Expect your life to be changed.
That is the advice Jose Rodriguez has for high-schoolers in encouraging them to take part in this year’s Summer in the City service project.
“It’s a time to connect, and that’s good because I think our young people don’t have a lot of that anymore,” said Rodriguez, diocesan director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries. “In this fast-paced world where everything is moving and at the tip of our fingertips with technology, this gives youth a chance to just stop and truly be the hands, ears, eyes and feet of Christ.”
The Summer in the City Program is an annual week-long immersion service project for incoming freshmen to seniors. It will be held Aug. 15-21 at the Blessed Carlo Acutis Youth Center, Absecon. During the week, teens will lend helping hands at Father Benedict House, Atlantic City; Holy Cross Cemetery, the Acutis Center and more.
Registration is $160 and covers meals and lodging. Attendance is limited this year due to COVID-19, so those interested are encouraged to register early at camdendiocese.org/youth-ministries/summer-in-the-city.
“Summer in the City involves prayers and spirituality, but it’s also the hands-on part of our faith. It’s the boots-on-the ground, getting your hands dirty that the Church teaches and encourages,” Rodriguez said.
“It gives youth time to be with their peers, time to share their faith, love for Church and love for service,” he continued. “I always tell young people, ‘Allow others to see Christ in you,’ and this is a way of doing that.”
In addition to serving others, there will be opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, prayer and fellowship. The experience, Rodriguez said, tends to lay the groundwork for a fraternal bond.
“This week really builds the young Church of South Jersey because it allows them to spend time together, eat together, pray together, work together,” he said. “They build a camaraderie that when they do see each other at another diocesan event or anywhere else they may cross paths, they recognize each other.”
The program also often leads to future acts of service. “Sometimes youth go back to the service sites to do work on their own after making a connection with someone,” Rodriguez said.
“They also take it personally,” he added, “often taking what they are doing and connecting it to their own lives – whether it be them working at a soup kitchen, and saying, ‘I remember when me and my parents used to get in line at a soup kitchen and now I’m here serving, giving back.’
“It’s humbling,” he said. “It’s a week of giving completely of yourself.”
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