ANNIVERSARY GIFT

Children offer Bishop their service

BY PAT PASTERNAK
STAFF WRITER

Wanted: Shoes, in good condition. That's the call to sixth graders in the faith formation classes at Our Lady of Grace parish in Ballston Lake.

Wanted: A few extra pennies, nickels or dimes. Greene County faith formation classes are being asked to "ante up!" to assist Catholic Charities in helping the poor and needy in that county.

Those are two examples of how young people are honoring Bishop Howard J. Hubbard during the year-long celebration of his 25th year as head of the Albany Diocese.

Gift of service

Parish youth ministry programs have instituted several different service projects for the 2002-'03 catechetical year.

Jeanne Schrempf, director of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis (OEC), said, "We wanted to honor Bishop Hubbard's 25 years. We decided that a gift of service from students in our faith formation groups would be an appropriate and meaningful gift."

Various parishes and deanery clusters are "deciding what type of service they wish to provide and then they follow through," she added.

Reaching out

At St. Clement's parish in Saratoga Springs, for example, youth volunteered hours to the annual Work Camp, held each summer. Young people, in teams of five or six, work at community locations, visiting nursing homes, cleaning up forestland, or helping at organizations like Birthright and Head Start.

In a letter to Bishop Hubbard concerning the Work Camp, youth minister Eileen M. Davenport wrote: "I felt that this was especially appropriate in keeping with the gift set up for you by the OEC because when I speak with young people about 'Living for the Lord,' I often use you as a model. You certainly witness this theme by your leadership, priesthood, spirituality and service."

World hunger

In Albany, parish youth will participate in a nationwide 30-Hour Famine for World Vision in February. Youth come together for 30 hours to learn about hunger and poverty in the world. During that time, they participate in community service projects, volunteer work or study, depending on what the local group wishes to do.

On Feb. 21, Albany participants plan to raise money to support emergency relief and long-term development projects in needy areas. They include young people from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Blessed Sacrament, St. Patrick's, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John's/St. Ann's, St. James and St. Catherine of Siena. Other parishes that plan to participate are Holy Trinity in Cohoes and St. Patrick's in Ravena.