Young people left the Blessed Carlo Acutis Youth Center both exhausted and invigorated Aug. 21 after spending a week helping those in need.
“This year’s Summer in the City was the most enjoyable by far,” said Chip Wimberg, who served as a young adult leader during the annual service project at Holy Spirit High School, Absecon. “It’s a unique program that shows teens first-hand the unfortunate and harsh realities that so many of our neighbors face here in our local community. It allows for a direct opportunity to serve those most in need and to show them that they are cared for.”
From Aug. 15-21, high school students from across the Diocese took part in Summer in the City, a weeklong immersion project that offers youth the “opportunity to step up, and to learn and grow through service and reflection … to live out the Gospel and learn more about Catholic social teaching,” said Jose Rodriguez, diocesan director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries, which organizes the event.
The participants kept busy with projects at various worksites throughout Atlantic County, including Catholic Charities in Atlantic City, where teens helped organize donations, cleaned and created space for clothing in the site’s thrift store, prepared items in the food pantry, and cleaned offices where clients in need meet with staff.
One participant took note of the clients who arrived at the Catholic Charities office Aug. 20, many drenched from the day’s torrential downpour. “These are our neighbors,” she said. “There is suffering in our own backyards, and [Summer in the City] opens our eyes to that, and shows us that we’re called to serve however we can.”
Melissa Hruska, the Catholic Charities program director for Atlantic County, was quick to praise the teens’ work, flexibility and sense of mission.
“These tasks are so much more than just chores that I don’t have time for. The food, clothes and back-to-school supplies all end up in the hands of those in need,” she said. “The teens brought our center’s thrift store back to life so that people can afford to shop comfortably, and that [thrift store] money is used to help others.”
Motioning around the freshly cleaned hallways and rooms, Hruska said, “They have organized, painted and cleaned this building, making it a more comfortable and welcoming place for those we serve. They recognize it as part of our mission – to serve those who are vulnerable and serve them with dignity.”
After serving at the worksites throughout the day, teens spent the evenings reflecting on their encounters with those they served, other mentors – both lay and religious – and each other.
Toward the end of the week, the group gathered in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Parish Hall for Adoration, reflection and the opportunity for Confession. The teens knelt around “The Burning Bush” – a wooden fixture adorned with candles, symbolic of the burning bush that Moses encountered in Exodus 3:3. Father Joshua Nevitt, parochial vicar in the Absecon parish, held up a monstrance, leading all in Adoration.
Among those who served as mentors during the week were the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. Motioning toward the monstrance, Sister Joseph Van Munster explained that the purpose of the evening was “opening our hearts, laying out everything that is there, reaching out to Jesus in the Blessed Sacraments … to come to us, to touch areas in our hearts that need healing or are hurt. He’s here right now, he’s present in the Blessed Sacrament, so open your heart and reach out.”
Father Nevitt also celebrated a Mass. In his homily, he reflected on the Gospel and spoke of Saint Joseph, recounting his initial reluctance to care for Mary and Jesus and his ultimate commitment to responding to God’s call, to serving as a model for Jesus and all those whom he encountered, and doing all of this with love in his heart.
“Jesus has been present with you this week, as has Saint Joseph – and like him, you’ve been called, you’ve been models for those whom you encountered, and your hearts have been touched and changed. Tonight ends, but that call, that modeling, that heart … doesn’t stop after today,” he said, reminding the youth about their call to continue to carry out the Gospel in their daily lives “with a heart like Saint Joseph” – the theme of this year’s 2021 Summer in the City program.
In addition to serving as a young adult leader, Wimberg spent the week with his two brothers, who were both participants in the program. His young brother, Tyler, encouraged other young people to participate in the future.
“Definitely do it,” Tyler Wimberg said. “It’s a mind-opening, heart-opening experience that you just wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
Check out a video from Summer in the City at youtube.com/CatholicStarHerald
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