Are We Making a Difference?

People often ask me why I choose to teach in a Catholic school when I'm a Protestant.  My response is always the same.  When I realized God was calling me to teach, I knew one thing for certain.  I needed to be able to verbally acknowledge where my calling came from on a daily basis.  This past week I was reminded of how important my calling is to me.  

I'm certain that I'm not the only teacher who has pondered these questions. 

"Am I making a difference?  Am I teaching my students to make a difference? Am I following God's direction when I teach?" 

This past week the fruits of one teacher's answers to these questions resulted in an entire  school making a stand for those in need.  St. Matthew Catholic School's first ever Poverty Action Day was Friday, March 31, 2017.  This day would not have happened if a teacher had not had the courage to share her idea with others.

The idea for this initiative started when one of our former fourth grade teachers, Patricia Wendover, finished the Just Faith course at St. Matthew Catholic Church.  She said that course made her want to put her faith into action.  She wanted to come up with an idea that would encourage students to actively work towards helping those in need.  She wanted to come up with a way that our students could act as the hands and feet of Jesus.  Patricia's idea blossomed into a MACS Education grant that she wrote with two of our kindergarten teachers, Pat Frantz and Mary Strauss.  Betsy DesNoyer joined the team to help when Patricia left to teach at St. Patrick Catholic School and spend more time doing volunteer work.  When the MACS Education Foundation awarded them the funds for their Social Justice Grant, the seeds for Poverty Action Day were planted.

All St. Matthew classroom teachers received books to share with their classes to teach about Catholic social teachings.  Our school's value recognition program was revised to emphasize these Catholic social teachings, and each month two students who modeled the social teaching of the month were recognized in Mass.  Poverty Action Day was the culmination of our school year's efforts to make our students more aware of the importance of recognizing Jesus in every person.

This past week started with a visit from Bishop Peter Jugis on Monday, March 27, 2017.  Our students gathered to hear an inspiring message from Bishop Jugis about the importance of Catholic social teaching.  Student Council escorted Bishop Jugis around our school so he could meet with students and hear what they have been doing to help others in need.  He had a firsthand glimpse of each grade's individual contribution to our school wide efforts.  Our TK, Kindergarten, and first grade students gathered food, diapers, wipes, and coins to help the Missionaries of the Poor.  Our second grade students held a reverse snack sale, where all of our students could purchase a snack for  the children at A Child's Place.  Our third grade students created a Hall of Heroes focused on people who had dedicated their lives to helping the poor.  Our fourth grade students wrote to officials asking them to help the poor and also made blessing boxes for the homeless.  Our fifth grade students created a state of poverty, and listened to a speaker from the Campaign for Human Development.  They also watched a video detailing the efforts of three men who decided to live in poverty to raise awareness of the need for us to help others.

On Poverty Action Day all students had the opportunity to hear a guest speaker talk about the importance of helping the poor and sharing their blessings from God.  Each grade toured the school to see what other students were doing to help people in need.  Students had a simple  snack of saltines and water.  Poverty Action Day culminated with a prayer service led by retired Bishop William Curlin.  Bishop Curlin inspired all those present with his personal experiences helping the poorest of the poor.  He shared stories of when he had visited Mother Teresa in India.  He said he remembered Mother Teresa saying to him that the best gift we can give others is to share the love of Jesus.  He reminded all of us to ask Jesus to live in us each day.

As I talked with the teachers involved over the course of this week I thought it neat that they all said it was someone else's idea.  As I spoke with each of them I was reminded of another quote I had read of Mother Teresa's.

Their humility inspires me.  None of this would have happened if one teacher hadn't shared her idea with a few other teachers.  What ideas have you been pondering as of late? 

As I reflect on this past week, I'm encouraged that our students will be inspired to continue to share with others.  I saw firsthand how the message of this past week was changing their actions towards each other for the better as well.  As I prepared to leave school on Friday, I was presented with a bag of sea shells from one of my students, and a crocheted bracelet from a student in after school.  

The question I'm pondering now is "Whose lives will be changed for good because of their generosity?"  I cannot wait to see these seeds of love blossom.  I cannot wait to see what stories their pencils will tell.

May we all follow in their footsteps.

As always, thanks for reading,

Ellen