This summer, children in Blackstone got prayerful and tasty introductions to a new parish’s name.
In North Brookfield, adults and older youth returned to enjoy an annual summer tradition and help younger ones do so.
At the center of it all were activities to bring youngsters to Jesus. Also, students at both parishes learned about their faith by acting out parables.
It was vacation Bible school.
“I love this!” said Deborah Campano, who organized such a program for about five years at St. Paul Parish in Blackstone.
When St. Paul’s merged with St. Theresa Parish in Blackstone and St. Augustine Parish in Millville they formed the new Divine Mercy Parish. Mrs. Campano remained the coordinator of religious education. This summer she again put together her own Bible school program, held Aug. 22-26 at St. Paul’s, since that is the new parish’s campus.
“I found my niche – serving God,” she said. “He gave me the gift … to be with the kids and enjoy them. … I want them to learn about Jesus, love Jesus, get to know him and have him in their lives.”
Expressing the same sentiment about Bible school participants at St. Joseph Parish in North Brookfield, Father Donald C. Ouellette, associate pastor, commented, “Hopefully this gets them closer to Jesus.”
“I’ve been doing this for years and I never get tired of it,” said Mary Caputo, who helps with St. Joseph’s program and also teaches religious education at the parish. “Summer means vacation Bible school, and we love that to be our focus.”
“Every year at the end of the week the children get sad because they don’t want to leave,” she said.
They don’t leave, really. When they “outgrow” Bible school, they come back as helpers.
Michela Barton, another religious education teacher at St. Joseph’s who has been helping with Bible school there for years, found an old photo of participants.
“They were 6; now they’re 16,” she said. They all still help with the program, except one, who is an altar server, Mrs. Caputo said.
It’s fun helping the children and seeing them enjoying what they’re doing, said Reece Miner, 14, a former participant in St. Joseph’s Bible school who now helps with it.
This year St. Joseph’s had 22 Bible school participants and helpers ages 4 to 17 and three other adults, said Lynne Losurdo, religious education coordinator for grade school and coordinator of the Bible school. She said she used a program she’d purchased and used in 2017 for the religious lessons, and found ideas for crafts online.
To depict the parable of the lost sheep (Mt 18:10-14) they started making 100 paper and cotton sheep to display in the religious education building at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in West Brookfield, she said. (The religious education programs from these two parishes and St. John the Baptist in East Brookfield have just been combined.)
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAE
Divine Mercy Parish had 10 Bible school participants this year – more than St. Paul’s ever had, and double the number that came last year – said Mrs. Campano. The 10 included her assistant, Christopher Perron, age 12.
Some were originally from St. Paul’s, some came from St. Augustine’s or another church, and one claimed no church affiliation.
Despite the new parish, this year was not really different, said Mrs. Campano, who puts together a program each year with God’s help and her research.
But there was an additional feature – catechist Juli Guertin taught the children about Divine Mercy, the name of the new parish, Mrs. Campano said. They made a craft with the image of Jesus as King of Divine Mercy and prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and enjoyed “Divine Mercy Sundaes.”
This treat was created with vanilla ice cream, red and blue sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry, explained Sadie Robidoux, 10, from the former St. Paul’s. (The Divine Mercy image is mainly red, white and blue and bears the words, “Jesus I trust in you.”)
Her cousin Brendan Robidoux, 12, who said he attends St. John the Evangelist Parish in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, called the Divine Mercy lesson “the trust thing.”
Who does he trust?
“I trust in Jesus,” he replied, then joked, “I trust in Steven.” Steven Dorazio, 12, who said he doesn’t belong to any church, came with friends, and he and Brendan teamed up – good-naturedly – against Tyler Glaister, 12, in dodgeball.
LEARNING ABOUT PARABLES
This year’s program at Divine Mercy was mainly about parables, as was St. Joseph’s “Parable Falls,” which included a rainforest theme. In both parishes, children got into re-enacting a parable.
“I was a dead man,” Brendan said. Well, not quite dead. The story tells about the Good Samaritan transporting a wounded man, whom others avoided, to an inn, and paying for his care. (Lk 10:25-37)
“I was the donkey,” added Steven.
“I was walking by and I said, ‘Ew! I’m not touching him,’” reported Aubree Allard, 6, who went to the former St. Augustine’s.
Mrs. Campano asked the “actors” who Jesus said our neighbor is.
“Everyone,” recalled Tyler.
“I enjoyed coloring,” said Tatum Robinson, 10, from the former St. Paul’s. They drew pictures on a paper bag of “this kid that ran away from home” because his father gave him his inheritance, she said.
She gave her rendition of this parable of the prodigal son: “He threw, like, parties in the city. He ran out of money. He was walking back home as a mess. When he got home, and people were taking care of him, he looked a lot better.” (Lk 15:11-32)
What did she learn from this story?
“Don’t spend all your money at once.”
MaryKate McCarthy said her daughter Aubree Allard “had a blast” at Divine Mercy’s Bible school. Aubree told her mother what she learned there.
At St. Joseph’s, Diane Waice watched her grandchildren help re-enact the parable of the “midnight knocker” (Lk 11:5-10).
She said her grandson Maverick Pappas, 7, loved the Bible school.
“He was very excited to do the play,” she said. “It’s the first time he was ever in a play.” She said he’s looking forward to when he’s old enough to be a counselor at the Bible school.