Hearts of Hope hit the 25-year mark last year, and this year marked another milestone: its first visit to Sacred Heart Church in Pembroke Township as a Viatorian parish.
This youth ministry project of Associates Ken and Michelle Barrie reaches back to 2000 at St. Patrick Church and neighboring parishes. Hearts of Hope mobilizes young people to serve all around the Bourbonnais-Kankakee region. Middle school students participate in the camp alongside high school students who help lead the service activities, facilitate discussions, and give reflections. Pembroke Township and Sacred Heart have long been a key part of this special week, and now the long-running relationships and investment are fully enfolded into the Viatorian Community with our stewardship of the church.
Fr. Peeters (left in red polo) visited the Hearts of Hope group after their landscaping work on the playground by St. Pat’s.
Hearts of Hope took place last week. The group landscaped at St. Patrick on Monday, cleaned and sorted clothes at Lisieux Center on Tuesday, landscaped and moved furniture at Bishop McNamara Catholic School’s Bradley site on Wednesday, and shared in the Run-A-Way Buckers camp with local youth and camp directors Reggie and Brenda Stewart in Pembroke Township on Thursday.
The group got a special visit from a local dignitary on Monday morning. “When we were spreading the mulch on the playground, Fr. Peeters came out to see us, and we were delighted to see him during his last week as pastor,” Associate Michelle Barrie said, affirming how Viatorian pastors have always deeply supported their youth ministry.
Then, Thursday marked this year’s group becoming the first to visit Sacred Heart Church since Viatorians formally took it on. “I’m excited to be on the church grounds even more now than I have been in the past. It’s special to have us now in charge of Sacred Heart, and to know that this all can take off in a new way,” Michelle said.
Hearts of Hope participants served at St. Pat’s Monday (top left), Lisieux Center Tuesday (top right), Bishop Mac Bradley site (bottom left), and Run-A-Way Buckers Summer Camp Thursday (bottom right).
“The Viatorian support has always been so strong. Now, we can make even more people aware of Sacred Heart as a Viatorian parish, get our associates more involved, and draw on an even bigger, wider base for expertise and service. Planning big things can always be a bit of a struggle, but that challenge is lessening now,” Associate Ken Barrie, the de facto foreman for their service work around the community, said. “With Viatorians in charge, it simplifies planning and execution to really get things done well. We can act more quickly and efficiently to help this community.”
The work continues next week when, after the holiday, a service week in Pembroke Township will follow. Many of the high school student leaders will return to help again, and Ken will be busy coordinating more intensive work on the buildings and grounds of Sacred Heart and helping neighbors in the area with their homes. Ken is excited to get down there because they feel added Viatorian momentum in continuing their partnership with this Pembroke Township community they love so deeply. “Once we get people out there to Pembroke to serve, their willingness to come back and help again has been so strong.”