and the Peer Ministry ran that. I found out the night before that I would be the emcee so that was a bit of a surprise, and I just about had a panic attack when I realized I had no voice that morning! Anyway, God always provides, along with fluids, ibuprofen, and power naps! I then woke up with a fever but gained a raspy voice...not sure if I sounded more like Miley Cyrus or Jennifer Lawrence. ANYWAY, I put on my game face, prayed for energy, and had an excellent night pumping up the teens on the Peer Ministry Team and kept the evening program on task. A lot of the students at the night class have the reputation for not really wanting to be there. The format has been much different than what I've been doing in my classroom, however, we are in the process of planning the night program and have intentional and inspirational catechesis going on.
I came up with the idea of possibly have almost like 2 programs going on at once. All 60 students would sign in and meet in the same area we would open in prayer, then give students the option to pick which class they would like to attend. Both classes would teach the same objective(s).
One would be called "Sermon on the Mount" where they would get introduced to the topic in an informative and introduction level. Jesus preached to many people on the Sermon on the Mount and that is where people decided whether or not they'd follow this Jesus guy or totally dismiss His teachings.
The other class would be called "Upper Room" where deeper and more personal discovery would take place. It was in the Upper Room that intentional discipleship and witnessing of their faith to Jesus took place. These followers didn't need any winning over. They were convinced by Jesus' teaching and wanted to know more to be able to be better witnesses!
If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to reach 60 high school students ranging from ages 14-18, please let me know. I think giving them an option is best. Both are valuable and the objectives would be the same, however, the students that are already hooked and excited for their faith wouldn't have to be bogged down by the not so enthusiastic students. We'll see! Pray for us as we decide how the night program will work.
21 hours hours ago I posted this under my status:
"I literally have the goosebumps. God is so great! Get ready for an awesome blog post tomorrow which will talk about today, tonight's first night class, and the way God puts people into your life for a reason and how excited I am to see all of that unfold."
Ok, so earlier in the day I was reading the parish bulletin and noticed an ad promoting an 8-week bible study...clearly that would catch my eye since I'm missing leading and participating in FOCUS bible studies at Loras. (S/O to my girls!) But get this, I emailed the contact person telling her a little bit about myself and my interest.
I then went to the night program, did my thing, met one of the adult catechists that I had never met before, check my email, noticed I received a reply from the Bible Study facilitator... this is what she said:
Erin,
Great! I will sign you up! I believe we will meet tonight- I am helping with high school religion class at St Mary's for the first time.
I did the first series of the "Walking Toward Eternity" Bible study in the spring. Our church hasn't had a Bible study and when my husband died in March of 2012 that is what I was looking for: Bible verses, but I didn't even know where to begin. 52 years old and I'd never owned a study Bible. I was lost. I tried some other church bible studies, ended up writing devotions for a grief Bible that will be released by Zondervan in April and floundered about a little until my daughter (whose son was fighting cancer) asked, "Mom, why are you looking for all your answers outside of your church?" When I said I couldn't find the answers in my church she asked why I didn't become part of the answer...and the rest is history! I talked to Kathy O., did some research and stumbled on the Cavins "Walking Toward Eternity" series. I saw the first DVD in the series the morning I found out my grandson's cancer had returned and was terminal. I spoke in front of the congregation the week before Easter, the week that would be ONE YEAR since my husband's death, about WHY I was starting a Bible study, and FIFTY people signed up! We didn't conduct the class the way instructed because we didn't break into small groups, but found that we were learning from each other and didn't want to miss out on any of that. Each class includes a Jeff Cavin DVD and homework pages using Lectio Divina during the week. They are awesome classes.
I am looking forward to beginning again. My grandson passed away in August and I need God's word again.
Do you have the goosebumps? Because I am as I read it again! Oh, and then I realized she was the catechist who I had literally met an hour before that! It gets better. I always ask my students to talk about people who inspire them to "Be more," and who live the Gospel with joy. My one student always brings up her aunt, which happens to be this lady! Her grandson was a 2nd grader, my student's little cousin. So heartbreaking!
It's amazing because you never really know what a person is going through. Also, it appears that her extraordinary faith has already reached so many people, including mine! I didn't even realize that I was praying for her as I have been praying for this family that just lost their grandson/son/cousin/sibling.
I wish I would have made the connection of who she is in her presence, but I emailed back and she was so sweet and understanding. I cannot wait to see what is in store for this hopefully new friendship :) Trust me, I need friends here.
Day 19, Thursday
MY students were pretty happy that I was feeling better, and I felt much better. We finished the movie, had an awesome discussion, and then we came up with characteristics of religious sisters: loving, joyful, fun, caring, self-less, pure, holy,and non-judgemental.
We then created a recipe!
"Recipe for Joy:"
1. prayer
2. service/work
3. hope- positive outlook
4. community
5. recognizing our purpose
Our class discussion on the movie was awesome. It's hard to imagine my faith development with the Nashville Dominican Sisters and my encounters with other sisters at camps, retreats, and conferences. It was fun to share stories with them today. They were impressed when I told that a very good friend of mine has been a religious sister for 4 years now! God is good!
My mom gave me the idea of writing a personal note at the end of each of my students's assessments, so I did! I loved when my teachers would write little notes on my papers. I decided to put them in little cards for them to take home. Hoping these bring a smile to their faces!
Anyway, I now conclude with this quote from the movie:
"We are called to receive and give His love!" Have you accepted God's love for you? I mean, He not only loves you, but He really really likes you, even knowing the not so cool flaws about you-and me! Lastly, has your love for Him overflowed into your work and relationships? If it can improve, get on it! Let's pray for one another and hold each other accountable. Let's be saints!
Praying for all of you in a special way tonight.
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