Katie Long saw “God’s goodness” through the connections she made on her mission trip to New Jersey. Thomas Alvarez said it was a “highlight of his summer.”
As members of the youth ministry at St. Mary of the Nativity in Scituate, Mass., Long and Alvarez joined more than 200 teens and chaperones for the Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. from July 20 to 25.
Volunteers from Massachusetts and Wisconsin served at sites such as the Father English Food Pantry and garden and the pre-school Friendship Corner 2, both in Paterson, N.J., and the Gruenert Center adult day training program in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J. These services are all part of diocesan Catholic Charities. They also volunteered at St. Paul’s Shelter in Paterson, which is not connected to the diocese.
Luke and Annelise Ambrosetti of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township oversee the northern New Jersey part of the national CHWC program.
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“It’s a different type of summer camp and mission trip. It fuses fun, faith, and service,” Annelise said.
Every day starts with Mass. Then campers head out to the work sites. At night they experience praise and worship services.
At the Father English Food Pantry garden, campers weeded and cleared overgrown vegetation and rubble. One day, they worked with seminarians and those considering a vocation, which provided an opportunity “to share our Gospel mission, reflect on the needs of those we serve and support one another in acts of charity,” said Sister of Charity Maureen Sullivan. She serves as director of pastoral ministry, volunteers and community outreach for Catholic Family and Community Services, part of Catholic Charities.
Carlos Roldan, director of Catholic Charities’ food pantries, saw in the teens “their attitude of wanting to help.” The group fixed refrigerators, bagged food, mopped floors, and sorted clothing at the pantry, which serves more than 15,000 people a month.
At Friendship Corner 2, teens played with the children and “transformed our once-drab walls into vibrant murals that now brighten the front hallway and stairwells and inspire joy,” said Gloria L. Bodker, program director.
Catholic Charities has a long history of greeting the volunteers from CHWC.
“The youth share their joy and faith in all they do. They take on challenging and sometimes messy tasks which need to be done and they work hard,” Sister Sullivan said.
Local volunteers provided hospitality, preparing meals and setting up for night worship.
Jean Caughey, theology teacher at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. and youth minister at Our Lady of Consolation (OLC) Parish, also in Wayne, oversaw the meal planning.
Some of the local teens’ families helped with cooking. Gré Ciccone, an OLC youth-group member, helped. She was so excited to talk with participating youth from around the country that she told Caughey she wants to go on mission trip in the future.
The Salesian Sisters of St. Don Bosco provided Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, N.J., as home base for the camp. This gave the young people opportunities to interact with the sisters and pray in the chapel.
“The teens go to a location and help transform wherever they are working on for the better but also to transform themselves in the process,” said Luke.
The Ambrosettis hope the teens go home and see where there are needs in their communities and parishes. The CWHC experience is a “rejuvenation of faith for the campers, staff and volunteers,” Luke said.
Colette Liddy is a correspondent for BeaconNJ.org
