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FA IT H IN A C T IO
A Different Approach Bridging the Gap
For many teachers, the goal is to have students retain what they learn in class —
and hopefully apply some of those lessons later in life. There had to be a better way to plan retreats.
But at Bishop Shanahan High School, putting lessons into action is the class.
Set for its second year, Faith in Action
is a peer ministry course offered to
juniors and seniors as a theology
elective. Students are tasked with
preparing and executing many of
the school’s pastoral activities, from
planning food drives to leading
liturgies and managing retreats.
The aim, says school minister Fr. John
Donia, is to equip students to act out
their faith by sustaining their prayer
lives and becoming leaders.
“It is an active response to the call to
service which is rooted in baptism,”
Donia says. “We seek to empower
young people to be a living gospel
within the community.”
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Prior to joining Bishop Shanahan, Donia was
organizing activities for Archbishop Ryan High School
when he realized that bringing in a guest speaker for
retreats wasn’t proving effective.
“It might have seemed good for the moment,” Donia
says, “but there was no follow-through, and it felt
disconnected in the end.”
Donia was able to bring that idea to fruition in 2016
with Bishop Shanahan’s Faith in Action Team —
or FIAT, as members like to be called. In order to
enroll, students had to complete an application and
undergo an interview.
Students were selected by their ability to
demonstrate leadership skills and willingness to
serve. Even so, many were surprised by just how
much of an impact they were able to make.
So he tried turning over the reins to people who
understand students best: fellow students. Eventually,
the idea evolved from a group that met weekly to a
class that met daily.
“We seek to
empower young
people to be a
living gospel
within the
community.”
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