Students, parishioners benefit from school prayer partner programs

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Jan. 24, 2008

Students at some of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City have help along their faith journey from prayer partners.

At St. Rose of Lima School in Denison, the individual grades are paired with parishioners from St. Rose of Lima Church. In some cases, a parishioner will know a student and request a specific class to be partnered with.

The prayer partners stay with the grade they are paired with until that class has gone all the way through at St. Rose. After a class has graduated, the prayer partner will start again with a kindergarten class. Some of the classes have five or six prayer partners.

"One of the previous principals started the program," said Robert Meyer, principal at St. Rose of Lima School. "What happens is we ask for people who would like to be prayer partners and pray with a class. They have topics that the class needs prayers for or that the prayer partner needs prayers for."

He added that most of the prayer partners are older people so the prayers they request may relate to health issues of a spouse. The prayer partners' intentions are prayed for during daily prayer.

"In today's society, many of our kids do not have grandparents close. They might see their grandparents once or twice a year," said Meyer. "The prayer partners are an added bonus for our kids. The prayer partners also get a bonus from having the kids."

On occasion, Meyer mentioned that the students will go visit their prayer partners. Sometimes the class might take a trip to their prayer partner's house to wish them happy birthday.

"Sometimes a non-educator might look at that as a waste of time," he said. "We look at it that our mission is more than just academics."

This is the third year that students have participated in a partner program at Kuemper Catholic School in Carroll - high school students and students in the Holy Spirit Center and St. Angela Center.

The second grade classrooms are paired with the junior homerooms because each of them will be receiving a sacrament or sacraments during the school year - reconciliation and Eucharist for second graders and confirmation for juniors. Senior homerooms are paired with the younger elementary students and the ninth and tenth grade homerooms are paired with the others.

"Activities vary according to grade level and from prayerful to fun," said Winnie Geelan-Potthoff, a Spanish teacher at Kuemper.

Sarah Borkowski, a senior at Kuemper, is currently partnered with kindergartener Hallie Simons. As a junior she was partnered with Emily Ramos, who was a second grader. "I enjoy sharing the knowledge of my religion with the little kids," said Borkowski. "We helped them (the second graders) prepare for firt Communion, worked with them on their prayers, played educational games with them and went to Mass with them." She hopes the younger students gain respect for older students and learn how to act in church.

"I think it's a good idea to have elementary buddy partners because both the partner and I learn from each other," said Borkowski.

Geelan-Pottoff's junior homeroom has helped the second graders make Christmas ornaments for their parents, worked with them on their prayers and done several seasonal projects with them - Thanksgiving, Halloween and St. Patrick's Day.

Her homeroom is paired with Mary Ann Brincks' second grade classroom. Brincks generally plans the monthly activities, since she is more aware of the ability level of 7- or 8-year-olds.

The second graders typically make their First Communion in the spring, so the juniors make a small gift for them to commemorate the special event. The second graders do the same for the juniors for their confirmation.

"I think it's an excellent program that makes connections between the high school students and the elementary students. We attend Mass once a month with our partners and it is a learning opportunity for both groups," said Geelan-Potthoff. "The high school students quickly realize that their young buddies look up to them - both literally and figuratively. The enthusiasm with which the younger students respond in Mass is an eye-opening experience for their high school counter-parts."

She added that the younger students "make connections" with their high school partners, whether they see them on stage during the musical, lectoring at a parish Mass on the weekend, playing on the basketball team or working at a part-time job."

"They have a new friend at the high school," said the teacher. "Ideally, this connection will help the younger students feel like they are part of a larger Kuemper family - one that cares about them."

At Sacred Heart in Spencer parishioners are prayer partners to one of the classes. In general, each class has about two prayer partners, usually older parishioners, sometimes in not such good health, pointed out Ron Olberding, principal at Sacred Heart.

The students pray for the parishioners and they pray for the students on a regular basis. It is up to an individual prayer partner if they would like to do something more such as visits or sending things back and forth. In general, the classes start with prayer partners as kindergarteners and keep the same partners through sixth grade.

Mary and Joe Carroll are parishioners paired with the kindergarten class at Sacred Heart. They have been participating since November 2007. There are 25 students in the kindergarten class.

"We have been saying prayers - the Our Father, the Hail Mary," said Joe.

After Mass one day, the couple went in to introduce themselves to the class. As a Christmas gift, they took the students bookmarks and prayer cards. The bookmarks had the Ten Commandments on them.

"They were all very excited," said Mary. "We have a big Christmas tree out of construction paper on our door. There is a picture of each one of them on the tree."

The couple had been going to the school to read to classes. Being prayer partners is a new way for them to be involved at the school.

The prayer partner program is also provided for students at Spalding Catholic Elementary School in Hospers and for religious education students in the Pilgrim Cluster including St. Anthony's in Hospers, St. Joseph in Granville and St. Mary's in Alton.

The second grade students preparing for reconciliation and first Communion are paired with parishioners. The prayer partners send notes and say prayers for the students as they prepare for the sacraments.

There are currently 11 students in Eileen Kinney's second grade class and four religious education students that will receive sacraments. Each of these students has a prayer partner.

At St. Patrick School in Sheldon, each class is paired with a parishioner who volunteers to be a prayer partner.

"Some of the classes have had the same prayer partner from kindergarten through eighth grade. They have chosen to stay with the class and be their prayer partner," said Virginia Huss, principal at St. Patrick School. "We do various activities together. The prayer partners have come in to make rosaries with us."

The students pray for their partners and vice versa. The students send their prayer partners cards if they are sick.

"It is a very caring relationship," said Huss. "They are very close to their prayer partners. I think it is a wonderful link between the generations. The students learn to respect older people and the older people love interaction with the children."