Ever since he took over as the pastor of St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church two years ago, Rev. Bob Emery has wanted to start some sort of a youth ministry program for the teenaged parishioners.
“There never had been a youth ministry program,” Emery said. “We needed to find something that would get the teenagers interested.”
So Emery first organized social activities, like ice skating trips, a journey to Radio City and Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, and bowling outings.
“Just something to get them interested, then we could turn it into a fuller program in the future,” Emery said. “It’s been quite successful, with about 20 to 30 teens attending each event.”
However, Emery wanted to do something with more of a community-minded, giving theme.
He learned of a soup kitchen, called the Goodwill Home Missions in Newark, that was feeding the hungry and homeless of the state’s largest municipality. Emery knew that the organization is in constant need of volunteers to donate their time to distribute food and goods to the needy.
“I sent out a letter asking the members of our youth ministry if they were interested in volunteering,” Emery said. “I thought it would be a great way to put their faith into action. I knew that we could only bring six teens at a time, so I waited to see if there was an interest.”
Emery was astounded with the response.
“I had a waiting list,” Emery said. “I had to turn some kids away. It was great to see them want to donate their time. I think it’s an example of all of the teenagers wanting to help others.”
100 free meals
Last Saturday, the first group from St. Lawrence went to the Goodwill Home Missions and helped to prepare and distribute about 100 free meals for needy homeless people.
Kenny Bosotina, a 17-year-old Weehawken High School student, was one of the six to participate in the program.
“It really was a good feeling, being able to help them out,” said Bosotina, who lost his mother a year ago after a tough battle with cancer. “I think it gives kids a chance to do something good and it brings us closer with other people. I really wanted to volunteer and help out. I thought it would be a good experience and a fun experience for me. And it was.”
Joseph Poole, 13, agreed.
“I thought it was a great way to be able to help those who are less fortunate than we are,” Poole said. “It’s the first time I ever did anything like this. I was a little nervous and scared at first, because I didn’t know what to expect. But the people were nice and very grateful for everything. It was a good feeling, to hear the people say, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘God bless you.’ The more the people came in, the more I got the hang of it and liked it more.”
Both teenagers said that they would be glad to volunteer their time again in the future. They may have to wait in line.
“I think everyone enjoyed it,” Emery said. “The people at Goodwill asked if we could come regularly and I think we can about once a month. I think this shows that the stereotypes about teenagers being apathetic are not true. These kids care and they showed they care.”
“I think we proved that if we put our minds together, we can do something good for people,” Bosotina said.
Poole said that he was happy that the parish is organizing activities for teens like him.
“As you get older, there are less and less activities for teenagers,” Poole said. “It’s important to have positive things like this for kids my age.”