It’s 6:45 a.m., and Luke Johnson is preparing to serve as a lector in Williamstown’s Saint Mary Church.
A few dozen parishioners fill the pews, and in the front rows – a group of eighth-graders from Saint Mary School, who, like Johnson, are regulars at the Wednesday morning Mass.
“A lot of youth today aren’t part of the Church … so having this tight-knit community that has the same faith gives you a support group and helps you work toward the same goals,” says Johnson, a sophomore in Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland, and graduate of Saint Mary School.
It was in his eighth-grade year that he began serving as a lector while part of the school’s Mass and Breakfast youth program. He continues to return as a lector every Wednesday morning when the students come together for Mass. The group, consisting of eighth-graders, is in its 10th year.
The Mass and Breakfast program started in 2012, explains Kari Janisse, coordinator of youth and young adult ministries in Our Lady of Peace Parish. While teaching an eighth-grade Morality Monday class at the school, she discussed the importance of the Eucharist and how weekday Masses nourished her own spirituality.
“I invited / challenged the youth that if anybody wanted to attend, we could go to 6:45 a.m. Mass, and then I would buy them some donuts and we could all eat together in the classroom before school. It was going to be a one-time thing … but then it grew,” Janisse explains.
Ten years later, children look forward to becoming eighth-graders at Saint Mary’s, knowing they’ll have the opportunity to be part of the Mass and Breakfast legacy.
Johnson, for example, joined the parish’s youth group as a “guppy” – around third grade – because he saw his sister enjoying her time in the older group. Today, he is part of the ministry’s core team, serving at the Wednesday Mass before heading off to high school as well as helping out on Thursdays and Sundays for group gatherings at the parish.
Saint Mary eighth-grader Lizzy McGoldrick also joined as a “guppy.”
“I like the environment of the Mass and Breakfast group – how everyone is willing to help other people,” she says, explaining that the group has also participated in service projects. “For people my age and high school … it’s easy to get lost and lose your faith. But with this group, you can stay focused, make sure you don’t stray, keep in touch with God and build yourself in faith.”
Fellow student Samuel Semiraglio agreed. “Having friends in the faith helps you get more into it and go beyond only attending Mass on Sundays. Plus, I get to meet new people, talk to my friends and have a good time. We always have fun – eat pizza, talk about religion and play games.”
Father Sanjai Devis, VC, parish pastor, said he is proud to see the students not only at Mass every Wednesday morning, but serving as well. He also credited the parents for their willingness to bring their children to school early.
“These kids are very engaged,” he says. “It’s really a blessing to be a pastor for a group of young people who are excited about their faith and are faithfully present.”
Adds Janisse, “It’s not easy getting up for a 6:45 a.m. Mass for an eighth-grader who has sports and after-school activities, a regular school day, homework, family obligations. So my greatest hope is that they remember the importance of the Eucharist and the importance of Mass. And then additionally that they had fun, that they made memories together as a class in their eighth-grade year.”
Those memories seem to be holding steady, as Janisse explains that she often runs into graduates who inquire about the group. She even had one college student – who was a regular at the Mass and Breakfast as an eighth-grader – make it her Lenten practice to return to Saint Mary Church for Wednesday morning Masses and visit with today’s youth.
“It’s something they always remember,” Janisse says.
That’s is what Andre Staana is hoping for, too. Staana, who also started as a “guppy” says, “I am very proud because I’ve been with the group so long, and I plan to come back in my high school years.”
“We all need a role model to help guide us, and that’s what the high school kids and even college students who come back to visit and help out do.”
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