Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Students sacrifice rest for reflection during Lent
Students sacrifice rest for reflection during Lent
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 7, 2008
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish’s high school youth group gather for early-morning prayer Monday. During Lent they start each week with the Monday morning service, breakfast and conversation before heading off to school. |
Troy — A group of Troy Catholics get together early in the morning for prayer and fellowship — a remarkable feat when you consider that after breakfast, they’re headed to their first class.
High school students at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish meet every Monday morning during Lent before school for a prayer service and breakfast before school, to get the day and the week off to a good start. Teens have been doing this since the program started four years ago, and usually a dozen to 20 students show up, depending on the week, said St. Elizabeth Ann Seton youth minister Terri Konwinski.
The students all agree that they enjoy the morning. “It’s a good way to start your day,” said Erin Reddy, a senior at Troy Athens High. “It’s relaxing. I get to school in a good mood.”
On a typical morning, students trickle in before 6:30 a.m. and gather in the parish hall before heading to the church’s chapel. Konwinski pointed out that when the students first arrive early in Lent, it’s still dark in the mornings — but closer to Easter, it starts to get lighter outside, symbolizing the renewal of the holy day.
A group of 11 attended this week, smaller than usual partly because several girls’ softball practice had run later than expected the evening before. The prayer service begins with contemplation and prayer while listening to a song, this week a contemporary Christian tune that asked “Lord, hear our prayer” in the chorus.
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Youth minister Terri Konwinski chats with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish teens over breakfast. The group meets Mondays during Lent for prayer and fellowship before school. |
A student reads the First Reading, and Konwinski reads the Gospel for the day, on which she briefly reflects afterward. The group listens to another song, this time “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams. Then Konwinski and the students gather in a circle to share prayer intentions and pray the Our Father, with intentions ranging from them doing well on tests this week to those struggling with addiction.
The prayer service is finished before 7 a.m., when the students head into the parish hall for breakfast, cooked especially for them by parishioners Jane and Jesse Hime. This week, the menu consisted of bacon, fresh fruit, and French toast casserole. The students use the time to catch up on what’s happening in school and each other’s lives, finishing up their homework or discussing a particular class. Most of the youth attend Troy High or Troy Athens, and they have time to spare before the first class starts at 7:35 a.m.
Tori Criswell, a sophomore at Troy High, said she appreciates Monday morning Lenten breakfasts because she gets the chance to slow down before her week starts. “Most of us don’t have time to eat,” she said. “We want to do it. We look forward to it.”
“It makes Mondays not stink,” added Justin Shamoun, also a Troy High sophomore.
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Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Jane and Jesse Hime have been cooking breakfasts for the teens since midway through the first year of the program, three years ago. This past week’s menu was French toast casserole and bacon. |
All the students agreed the time was energizing, that the food was good, and that it was nice to see their friends before the school day. In fact, the students pushed two tables together so they could all sit near each other as one group.
The students are so much a community that they met during mid-winter break — although a few hours later — and went out for breakfast later. Sometimes, former youth group members who are now in college attend the Monday morning prayer services while they are on their own spring breaks.
The Himes, the chefs, started cooking breakfast for the group early in the first year of the program. Jane Hime, also active as a lector, catechist, vicariate representative and elsewhere in the parish, said the volunteering fits into the praying, fasting and almsgiving that Catholics are called to do during Lent. They pray they hear the alarm clock, fast from three hours of sleep, and give alms by paying for the students’ breakfast, she said.
The couple raised six children, so they know how to feed a horde of hungry teenagers while keeping it interesting, Jane Hime said. “It’s different every week,” she said. “Last week we had burritos.”
Konwinski said although she’s more of the type of person to be friendly with her snooze button, it seems easier getting up for the prayer service and breakfast. A few other volunteers who help out with the youth group might come, as well, to help set up and visit with the students while the group eats.
“These mornings, it’s not a problem getting up,” she said. “They’re great. It shows me this is what He wants me to do.”
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