At the end of July, students from the Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools — Brother Martin, Catholic High, E. D. White, St. Stanislaus, Vandebilt — and students from St. Scholastica, assembled at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis for an intense training workshop on the various attributes of student ministry. The workshop was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Judy Stewart who started student ministry 25 years ago while at Catholic High and passed away in February. Some 180 boys and girls attended sessions on communication skills, various prayer experiences, and issues concerning confidentiality, grief, and bullying. The students brainstormed on the characteristics of a student minister, examined ways to promote the charism of the Brothers, and explored ways to evangelize students in their school community. All was not work, however. One evening as the sun was setting gently in the West and the breeze gently blew off the bay, the students assembled in line and marched toward the beach front as they sang praise and worship songs. With uplifted spirits, they sang and clapped until dark.
The various experiences of the workshop both invigorated them and trained them to “make a difference” in their school community. The workshop ended with Mass at Our Lady of the Gulf Church and a commissioning service that officially installed each student as a leader in his or her school.
