Before the last bell rang on the 2018-19 school year, students at
Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington had the opportunity to sign up for
one of several mission trips arranged by Joanie Coolidge, who coordinates the
school’s Christian service program. “Summer can be a great time for young
people to roll up their sleeves and spread the Good News of the Gospel of
Christ to brothers and sisters in our local and international communities,” she
said.
First out of the gate was the annual Peru mission trip in late
June, which was carried out in conjunction with Commissioned by Christ. A group
of O’Connell students, along with Coolidge, Father Gregory Thompson, school
chaplain, and Kerri Spies, math teacher, traveled to Piura, Peru to serve the
people of the local community by visiting hospice patients, teaching music and
dance, distributing food and clothing, cleaning homes and even building a house.
“I was struck by the experience of seeking to serve, but instead
finding that through the holiness, humility and hospitality of our Peruvian
brothers and sisters, they brought Christ to us,” remarked Father Thompson.
July 14, a second group of O’Connell students joined Coolidge and
English and religion teacher Colleen Swaim to participate in the Rural
Appalachian Service Immersion program organized by the Appalachian Institute of
Wheeling University in W. Va. These students learned about the rich cultural
and economic heritage of the Appalachian people, and about sustainable farming
in the region. They also spent time with staff from Catholic Charities and
helped with food preparation at their soup kitchen.
In late July, another group of students, along with chaperones
Coolidge; Trent Jones, art teacher; and Rob Horan, technology teacher, headed
into Washington for the Young Neighbors in Action program. The group stayed at
Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md., where they joined more than 50
students from across the United States. The program included preparing and
serving breakfast at Capitol Hill Methodist Church, working in the 17-acre
garden of the Franciscan Monastery, and learning about advocacy on Capitol
Hill.
“In the kitchen, we had lawyers, college professors, musicians
and teachers, cooking and washing dishes, but when it came time to break bread,
we sat down as equals with people without homes, with those struggling with
mental health challenges and addictions, all friends of Christ,” said Coolidge.
“We read and discussed scripture together. It was beautiful.”