VASJ students hold school's first Faith Rally

By Sara Morgan '17 

VASJ held a faith rally on April 6 to highlight the different faith-based groups at the school. Each group spoke about their mission and how to join.

“In the spirit of our Ursuline and Marianist traditions, we seek to develop the whole person and to help our students to be formed in faith,” says VASJ Coordinator of Mission Effectiveness Mr. William Raddell ’68.

When Raddell visited another Marianist school in California, he learned of the faith rallies their school held and he knew it was something he wanted to bring to VASJ.

“It was really positive to see the students energized by the rally and their attention drawn to these organizations, many of which they may not have known about before the rally,” says VASJ English teacher and one of the Marianist LIFE coordinators, Ms. Michelle Perusek ’07.

The groups recognized at the rally were: Marianist LIFE (living in faith experience), TLC (teen leadership corps.), Peer ministry, Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Service, Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice, and Kairos leaders

Marianist LIFE is a national faith formation program for high school students rooted in Catholic and Marianist tradition. Marianist LIFE provides opportunities for students at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School form, grow, and flourish in their faith.

The Peer Ministry program is for junior and seniors. It is a model for effectively involving students in developing their Faith. Peer Ministers are leaders in service to the school and the greater community. They plan and participate in liturgies, prayer services and lead our morning and afternoon daily prayers.

The Teen Leadership Corps is a class for juniors and seniors. It is designed to engage its students in a meaningful set of community service activities: planning, community education, budgeting, volunteer recruitment and management, public relations and fundraising. In this class, teams of students will design and implement a coordinated series of projects related to Teen Leadership Corps’ primary mission of intergenerational service to the school and community.

Eucharistic Ministers are students who give the Eucharist during prayer services’ and Masses. To become a Eucharistic Minister students must be practicing Catholics.

Altar Servers are students who assist the Priest during Masses and prayer services.

Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice works to carry out programs of information and service. It is open to all students. Students meet monthly with other high school students to participate in social justice activities.

Kairos Leaders are the student leaders of the religious retreat Kairos. “The Lord’s time” (Kairos) is a retreat led by students for students. The talks and exercises of this retreat center on the revelation of God’s love as we experience it in our lives. To become a leader students must be in 11th or 12th grade and have attended a previous Kairos.

“Our goal is to promote our faith groups and to make it feel like a fun sports rally,” says VASJ religion chair and one of the Marianist LIFE coordinators Mr. Patrick Preto.

The rally was emceed by John Henry Posey ’16.

“A lot of people don’t know specifically what these groups do and how they engage the school,” says John Henry. “It broadened horizons because each group was able to share a little bit about what they do.”

The rally ended with a talk led by Sister Anne Victory, HM, a Sister of the Humility of Mary and a member of the Collaborative to End Human Trafficking.

Sister Anne spoke about Human trafficking and the prevalence of Human trafficking in today’s society.

“There are 20.9 million people involved in human trafficking globally, and this so-called ‘business’ makes $150 billion yearly,” said Sister Anne during her presentation.

"I really enjoyed our first Faith Rally yesterday,” says Lara Pagendarm-Winter ’17. “I was able to learn about different organizations I never knew existed. Sister Ann Victory opened my eyes to the issues surrounding human trafficking and I learned many new facts.”

Sara Morgan is a junior at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. She maintains a 4.25 GPA, is a member of website management class, ambassadors, and NHS.