Best of the Week 2018-2019: Holy Cross Values
ST. ED'S TEAMS UP WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN LABRE MINISTRY
Within the last two weeks, St. Ed's has teamed up with St. Mark School and St. Bernadette School to increase participation in St. Ed's Labre Ministry. Last week, Adam Mocho '22 visited the seventh grade class at St. Mark (pictured above) to share his St. Ed's Labre experience while this week, Stewardship Coordinator Mrs. Mo Loesch and Theology teacher Mr. Owen Williams '13 attended a Catholic Schools Week event at St. Bernadette to talk about how St. Ed's Labre Ministry helps provide food, support and friendship to those in need. Both St. Mark and St. Bernadette have generously collected donations to contribute toward St. Ed's Labre Ministry, which runs entirely off of donations. Thanks to their efforts, St. Ed's Labre Ministry will continue its outreach toward helping the homeless in Cleveland. With only being two years old, St. Ed's Labre Ministry has successfully made 104 Labre trips, has visited 1,700 camp sites and has distributed over 2,500 bags of food and donations to the homeless. "Homelessness is everywhere. In Cleveland, it is estimated that on any given night there are 4,000 people experiencing homelessness; sleeping in shelters, on the streets and doubling-up with family or friends," says Mrs. Loesch. "Grade schools are always collecting for many causes, especially to help those less fortunate. St. Bernadette knew we had a Labre Ministry and wanted to collect items for our homeless friends. They wanted to hear more about Labre so they could fully understand what we do and who the items they collect are given to. It's important to teach and show these younger students why we do what we do for our Labre Ministry."
"At St. Bernadette, Mrs. Loesch and I spoke about the purpose of Labre - to bring food and fellowship to our homeless friends - along with several experiences that each of us have had that have been especially meaningful throughout our time doing Labre," says Mr. Williams. "We also spoke about how, as a Holy Cross school, we are called to bring hope, and Labre gives us a beautiful opportunity to do that. The relationships we form with the homeless are beautiful; most of the time, they value the relationships much more than any item we give them."
"St. Mark's contribution was so important for our ministry because it provided extra bags of food, socks, prayer cards and other necessities for the homeless. Their contribution was valuable because the more resources we can provide to the homeless, the more we can help improve their lives," says Adam. "Including other schools in our Labre Ministry not only supports our Holy Cross values of relationships and servant leadership, but also helps by informing more people within our community about our brothers and sisters in need. I think that all of our Edsmen should experience Labre at least once because throughout the experience, you start to learn more about yourself as a person. I personally think about the homeless regularly, especially during this cold week. You start to take less things for granted and start taking advantage of the opportunities you're given to share yourself with others. There is so much to learn from the positive and gracious attitudes of the people we visit despite their harsh living environments. I love coming together as a community to directly help those who need it most and I was glad I was able to share my experience at St. Mark and encourage others to help through Labre."
"I think that teaming up with other schools helps provide unity and support for our homeless friends," says Director of Service and Outreach Mr. Rick Kubrak '07. "I think people want to help and sometimes they just don't know how to and that is why making this connection with St. Bernadette and St. Mark is so crucial. The Holy Cross values of having positive relationships is demonstrated in these partnerships with other Catholic schools to do great works of charity."
"The Labre Ministry is, at its heart, about relationships, a charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross," says VP of Mission Effectiveness Mr. Liam Haggerty '02. "The entire ministry is the product of relationships; we work as part of a large network of schools, social service agencies and other non-profits. Additionally, those of us at St. Ed's who go out on Labre each week have developed a great relationship working together and have formed our own Labre Community, one that is always looking to grow and welcome others into this mission. Having other schools like St. Mark and St. Bernadette join us in this ministry is a true blessing."
