By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
March 24, 2005

Teachers at Mater Dei School in Sioux City use the gift of time to visit with home bound parishioners.

"As a faculty, we thought that since we preach and teach Gospel values to our kids that we would model that as well," said Sister Julie Tebbe, PBVM, music teacher at Mater Dei School. "We are people of service who want to serve others and help others who are in need."

The teachers took time on March 16 to bake cookies in the Mater Dei Immaculate Conception Center kitchen to be taken to about 40 parishioners of Immaculate Conception and Nativity parishes in Sioux City that are not able to get out of their homes. The cookies were delivered prior to Holy Week on March 16, 17 and 18 by the teachers.

"Carol Happe got the names of people in our parishes who are home bound and like something special around Easter," said Sister Julie. There were about 36 names that were collected and enough cookies were made to take about a dozen to each house.

The cooks at the school and about five faculty members helped in the baking process. Then another five or six helped to frost the cookies. By the time school was out, all of the teachers gathered to assemble the plates of cookies and tape cards on each plate wishing the recipient a joyous Easter season.

"It was important for our staff because they are such a generous, kind staff always involved with each other, supporting each other and they wanted to do this together for others who are so good to them," said Marilyn Blum, principal of Mater Dei School. "They are true role models for stewardship in this way."

The teachers wanted to do something to show their unity during the Lenten season. The school Lenten committee suggested making heart shaped cookies that correlated with their Lenten theme of "Change Our Hearts, O God, Fill Them With..." then each week during Lent a new word was put in at the end. The words include love, trust, faith, hope, compassion and joy.

"We thought that this would be a hands-on way to be about that because Lent is a perfect time to do that," said Sister Julie. "Sometimes our schedules get so busy and when do we take time?"

The teachers not only baked and prepared the cookies, but they also went out and entered into conversation and relationship with the parishioners. She noted that this was a really neat thing for the faculty to do.

"I don't think we ever ask anything of our students that we ourselves wouldn't do," said Sister Julie. "We do this to show that we are willing to give up our time and to be together as a faculty. It not only builds a community among us as a faculty but it shows our students that we are willing to go a step beyond."

Blum concluded that the recipients of the cookies loved it. The school received many thank you notes and phone calls.

"I was stopped by one at a school program and told how wonderful it was to get them and to know that we were thinking about them," said Blum.