What is Christian Service? Who is my Brother?
“If we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another”
- Saint Teresa of Calcutta
As we begin the new school year, I want to share with you the changes to our Christian Service Program, starting from the theme of the school year: “Band of Brothers”. It begs the question “who is my brother?’ And the answer is everyone. Nothing has emerged with more clarity during this pandemic than the interconnected and interdependent nature of our humanity. This can be a personal challenge, pushing us beyond our comfort zone. Even as we gather in community to break bread, to serve, and to thrive, we are at times challenged to extend that experience of belonging to the rest of our society and the world. When we have not helped others to feel like they too belong and are loved, then we can not build peace.
This year, moved by the signs of our current times, it becomes more important to remember that we belong to one another. This belonging requires a distinctly Christian service that emerges from being loved by God. This also leads to an encounter with God and those most vulnerable among us. Our rich faith tradition gives us the blueprint of charity and justice with which we can navigate the challenges of the moment.
One thing you will notice is that we have changed the Direct/Indirect service categories which have long sought to ensure that students directly relate to those in need in our community. Right now, we are placing the emphasis on service at the margins and will work to implement more in-depth service-learning opportunities. Students will also be asked to articulate the need in the population they are serving. What does that need look like, and how does it sever them from the community? How does this create a separation from us? We hope that by defining that which is separating us from our brothers and sisters, we can overcome the division and help to be agents of healing.
Your first stop for information is the Student Handbook (available on the Resource Board in My Belen) section on Christian Service. This will help you understand how we aim to live out our core values in Christian Service and some changes made to the policy. Second, you can go to the COVID-19 section to review any specific service and guidelines to report your hours that will change as we monitor the virus situation. Third, you can always Find Ways to Serve by visiting our Service Board online. The service board gets updated frequently. Soon, parents will be able to join me for “JustParents” Christian Service Zoom sessions which will be open for parents beginning at the end of September. I will also begin meeting with the FLEX groups the week of August 31 to orient the students.
May our work to form our sons as a Band of Brothers for the global family bind us in hope. Saint Teresa of Calcutta was transformed in her work with those at the margins and showed us that in belonging to God we are bound to one another and love becomes our identity.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.