Back in ND-BG class, students get back to caring and praying

The first day of classes at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady last week was also the first day of something else: prayers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and actions to raise money for relief efforts.

"We can't be down there, but we can donate as much as we can," said Major Capers, 15.

Along with his homeroom classmates, he attended part of a day-long prayer vigil for Katrina victims.

Soul work

According to campus minister Kathleen Duff, prayer is a big part of life at ND-BG and was a natural step when the students began to search for a way to respond to the tragedy.

The vigil, held in the school chapel, included clippings from newspapers and magazines featuring large headlines of terror and fear alongside positive stories of rescues and relief.

The students participated in Eucharistic adoration while they viewed a computer presentation of images from the hurricane and its aftermath, put together by teacher Linda Niedl.

Body of Christ

All was quiet as Melanie Anchukaitis' homeroom watched the presentation and dipped their heads in prayer.

The words "the Body of Christ" came up on the screen alongside a small child among flood-strewn laundry, a woman hugging a lost pet, a young boy crying and a young man dragging a bag of possessions through chest-high water.

"The images are painful, but there is so much hope," said Mrs. Anchukaitis to her class.

Coping with sorrow

Ms. Duff hopes that the vigil helped the students process the event and its import. Often, she said, students have questions they don't voice, or look for ways to help but don't know where to start.

"Students need a way to wrap their feelings around it, to make sense of the questions, like 'where was God?'" she said. "A first response can always be a prayer response. We have the resources in our hearts available to us. We are trying to tell the students that this is where God is in the midst of tragedy: right at the center. God is with us in our suffering. As people of faith, we can respond with hope."

Angie Mifsud, 16, was among the students looking for an answer. "At first, you didn't know what to think. I was in awe," she said. "Now, everyone is trying to get together to figure out how to help."

Offering help

The day after the vigil, students, staff, and faculty began a food drive to donate to charities doing relief work. The volleyball team is working on collecting water bottles to earn money to send to emergency shelters.

Also, the school is exploring a program that would link ND-BG with a Catholic school in the area, so students, staff and faculty can help that school rebuild.

"I see a lot of work being done, but people still seem to think that there's not enough," Major said. "Whatever people can do would be great."

Relief

Ms. Duff is always impressed by the students' capacity to step up to the plate with service projects, fundraisers and other efforts to serve the needy.

"With the tsunami relief [last December], I didn't even have my coat off when I was met in the hallway" by students who wanted to raise money, she said. "These students have huge hearts."

To the students, such things are just part of another day at school.

"Little kids are even doing lemonade stands," said Angie. "We can let the [victims] know that there are people out there who care."

(9/15/05) [[In-content Ad]]