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Working, Praying, and Living in the Spirit of Vincent DePaul
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March 2004
Volunteer Christy Leming teaches Reading and Language Arts at Marian Middle School. Marian Middle School is a Nativity-model, Catholic school which serves 5-8th grade girls. The school educates girls who come from low-income backgrounds and prepares them for acceptance into college preparatory high schools. The school’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education.
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know how
to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible
groanings.
(Romans 8:26)
I soon learned that teaching at Marian Middle School involved a lot more than correcting papers and planning lessons. At a small school of 36 girls, many from troubled backgrounds, I was soon acting as counselor, mother, disciplinarian, nurse, motivational speaker, Spanish translator, janitor, Christmas concert pianist, secretary, librarian, and a thousand other roles. Another one of the hats that I wear is afternoon Prayer Leader.
Every day after the girls return from recess, I lead them in a short prayer and then send them out to their afternoon class. At the beginning of August, looking over my schedule during a faculty meeting, this seemed like an easy enough task.
It wasn’t.
The first challenge was getting a group of girls who were still mentally on the playground to sit down and be quiet. That often took five minutes. The next task was to get them settled and to stop fidgeting. That was next to impossible.
Most of the girls in my class were unchurched. The idea of prayer, of communicating with God, was foreign. To them, the idea of coming in from recess to sit quietly for five minutes just to move on to their next class, was ridiculous.
They griped, they rolled their eyes, and they hit each other when I bowed my head. They kept talking. They made farting noises and interrupted with silly questions. I explained, I pleaded, and then I yelled and signed discipline cards. I held the students after class to talk about behavior and I called parents.
No one, I suspected, really prayed.
I went back to the drawing board. We tried rote prayers, like the “Our Father;” we tried an intercession wall in the classroom where students wrote their own prayer requests; we tried praying with scripture; then we tried praying with song. We tried quiet centering prayer with music. Slowly, we made progress. I don’t think that I did anything specific that brought about a breakthrough. I think that I just kept trying, and the girls realized that this prayer thing wasn’t going away.
Slowly, our class prayer became more and more meaningful. The girls asked me to mention their worries in prayer. We prayed for sick siblings. We prayed for dads who wouldn’t come around, for dying grandfathers, for a classmate with cancer, for drug-dependent relatives, for missing pets, and missing homework. The girls began to trust themselves to know how to pray.
Encouraged, I asked my students to raise their hands and speak aloud their own prayers. Unfortunately, our prayer soon regressed to comments such as, “Dear God, please help Shontay to realize that I am the Queen of the Double Dutch,” or “Lord Jesus, help Miesha to know that she ain’t really all that.” It took a few stern lectures for my girls to realize that prayer wasn’t a forum for airing recess conflicts in the classroom. Spiritual growth—for any of us—isn’t always perfectly linear.
But we kept trudging along. The principal of Marian Middle School, Sister
Rosalie, had the girls make prayer books using the letters of the alphabet:
under A, students wrote that they would pray for people with AIDS, under
B, their brothers, all the way to Z, where most of the girls offered their
petitions for zebras.
The other day, one of my students took a turn leading a prayer on her
own. She stood at the front of the class and waited patiently for the
class to settle down. I took her seat at the back, anxious to see what
would happen. She began in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, and she prayed that we would all have a good afternoon, that no
one would get a discipline card signed, and everyone would get along.
She thanked God for her family, for a warm house, and for a chance to
get a good education. Then she announced that we would open our prayer
books to the letter U: we prayed for Uganda, for the uneducated, and for
girls who feel they’re ugly. Then, with a resounding Amen, we were
done.
Her prayer was honest and deeply from the heart. It was the kind of childlike prayer that I envision is most pleasing to God.
I’m not sure who taught who how to pray.
To support the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program, the Board has planned several Special Events.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The first GVV “No Frills!” Golf Tournament, Sunday, May 23, 2004, at Grand Marais Golf Course. $75.00 to play with barbecue following. To reserve your spot, call the GVV office at 314-771-1474 or contact Fr. David Nations, C.M., by email at frnations@aol.com.
The second annual GVV Picnic at the Schicker Farm, Saturday, June 5, 2004, $25.00 per person. Reserve your spot by calling the GVV office at 314-771-1474 or by email to gatevol@aol.com.
“Fool for Christ,” a one-woman dramatic presentation on the life of Dorothy Day, March 10, 2005 (matinee), and March 11, 2005 (evening), at St. Catherine Labouré Church. More details to come!
THANK YOU!
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program is grateful to our donors, who help us in so many ways—by making financial contributions as well as donations of time and talent. In this issue, we recognize those who have made monetary contributions during our August 2003-June 2004 Session. Thank you for your generosity! And thanks to all who have supported us in the past.
Ms. Gwendolyn Alvarez
Mr. and Mrs. F.J. Babka
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Berra
Mr. Lucius Billeaud
Mr. and Mrs. Wally Bryans
Mr. and Mrs. John Capellupo
Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.
Fr. Tom Croak, C.M.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dinkins III
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Fiedler
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Golterman
Br. David Goodman, C.M.
Ms. Susan Lynn Hubbard
The Heimos Family
The Holy Name Society of St. Vincent DePaul Parish
Mr. and Mrs. William Jacob
Fr. John Jung, C.M.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Kadlec
Mrs. Helen Kassing
Mr. Scott Kelly
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Klump
Knights of Columbus, Council 12323, St. Catherine Laboure Parish
Mr. and Mrs. Helmut Kramer
Ms. Martha Lane
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Lemp
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lipic
Mr. and Mrs. John Lottes
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maciej
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin McDonough
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ochocinski
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Opferman
Fr. Henry Piacitelli, C.M.
Fr. Robert Rhinehart, C.M.
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Roarick
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Schicker
Fr. Charles Shelby, C.M.
Mr. John Stewart
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Swope
Br. Matthew Teel, C.M.
Mr. and Mrs. John Thiel
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Unverferth
Fr. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.
Mr. and Mrs. John Vatterott
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Villa
Br. Richard Zoellner, C.M.
GVV Alumni News
- Julie Morig (GVV 2000-2001) now lives in Baltimore, where she is pursuing a graduate degree in pastoral counseling. Julie also works as a case manager at a homeless shelter for individuals with AIDS.
- Michelle Castellano (GVV 2000-2001) is back at home in New York. Michelle will be married in April. Congratulations, Michelle!
- Kelly Dodson (GVV 2000-2001) is in her second year with Jesuit Volunteers International. She teaches at St. Brendan’s School in the Republic of South Africa.
The Gift of Faith
by Stephanie Demarest
When I decided to do a year of service, I cited several reasons for doing it. Overall, I wanted to learn about things that aren’t taught in a classroom. I wanted to experience life in a way I simply couldn’t if I had stayed in my comfortable environment.
I’ve learned an infinite number of lessons since I made that choice. I’ve learned that things rarely work out exactly how you’d want them to. I’ve learned how very fortunate I am to have been born into the family and the life I was born into. I’ve learned about the strength of the human spirit and how it can survive, even when faced with the worst possible situations in life. But the one lesson I’ve learned that has surprised and impacted me the most is the need of every person I encounter for one simple thing: that someone have faith in him or her.
I work at Community Alternatives. We serve people with mental illnesses who also have other stressors in their lives. A large percentage of our clientele are homeless. Some suffer from HIV/AIDS. Almost all have or have had some kind of substance abuse problem. The people I help have had hard lives. The reaction our clients have to what seems to me to be something as basic as faith in them never ceases to amaze and awe me.
On my very first day, my supervisor, Don, took me out into the community with him. We checked one of our clients out of the psychiatric center and took him to cash a check. After he got the cash, the client gave $5 to Don and said, “See? I remembered you loaned me that money and I paid you back. I bet you didn’t expect that!” Don responded with, “No, I knew that you would pay me back. I believed in you.” Our client reacted with such wonder, like he couldn’t believe that anyone would ever believe in him. Later I realized that if anyone had ever shown this man this kind of faith, much time had passed since then.
In my pre-Gateway Vincentian Volunteer world, I never questioned what it would be like for someone not to believe in me. I took for granted that I had a support network that would have faith in me no matter what. I’ve learned since that this is not necessarily the case for everyone. Actions prompted by illness or addiction can destroy that support network, can make a person lose faith in him or herself. Lack of faith in oneself causes other actions and damaging thoughts to take root. A person cannot even begin to recover from whatever is hurting him or her, however, without the support of others.
So, I like to think I’m doing my clients some good by simply believing in them. I may not have the training to help them through counseling, nor the means to help them financially or physically, but maybe—just maybe—I can do better than that. By having faith in those who need it most, I can give them a gift that’s more precious than anything else.
And in return, I’ve learned a lesson that will affect me and my actions for the rest of my life.
MORE THANK YOU’s!
We wish to thank all those people who have made presentations or celebrated the Eucharist (listed below) on our Community Nights thus far this year. Thanks, too, to all the Vincentians who reside at the Arsenal Street Community for sharing your home with the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers!
Sr. Ginger Andrews, R.S.M.
Ms. Patty Berger
Sr. Pat Connolly, D.C.
Ms. Linda Chatman
Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.
Fr. Bill Hartenbach, C.M.
Sr. Sharon Horace, D.C.
Fr. Ron Hoye, C.M.
Sr. Julia Huiskamp, D. C.
Sr. Kieran Kneaves, D.C.
Mr. Richard LaPlume
Fr. Jerry Morales, C.M.
Fr. Ed Murphy, C.M.
Fr. David Nations, C.M.
Dr. Ken Parker
Sr. Jeanne Parrish, D.C.
Dr. Fred Rottnek
Mr. Don Schipp
Ms. Cynthia Stevenson
Fr. Derek Swanson, C.M.
Fr. Jim Swift, C.M.
Sr. Jackie Toben
Fr. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.
Sr. Cathy Vetter, CCVI
Fr. Joe Williams, C.M.
Ms. Cotina Wysinger
Special thanks to Fr. John Gagnepain, C.M., superior of St. Mary’s of the Barrens, and all the Vincentians who live in Perryville! Each year the Gateway Vincentian Volunteers have two retreats in Perryville. We are thankful for the warm welcome and great hospitality we always receive. Special thanks to Fr. Tom Kloppenborg, C.M., for all his assistance in helping establish and manage office systems.
The Art of Peace
Students in five south St. Louis schools are hard at work in their classrooms on a special assignment: to create art that communicates messages of unity, hope, and understanding. These young artists are sharing their expressions through The Art of Peace, an extension project of the PeaceWorks program offered by St. John’s Mercy Neighborhood Ministry. Through her placement at the Neighborhood Ministry, GVV Molly Jacob is helping in the coordination of this project and working with the second-grade students at St. John the Baptist School to complete their works of art.
PeaceWorks is a conflict resolution program currently included in the curriculum of seven area elementary and middle schools. During weekly class sessions, students learn and practice anger management and communication skills. With the help of Peer Mediators, students develop the ability to resolve their conflicts. Through the program, they come to appreciate the differences and similarities within and between the cultures found in their classrooms and neighborhoods. Everyone experiences conflict, and finding ways to deal with it constructively is especially important as the immigrant and refugee population increases the diversity of St. Louis. The Art of Peace is an opportunity for the students to express visually the positive problem-solving skills and peace-related concepts they learn from the PeaceWorks program.
The children’s art will be part of an exhibition at The Hartford
Coffee Company, a newly renovated neighborhood coffee shop. Students,
their families, school faculty, and members of the community are invited
to help celebrate the opening with a reception on Saturday, March 20,
from 2-5 P.M. The pieces will remain on display in the following weeks
to share with the patrons of the coffee shop and the general public. After
the exhibition, the art will be given as a gift of friendship to elementary
schools in several countries around the world. For more information, you
may reach Molly at St. John’s Mercy Neighborhood Ministry (314-865-0927,
ex. 4). For directions to The Hartford Coffee Company, call 314-771-JAVA.
Are you interested in supporting one Gateway Vincentian Volunteer during his or her year of service? Would your parish or organization like to help?
Please let us know.
Thank you!
314-771-1474 888-771-7220 gatevol@aol.com
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Gateway Vincentian Volunteers
2912 Arsenal Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) - 771-1474
Toll free: (888)-771-7220
Fax: (314) - 771-2410
email: gatevol@aol.com