Each year NDCL’s Office of Campus Ministry provides opportunities for students to experience their faith in service to others. These experiences are what NDCL calls “mission in action!”
From June 4-11th, 20 students and four teachers traveled to Saint Ann's Mission in Belcourt, North Dakota, in the heart of the Turtle Mountain Native American Reservation to work with the Chippewa and Metis people. The NDCL teens led and interacted with middle school students in their role as camp counselors. They also found time to assist the community in relocating the contents of a 1920’s school building to a newer facility built in 1999.
St. Ann’s Parish is located in the center of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, ND. The first log church was built in 1884 and the Mission has been serving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Metis Indians in 1885. Father George Anthony Belcourt lived among the people and he went on the biannual buffalo hunts. In honor of Father George’s presence among the people, the primary village on the Reservation was named “Belcourt.”
For several years, NDCL students have trekked to the heart of Appalachia to provide time, labor and friendship to the people in one of the poorest counties in America. This week, twenty-four rising juniors and seniors along with faculty participated in the annual Wayne County Work Camp. During this time, they helped to make homes warmer, drier and safer while sharing in their Christian faith and community with volunteers from across the country and the families of Wayne County.
Wayne County, located in the southwestern tip of West Virginia, is a rural area with rugged mountains and deep valleys. The area is typical of much of Appalachia with rich natural resources – primarily timber and coal. The winding roads share the narrow valley floor with creeks, which often overflow their banks. With the economic challenges of high unemployment, declining population and low tax revenues, the communities and residents are faced with many problems.
Locally, a handful of sophomores and juniors will join with other students from schools sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame from across the country to participate in the SND Summer Service Experience. During the week of June 19th the students will volunteer at various service agencies throughout greater Cleveland and return each evening share their experiences at the St. Lawrence Youth Retreat Center in Avon.
The service projects give life to NDCL’s mission to “transform the world,” and in doing so, provide the students with deeper understanding and need for creating a just society.
NDCL Students and faculty arrive for a week of service at St. Ann’s Mission in Belcourt, ND.
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Jimmy Romano `18 does his part at Wayne County Work Camp.
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