Best of the Week 2021-2022: Teaching to the Future

STUDENTS TALK ABOUT THEIR PASSION FOR ST. ED'S LABRE MINISTRY AT ST. BERNADETTE SCHOOL IN WESTLAKE

Lukas Kucera '24, Jack Stanovic '24, and Max Tonsing '23 joined Emily McGee, Manager of Outreach and Service, at St. Bernadette in Westlake to talk to 120 6th, 7th and 8th graders about St. Ed's Labre Ministry. The middle school audience learned details about the Labre program, which is coming up on its 300th continuous route in mid-November, and how important it is not to judge, but to meet our Labre friends where they are." Edsmen shared their experiences with the group, including their motivation for participating in the Labre ministry as well as a personal story about someone who they had each met who had influenced their life in some way.

The St. Bernadette school community donated a collection of granola bars, applesauce and chips to use in the food bags distributed for Labre, and the St. Bernadette "CAKE" Club (Community Action Kids Club) helped to move all of the donations to the car for transport back to St. Ed's.

"The Labre Ministry allows our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of St. Edward to directly serve the immediate needs of the poor every Thursday through the entire year," says Mrs. McGee. "The ministry immersion, named after St. Benedict Joseph Labre, the patron saint of the homeless, allows students to see and experience the struggles of our homeless friends on the streets. This ministry is powerful, with students and adult volunteers involved all week to make it possible to continue this service. Volunteers help prepare the food bags, load the St. Ed's van, and serve our poor brothers and sisters by coming to them, following a predetermined route. Students hand-deliver food, clothing, hygiene kits, blankets and more, to those we visit each week. This helps to instill in our students that every human being has dignity and that we should be preferential in charity to the poorest among us."

For more information about the St. Ed's Labre Ministry or to donate to this ongoing servic