Sharing cultures with children at Our Lady of Providence Parish

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER - A change in plans spurred a religious sister to quickly create a summer program for children. Inspiration from Scripture led to lessons about appreciating people from different cultures and being peacemakers.     
Sister Susana Miranda, of the Xaverian Missionary Society of Mary, told of the “fun vacation,” as she called it, that she ran last week at St. Bernard Church of Our Lady of Providence Parish. She is religious education coordinator there and does ministry in the parish’s Spanish Apostolate.
She creates a different summer program annually, but this time she had only two weeks to do so. The parish had been scheduled to host Totus Tuus, a summer Catholic youth program coordinated by the diocese, but schools were still in session on their appointed week.
Sister Susana said she panicked because the children were expecting a program the week after school ended. Then she got an idea from the Scripture passage where Jesus prayed that believers “may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn 15:21). Sister Susana thought of having people from different countries speak, to show that all people are created by God and are in his hands.
“All in one, one in all” was the topic for the program for children ages 5 to 12. It was held 9 a.m.-1 p.m. June 26-30 and each day drew between 10 and 35 children, she said.
She said she talked about the hate in the world and how unity and work for peace is needed. It is important to understand, admire and embrace people from every country, she said.
Guest speakers wore clothing from their native countries, talked about beautiful and difficult things in those countries and taught the children greetings in their languages, Sister Susana said.
She did not give a talk about her native Mexico; she was occupied running the whole program.  
But she said fellow Xaverian Missionary Sister Laura Canali talked about the challenge of helping refugees coming to her native Italy.
Brother Kornelius Glossanto, a Xaverian Missionary with the men’s community at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston, said he told the children that Indonesia, where he is from, has many cultures, tribes, languages and religions. Their national motto is “Unity in Diversity.”
Rebecca Adjei-Nyame, from St. Joan of Arc Parish, talked about how everyone in her village in Ghana takes responsibility for everyone else, and shows respect for elders, Sister Susana said.
Roger Chengat, whom Sister Susana met some time ago at weekday Masses at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, showed the children a candle like those that people of different religions in his native India use for prayer.
One day, Sister Susana showed a video about the Amazon region in Brazil and talked about difficulties Catholics face there.
Sister Susana said she tried to help the youngsters see the beauty of different races and that differences among people do not justify hate or exclusion. A teen-age volunteer who was born in the Dominican Republic, then moved to Spain, told about being bullied for her accent when she came to Worcester.
In addition to teen-agers, volunteers included a college student and older adults. They helped with crafts, games and lunch.
Sister Susana’s friend Joan Kariko said she showed the children cloth made of different materials from different countries, and gave instructions for weaving with raffia, a plant fiber from Madagascar. At Mass on Friday Father Jonathan J. Slavinskas, pastor, had the young people place the tapestry they wove in front of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas.
“It was very nice that we all worked on it – we all came together,” Sarai Johnson, 12, said.
“I got to make a tapestry,” said Ian Trinadad, 12, who found weaving “relaxing.”
Another kind of weaving is done with plastic that might otherwise be discarded, explained Mayra Mejia, 10. “It could save the animals (in) the ocean from the plastic,” she said.
Young people also made boxes out of greeting cards and put in them prayer intentions and their good and bad experiences, Sister Susana said. She said she explained that we do not know what others have in their “treasure box,” their history, but all of it can be brought to God.
“They had a prayer in them, whatever you were thankful for, and something you wished to do,” Yedielixmar “YeYe” Torres, a 13-year-old volunteer, said of the boxes. She said she enjoyed helping with activities, and still has the T-shirt she made when she was a student in the program some years ago.
During the prayer of the faithful at Mass on Friday, Father Slavinskas asked the young people to place the boxes in front of the altar and imagine that they were giving the prayers inside to Jesus.
In his homily he noted how Jesus touched a leper instead of telling him to stay away, and how Jesus reaches out to us so we can receive the healing we need.
After Mass, some of the young people talked about the program.
Maria Peña, 17, said she has volunteered for several years.
“It taught me to be more responsible, and I actually find myself looking forward to it every summer,” she said.
First-time volunteer John Millet, 15, said he “had a lot of fun” and “learned how to work with kids.”
Sister Susana said she was glad the teen-agers were volunteering at church instead playing on their cell phones or computers. She wants them to feel the church is their home. They enjoyed coming so much that they asked her to have a program just for them, she said, and she is considering it.