Involvement Experiences
(Grades 7-10)
WHAT?
As you and your student are preparing your hearts to enter into the Sacrament of Confirmation (whether it's one year away or four), it is important to be involved in the parish community that you are joining. To encourage this, students are required to complete THREE SERVICE EXPERIENCES each year prior to Confirmation (7-10). Involvement Experiences are DIFFERENT than service hours. Serving concessions at the football game or babysitting a little cousin, though they are great things, they often miss the mark and are not intended to bring you closer to God. All too often, students find themselves COUNTING HOURS rather than ENGAGING in ENCOUNTERS with others and Christ. The idea behind Involvement Experiences is that the activities and service projects that you participate in throughout the parish and the community, will lead you closer to God and His disciples.
HOW?
How do you acquire involvement hours you may ask? It is easy! Get involved at church! Read at Mass, become a server, join the choir, help in the sound booth, or be an usher! Help out around the church mowing lawn or setting up decorations for Christmas! Volunteer at our parish events like Fiesta Latina, Chicken Dinner, Buffet in Bethlehem, Taste of Italy, etc. Spend time out in the community doing the things that Jesus showed us to do – like feeding the hungry or visiting the sick. Lend a hand with our Children’s Faith Formation or our ALPHA program! A calendar that outlines these opportunities is included in this packet and an updated version will be kept on our website’s “High School Formation” page for you to find hours that interest you. If your student does something outside of these opportunities that you would like to apply to their Involvement Hour requirement, please email me with the activity details and a decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.
WHY?
After each Involvement Experience, students are expected to fill out a brief “Reflection of Service” and turn it in. This reflection is not only how we track each student’s experience requirements but is a GREAT tool for young people to make meaning out of what they are doing.
*If a reflection is not submitted, the experience will not be in our records, and therefore will not be recorded – so please make sure you are turning in your reflections as you complete each experience.
As you and your student are preparing your hearts to enter into the Sacrament of Confirmation (whether it's one year away or four), it is important to be involved in the parish community that you are joining. To encourage this, students are required to complete THREE SERVICE EXPERIENCES each year prior to Confirmation (7-10). Involvement Experiences are DIFFERENT than service hours. Serving concessions at the football game or babysitting a little cousin, though they are great things, they often miss the mark and are not intended to bring you closer to God. All too often, students find themselves COUNTING HOURS rather than ENGAGING in ENCOUNTERS with others and Christ. The idea behind Involvement Experiences is that the activities and service projects that you participate in throughout the parish and the community, will lead you closer to God and His disciples.
HOW?
How do you acquire involvement hours you may ask? It is easy! Get involved at church! Read at Mass, become a server, join the choir, help in the sound booth, or be an usher! Help out around the church mowing lawn or setting up decorations for Christmas! Volunteer at our parish events like Fiesta Latina, Chicken Dinner, Buffet in Bethlehem, Taste of Italy, etc. Spend time out in the community doing the things that Jesus showed us to do – like feeding the hungry or visiting the sick. Lend a hand with our Children’s Faith Formation or our ALPHA program! A calendar that outlines these opportunities is included in this packet and an updated version will be kept on our website’s “High School Formation” page for you to find hours that interest you. If your student does something outside of these opportunities that you would like to apply to their Involvement Hour requirement, please email me with the activity details and a decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.
WHY?
After each Involvement Experience, students are expected to fill out a brief “Reflection of Service” and turn it in. This reflection is not only how we track each student’s experience requirements but is a GREAT tool for young people to make meaning out of what they are doing.
*If a reflection is not submitted, the experience will not be in our records, and therefore will not be recorded – so please make sure you are turning in your reflections as you complete each experience.