Beads link students, troops

If you don't look carefully, you might not see the rosaries being made by middle-school students at St. John the Evangelist parish in Schenectady.

They are camouflage rosaries, which are being assembled for a U.S. Army Reserve Battalion in Iraq. The troops are from Schenectady, Niskayuna and other areas of New York State, as well as from Massachusetts and Vermont.

Over the past six months, the soldiers have received letters from the students as part of a faith formation project, said Dianne Galarneau, coordinator of religious education.

Nearly peers

"I think that some of our students were awestruck by what they have learned about these soldiers," Ms. Galarneau said. "They realized that these soldiers, whose ages range between 18 and 22, are the same age as some of their own brothers and sisters. They were able to relate to the soldiers as people just a few years older than they."

Recently, the students learned that the soldiers are trying to help Iraqi grade-school children by donating their own extra pencils, pens and paper.

The Iraqi children "had nothing, not even the most basic school supplies," Ms. Galarneau said.

The St. John's students realized this was an additional way to help the soldiers.

Personal touch

The students also send personal items to the troops, like iced tea and magazines.

Via email, an officer requested things like Raman noodles, baby wipes, "and even prayer cards and holy cards," Ms. Galarneau told The Evangelist.

As a result, St. John's students are collecting items for holiday shipment to the soldiers. All parishioners have been asked to help out by writing letters of appreciation to the soldiers.

Hidden beads

Then came the request for camouflage rosary beads.

The practice of distributing rosaries fashioned out of nylon cording was popular in the late 1960s when they were distributed to armed forces in Vietnam by Catholic chaplains. The khaki-colored rosaries were carried into battle and worn by soldiers around their necks.

"We are going to make and send as many camouflage rosaries as we can," Ms. Galarneau said.

More than 250 students are enrolled in the parish program, and they plan on making two holiday shipments, one in time for Thanksgiving and the second for Christmas.

(Call 372-3381 for more information. Go to www.viarosa.com for instructions on how make camouflage rosaries and chaplets. The website offers a variety of nylon cording in camouflage and other colors.)

(11/20/03) [[In-content Ad]]